ANIMAL FOODSTUFF

Abstract: Animal food is provided in the shape of cushion-shaped stranded units (1) each consisting of a plurality of side-by-side, contacting, and mutually adherent strands (4) of a dried and cooked formulation comprising a cereal component and pro­ teinaceous material. The stranded configuration allows the ani­ mal food to have sufficient internal cohesion to be handled and stored, but sufficient breakability that even smaller animals can break it apart in their jaws.

Description: ANIMAL FOODSTUFF This invention relates to foodstuffs for animals and particularly although not exclusively to dog food, Dog food is available as moist, semi-moist or dry dog food. The first category is. usually (not: invariably) canned. Dry dog food, however, i.s cheaper to make and store, and is usually-sold in packets or- sacks as hard biscuit-like lumps. These hard lumps, although compounded from milled cereals and proteinaceous meal to be a complete food, have certain disadvantages. Thus, they are not always suitable for small dogs or older dogs with deteriorating teeth, since- they- require some force to break them into suitable fragments for swallowing. The present invention i-s. based on the realisation that it is possible to fabricate a dry animal food.of sufficient internal cohesion that lumps of the food can be handled and stored, but of sufficient breakability that even- smaller animals can break it apart in their jaws. In one aspect the invention provides an animal food consisting of units of a dry formulation comprising a cereal component and a combined or separate proteinaceous component, each unit being shaped as a plurality of side-by-side, contacting and mutually adherent strands, wherein breakage of the unit involves both separation and transverse breakage of the strands. Neither the force required for strand separation, nor the force required to break a strand transversely is as great as the force required to break a lump of such material of the same overall dimensions This gives the food a "crispy" nature, particularly suitable for, although of course not limited to, formulations for smaller animals. Thus, although the product of the invention is preferably formulated as a dog-food, especially for smaller dogs, it can also be used for cat foods, or foods or food supplements for farm animals, or for menagerie feeding stuffs, or for foodstuffs for animals in research establishments The strands comprising the unit can have various- inter-relationships. For example, they can be identical parallel strands, each adhered to its neighbours along a major proportion, or essentially all, of its Tength. Alternatively, they can be spaced apart over a significant proportion of their length, but adherent at specific locations, e.g. at the ends. A combination of the above characteristic: i.e. with two or more mutually adherent'bundles or layers of strands defining one or more spaces between the bundles or layers could also be used. The strands are preferably all of the same transverse dimension, but could, if desired, differ; moreover, strands of different composition, or colour, could be present in the unit The total number of strands can vary widely, for example from 3 to 100, but is usually about 10 - 20. The transverse dimension of each strand will vary with the number present, and the desired size of each unit of foodstuff, but is usually from 1 to 10 mm, e.g. 2 - 3 mm. The units themselves can be of any desired overall shape. Usually, the shape is affected to some extent by the requirements of a convenient process of manufacture in bulk. One preferred process, described in more. detail below,. involves continuous extrusion of parallel strands. Thus, simple bars or lumps cut from adherent parallel strands can be envisaged. It is preferred for the units each to have a generally square or rectangular appearance, for example somewhat pillow-shaped or cushion-shaped with parallel cut and pressed-together edges where. the strands,in stronger adhesive contact. separated by a central zone in which strands are in less strong, or possibly no, adhesive contact. A generally square unit of 2 - 3 cms edge-length is preferred. The proportions of such units can also. vary, but for the preferred generally square cushionshaped unit the maximum overall thicknesscan be for example from to to 213 the edge length, usual-ly about. half. The animal food formulation can also vary widely in its proportions, as between the components. Usually the proportions as between the cereal and the proteinaceous component lie between 30 : 70 (e.g. 50 : 50 ) and 80 20 (e.g. 95 : 5). The cereal component usually predominates, and is most often a wheat flour, although flour from other cereals (oats, maize, rye, etc.) could be used. Additionally or alternatively the proteinaceous component can comprise animal protein and/or vegetable protein, e.g. meat meal, fish meal, meat-and-bone meal, etc. from a wide variety of sources, and is usually in predominant admixture with a vegetable protein such as soya flour. If there are internal spaces in the¯unit they increase the bulk volume of the product so that volume for volume it can be less expensive than prior art products. In another aspect the invention provides a method for the production of an animal food as described above, which includes the steps of: making up-an animal food formulation including a cereal component, a proteinaceous component and enough water to give an extrudable consistency; extruding the moist formulation through a plurality of' adjacent orifices to produce a like plurality of extruded strands; passing the plurality of strands progressively into pressure and severing means, whereby there are severed from the strands moist coeherent units each consisting of a plurality of identical strand lengths pressed together at the free ends; and drying or cooking the units so as to produce crisp coherent but breakable units of animal food. The preferred features of the method will be largely apparent fran the above discussion. It will be found convenient for the strands to be extruded vertically downwards into pressure and severing means constituted by opposed pairs of blades protruding from two parallel rollers; in such a case the strand extrusion speed will generally match the roller peripheral speed. The design of extrusion head can vary depending upon the desired product, giving the possibility of using interchangeable heads if desired. For example, a cluster of orifices arranged in a hexagonal pattern, or spaced parallel rows of orifices, or a circle of orifices can all be used. It is valuable in some instances so to relate the orifice size and spacing with the pressure of extrusion that "die swells', as the moist formulation emerges, brings strands into initial contact with their neighbours prior to pressure and severing. The invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a general view of a unit of dry animal food according to the invention; Figure 2 shows a section along II-II of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a section along III-III of Figure 1; Figures 4a, 4b and 4c show typical arrangements of orifices for strand extrusion; and Figure 5 shows diagrammatically how such units of food may be produced. A unit 1 of animal food, (whereof the solids content consists for example maize flour (43.5 parts by weight) wheat flour (28.5 parts by weight) greaves meal (19.5 parts by weight) and soya flour (5 parts by weight) with the addition of suitable dyestuffs, vitamins, mineral, vegetable flavourings, and salts (total 3.5 parts by weight), and which in its dried form includes 10% by total weight of water) is of a generally square cushion-shape with two parallel straight pressured edges 2 and 3. ("Greaves" are the residual parts of waste meat from which the fat has been rendered). The unit 1 comprises individual strands 4, adhered along their lengths and more closely adhered at 2 and 3 by the effect of the pressure. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the cross-sections of the unit show strands more or less-distorted in transverse section, and occupying a progressively more flattened unit profile towards the ends 2 and 3 This- product can be made by extruding a moist mix (e.g. of 30% total water) through a plurality of orifices as shown in Figures 4a, 4b and 4c. The size and spacing of the orifices governs the amount of internal cohesion and void space in units made by pressing and severing in the direction of the arrows in those Figures. As shown in Figure 5, the moist mix 5 is extruded under elevated temperature (ca. 1000C) and pressure through orifices at 6 to form vertical parallel strands. Some flash evaporation of water, reducing water content from say 30% to 23%, usually takes pal cue at this stage. These strands 7 pass into the meeting line of opposed blades 8, mounted on co-rotating rollers 9. As these rotate, blades 10 press and sever the strands at a different location (higher in relation to the strands). The strands are extruded at the roller blade edge peripheral speed. A succession of units generally as in Figure 1 accummulates at 11 on conveyor 12 by which they pass through oven 13 to be dried to the desired 10% water- content and accummulate at 14 as product. Swell of strands at the die orifices can ensure some prior adhesion of the strands before pressing and severing.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. An animal food consisting of units of a dried formulation comprising a cereal component and a combined or separate proteinaceous component, characterised in that each unit is shaped as a plurality of side-by-side, contacting, and mutually adherent strands, wherein breakage of the unit involves both separation and transverse breakage of the strands. 2. An animal food as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that the strands are identical and parallel and each strand is adhered to its neighbours along at least a major proportion of its length. 3. An animal food as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that the strands are spaced apart over a significant proportion of their length, but each strand is adhered to its neighbours at its end portions. 4. An animal food as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the strands are arranged as two or more mutually adherent bundles or layers of strands defining- one or more spaces between the bundles or layers. 5. An animal food as claimed in any one preceding claim characterised in that strands of different composition and/or colour are present in the unit. 6. An animal food as claimed in any one preceding claim, characterised in tnwx there are from 10 to 20 strands in each unit. 7. An animal food as claimed in any one preceding claim, characterised in that each strand is from 2 to 3 mms in diameter. 8. An animal food as claimed in any one preceding claim, characterised in that each unit is rectangular and cushion-shaped with parallel cut and pressed-together edges where the strands are in stronger adhesive contact separated by a central zone in which the strands are in less strong or no adhesive contact. 9. An animal food as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that each unit is generally square, has an edge of 2 to 3 cms, and a maximum overall thickness from i to 2/3 the edge length. 10. An animal food as claimed in any one preceding claim, characterised in that the formulation contains from 30 to 95% by weight of a cereal component consisting of one or more of wheat flour, oat flour, maize flour, and rye flour and correspondingly from 70 to 5% by weight of a proteinaceous component consisting of one or more of animal prote-in meal and vegetable protein meal. 11. An animal food as claimed in claim 10, characterised in that the proteinaceous component comprises a major proportion of one or more of meat meal, fish meal, and meat-and-bone meal and a minor proportion of soya flour. 12. A method for the production of an animal food as claimed in any one preceding claim, characterised in that it includes the steps of: (a) making up an animal food formulation including the cereal component, the proteinaceous component, and enough water to give an extrudable consistency; (b) extruding the moist formulation through a plurality of adjacent orifices to produce a like plurality of extruded strands; (c) passing the plurality of strands progressively into pressure and severing means, whereby there are severed from the strands moist coherent units each consisting of a plural ity of identical strand lengths pressed together at the free ends; and (d)- drying or cooking the units so as to produce crisp coherent but breakable units of animal food. 13 A method as claimed in claim 11 characterised in tha-t the strands are extruded vertically downwards into a pressure and severing means constituted by opposed pairs of blades protruding fromparallel rollers of peripheral speed generally equal to that othe speed of movement of the extruded tube. 14. A method as claimed in claim 12 or 13, characterised in that the orifices are arranged in a hexagonal pattern, or-as spaced parallel rows, or as a circle of orifices. 15. A method as claimed in any of claims 12 to 14, characterised in that the orifice size and spacing is such that die swell occurs as the moist formulation emerges whereby strands are brought into initial contact with their neighbours prior to pressure and severing.

Inventors: FISCHER, GERHARD OTTO JOSEF, SMITH, JOHN ROYSTON
Applicants: QUAKER FRANCE S.A.
Application year: 1983
Main classification: A23K1
IPC codes: A23P1, A23K1, A23L1