Pet food supplement

Details Pet food supplement Pet food supplement

2000-05-26

2002-12-03

Pratt, Helen (Department: 1761)

Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products

Product with added vitamin or derivative thereof for...

C426S074000, C426S034000, C426S036000, C426S042000, C426S048000, C426S580000, C426S805000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06488970

ABSTRACT:

The present invention relates to an animal food product useful as food supplement for pets such as dogs or cats. In particular, the present invention relates to a pet food supplement comprising a specific carrier and one or more food additives selected from vitamins, provitamins, minerals and trace elements. Moreover, the present invention relates to a process for the preparation of the food product and to specific uses of the food product.
Pets such as dogs and cats are most often fed with processed pet food products. The use of processed pet food products is problematic. In case mainly processed pet food products are fed it is likely that the diet of the pet will give rise to health problems. Such health problems may be due to the presence of ingredients having a negative effect on the digestion of the animal or due to the lack of certain vitamins, provitamins, amino acids, minerals or trace elements essential for restoring, preserving or improving the health of the animal. Health problems which may be associated with the consumption of processed pet food products are diarrhea, congestion, flatulence, lack of appetite, vomiting, loss of hair, unspecific itching of the skin, or skin diseases.
Therefore, it is desirable to supplement the diet of a pet in order to prevent or retract health problems or to improve the health and well-being of the pet. A food supplement is even more desirable in the light of the fact that pets such as cats and dogs are frequently kept inside the home of the respective pet owner. In the domestic environment, pets may become a burden in case of health problems due to the difficulties of keeping the domestic environment clean when the pets are ill. Specifically, in case of diarrhea, vomiting, and loss of hair the pet will likely cause damage in the domestic environment by polluting carpeting and upholstery. In case of flatulence and skin disease, the smell of the pet may become a burden in the domestic environment. Moreover, any health problems experienced by the pet will be likely to lead to undesireable behavioral changes of the pet.
Any pet food product including pet food supplements must meet in combination a number of different requirements to be commercially useful.
The food product must have a smell and flavor which render the food acceptable to the animal. In case smell or flavor are not acceptable for a specific animal, the animal will refuse to consume the food product. It is known to add flavoring agents as well as aroma and flavor enhancers to pet food products. However, a general acceptance among dogs or cats cannot be achieved with known substances. Usually, the acceptance of a common dry dog food product is in the order of 70%. In any case, it must be borne in mind that food products may not contain sugar as a flavoring agent in amounts which will lead to severe conditions such as blindness. Food additives such as certain vitamins to be administered to a pet may present an unacceptable taste to the pet. Therefore, it is often difficult to administer such food additives by simple admixing to the regular pet food since the unacceptable taste or smell cannot be efficiently masked by the regular pet food. In particular, the administration of food additives in high concentrations is problematic.
Animal food products must not have undesired effects on the health of the animal. In particular, the food product must not have adverse effects on the digestion of the animal such as causing congestion or diarrhea. In case such undesired effects on the digestion are observed, additional measures will be necessary in order to retract or avoid such undesired effects.
The food product must have an acceptable shelf life at room temperature since animal food products are sold in supermarkets in a designated pet food department which usually does not offer the possibility of cooling the merchandise. For the animal food products to be useful it is necessary that it may be stored for at least three months at room temperature without spoiling. Preferably, the shelf life is obtainable without the use of any preservative.
In case food additives are administered to a pet, the dosage of such food additives must be easy to control, in particular in cases where an overdosing with potentially harmful substances may lead to adverse effects on the health of the pet.
Accordingly, it is a problem for the present invention to provide an animal food product useful as a pet food supplement which
(i) enjoys high acceptance with pets,
(ii) has beneficial effect on the digestion of the animal,
(iii) has a shelf life without use of preservatives or cooling of several months, and which
(iv) provides the possibility for a simple and safe dosage of any food additive contained in the food supplement.
A further problem of the invention is to provide a process for the preparation of an animal food product useful as a pet food supplement which has the above properties (i) to (iv).
A still further problem of the invention is to provide the use of the animal food product of the invention in pet food and as a pet food supplement.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
These problems are solved according to claim
1
with an animal food product useful as food supplement for pets such as dogs or cats, comprising a carrier and at least one food additive selected from vitamins, provitamins, minerals and trace elements, whereby the carrier comprises a cultured milk product.
The present invention provides a wet food product comprising a carrier and at least one specific food additive. It was found that surprisingly an animal food product containing food additives and having a very high acceptance with animals such as dogs and cats, may be prepared by using a specific wet carrier. The carrier is a cultured (fermented) milk product prepared from milk having a fat content of up to 2.5% by weight, preferably up to 2% by weight.
The present invention also provides a process for the preparation of an animal food product comprising the steps of adding at least one food additive selected from the group of vitamins and provitamins, minerals, and trace elements to milk having a fat content of up to 2.5% by weight, fermenting the mixture in the presence of a microorganism, and heating the mixture to an elevated temperature for a predetermined period of time to a predetermined temperature for essentially terminating the fermentation.
It is essential that the respective food additives are added. to the milk prior to the fermentation whereby the food additives may be effectively dissolved or dispersed in the milk and the shelf-life and acceptability of the product of the invention become superior. The specific reasons for the observed effects are presently not understood in detail. However, it is contemplated that the food additives will be at least partially incorporated into microorganisms or bonded to the microorganisms used for culturing during the fermentation process or to ingredients of the milk. Thereby, the taste and smell of the food additives is effectively masked and the desireable milk character in the taste and smell of the product is preserved. Moreover, it is contemplated that the incorporation or bonding of the food additives to the microorganisms or ingredients of the milk leads to a desireable slow release of the incorporated or bonded food additives in the digestive system of the animal.
The food product of the invention comprising a cultured milk product as a carrier has highly beneficial effects on the digestion of the animal whereby undesired side effects from the use of conventional processed animal food may be avoided, retracted and the digestion of the animals may even be improved.
The shelf-life of the animal food product is provided by heating the animal food product to a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time for essentially terminating the fermentation process and by storing the animal food product under essentially sterile conditions. The food product of the invention may be stored in packaged form without cooling or the use of preservatives, preferably for at least six mo

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