CA1064758A - Imitation sausage pet food - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT

An imitation sausage pet food suitable for feed-ing to both dogs and cats is achieved by adjustment of stabilizing ingredients to provide an imitation sausage pet food which is shelf stable, palatable, nutritious, convenient, and semi-moist.

Description

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This invention relates to a food, and more partic-ularly to an imitation sausage pet food which is suitable for feeding to both dogs and cats.
In the highly competitive pet food market, three basic types of pet foods are used. The first type of pet food is a dry pet food. This pet food customarily contains less than 15% moisture. The dry pet food is highly stable and requires relatively unsophisticated packaging techni~ues.
The packaging techniques ~or dry pet foods are relatively simple in that sterilization procedures and moisture imper-viousness are not required. A second class of pet food is the semi-moist pet food usually containing from about 15% to 50% moisture by weight of the total weight of the pet food.
These semi-moist pet foods are less stable than the dry pet food due to the presence of tha moi~3ture. Substantially more sophisticated packaging ~echni~ues are required for the semi-moist pet food than for the dry pet ~ood. Further, with the semi-moist pet ood there is a problem regarding micro-biologLcal and bacteriological growth. This problem is customarily met by using antimycotics and stabilizing agents.
The thLrd class of pet food is the moist pet food which contains in excess of about 50% moisture. All references to moisture include all moisture in the food whether it is present as a moisture per se or as moisture in the other com-ponents. The moist pet food has the tendency to be palatable but highly unstable. For this reason, the moist pet foods are usually canned, followed by sterilizing the contents of ," '~.

64'758 the can and needs to be stored under refrigeration after opening. Thus, it may be seen that with the increase in moisture o~ a pet food the packaging becomes more sophisti-cated.
In the pet food art, it is deslred to maximize palatability, nutrition, and stability, without sacrific-ing one feature for the other. However, trade-offs or compromises are made to obtain an acceptable maximum. It is always ~ goal in this art to minimize the compromises 10 and ma~imize all desirable features of the food. The product must also be flexible and ~ortifiable so that ade-quate nut~ition can ~e maintained. In other words, it ls very desirable to provide a product that is both palatable and shelf stable without refrigeration or other special considerations.
Within the semi-moist or moist type o~ food ~or pets, a sausage product ls very accept~ble. However, the sau~age form is u~stable without re~rigeration;and, hence, is dlf~icult to store and use. These di~ficulties regard-

2~ ing a sausage o~ the type t~ reby, produce substantialproblems in that the food ~s deslrable as a pet food but essentially impractical to use.
Sau~age is a de~ined type of a meat product.
It customarily contains 97% meat with the balance being other additlves. Within the prior art, sausages are fo~med by shaping an emulsion which makes the resultant product very pleasing to the consumer. A further discussion o~ the attributes of a sausage material is found in U~ S.
Patent No. 3,713,837 to Leidy et a~

B
-1~64758 The sausage type product is a relatively expensive product.
The cost of this product renders it unsuitable for pet foods.
The basic cost is realized through the quality and quantity of meat that is used in the sausage type product. If this meat can someh~w be replaced in whole or in part without sacrificing desirable characteristics, a pet food having an imitation sausage attribute is possible. It is furthermore desirable that the product remain nutritious. ~ess expensive meat by-products, vegetable protein, and meat meal are a source of protein. However, it has proven difficult to in-corporate these less expensive materials into the sausage while maintaining the desired characteristics of the result-ant product.
While maintaining the appearance and palatability of the product, it is also desirable to render the product formulation variable so that it is suitable for different animals -- such QS, dogs and cats. ~atS according ~o the National Research Council, require food containing a higher protein level than do dogs. This is true because cats do not eat as heavily as dogs. Therefore, the quantity of food which cats eat must be proportionately more nutritious than the quantity of food which dogs eat.
A further complication in pet food formulation is physiological differences in pets. The two most common pets appear to be dogs and cats. The difference in the physiologi-cal makeup of dogs and cats further complicates the matter of providing the highly desirable sausage food for the dogs and 1~6~75~

cats. Solutes generally defined to ~nclude both sugar and polyhydric alcohol components in a pet food are essential ~or stability. The stability is especially critical in the high moisture area of about 30% to about 50% moisture by weight of the food. The high solute concentration ~sugar-polyhydr~c alcohol combination) used in current semi-moist ~o~mulations is acceptable ~or dogs, but can cause physio-logical problems such as vomiting in cats. The problem thus becomes maintaining high palatability and stability while 10 satis~ying di~erent physiological acceptance levels for both dogs and cat~.
Accordingly, the present invention pro~ides an imitation, semi-moist, sausage pet ~oOa product stabilized by a combination of at least one polyhydric alcohol, at least one edible acid, and at least one antimycotic comprising:
a.) 0~ to about 50% meat or meat by-products;
b.) about 15% to about 50% by weight moisture;
c.) about 5~ to about 30~ by ~eight meat meals;
~ d.) about 5% to about 30% by weight vegetable protein;
e.) about 1% to about 20% by weight sugar;
.) about 3~ to about 10% by weight flavorantæ, colorings, vitamins, minerals and salts;
~) 0~ to about 15~ by weight cereal;
h.) 0% to about 10% b~ weight animal fat;
i.) about 1% to about 10% o~ the polyhydrlc alcohol;
j.) about 1% to about 5% o~ the edible acid suf~i-cient to ad~ust the sauæage to pH 5 or lower; and k.) about 0.5% o~ the antimycotic - all percentages being based on the weight o~ the ~inal product and ~0 6 ~7 S 8 totalling 100%.
The present invention also provides a process ~or preparing a semi.-moist, imitation sausage pet ~ood comprising:
a.) ~orming an extrudable dough o~ 0% to about 50% meat or meat by-products, 0% to about 50% water, about 5% to about 30% meat meals, about 5~ ~o about 30% protein vegetable materials, about 1~ to about : 20~ sugar, about 3 % to about 10% ~lavorants, color-ings, vitaminsj minerals, and salts~ 0% to about 15%
cereals, 0% to about 10~ animal ~at, about 1% to about 10% polyhydric cvmponents, about 1~ to about 5% edible acld, and about 0.5% antimycotic;
b.) pasteurizing the dough, and c.) extrud~ng the dough to ~orm an imitation sausage.
This inventlon provides an improved) shel~ stable, imit~tlon, sausage ~ood adaptable ~or di~erent pets. The sausage food o~ this in~ention ls physiologically acceptable to both dogs and cats.
PrePerred embodiments o~ the invention will now be 20 described in greater detailO The sausage o~ this invention is a synergistic composition o~ lndividual stabillzing agents which prov1de for a lswer net total of ætabilizing ~ngredients than would otherwlse be expected in a semi-moist pet ~ood.
These ingredients lnclude an antimycotic, a sugar, and a poly-hydrir alcohol.
It is essential that the dif~erent formulations o~
: the imitation sausage product be ad~ustable to contain adequate , -- 5 -- .

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protein to satisy either a dog or a cat. A variety of pro~
tein sources are used in this productO Meat by-products are a possible source of protein, All percentages are based on the weight of the final product. Within the total food or final product, a range of 0% to 50% meat by-products is suitable for use. A preferred range of meat by-products is 15-30% because palatability is improved. Of course, a meat-less product is also a flexible formulation where the cost is to be further minimized.
The meat and meat by-products which are used in this invention include a wide variety of materials. The teLm "meat" is understood to apply to the flesh of cattle, swine, sheep, goats, horses, whale and other mammals, poultry, and fish. The term~"meat by-products" includes such substituents as are embraced by that term in the Definition of Feed Ingredi-ents pu~lished by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, Inc. Typical examples of meat by-products include lungs, spleens, or gullets. Mixtures of various meat by-products can also be used. While it is feasible to mix meat and meat by-products in this invention, it is desirable to mix in more of the meat by-products in order to keep the cost low. ~hese by-products contribute to the palatability and add to high acceptability by test animals. As noted above, it is possible to use no meat in the formulation to thereby form a meatless sausage.
Other protein sources available for this imitation sausage include at least one meat meal. Meat meal is material ~06~758 derived from animals or parts of animals that have been dried and powdered. Meat meal is customarily not considered a meat or meat by-product under the Meat Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Ayriculture. This meal is made from almost any part o~ the animal. The addition of such meal adds to the palatability of the product. About 5% to about 30% by weight of the final formulation is suitable for use in this product. More preferably, about 10-20% is suit-able for use in this product to minimize cost and maximize flavor. In this fashion, palatability is either increased in addition to the meat by-product or it is added in the absence thereof.
Another source of protein within this product is a proteinaceous vegetable material usually present in the imi-tation sausage formulation in the range of about 5% to about 30% by weight~ Pre~erably, about 10% to about 20% by weight o~ the proteinaceous vegetable material is present in the sausage. Typical sources of vegetable protein include alkali modified oil seed vegetable protein such as alkali-modified soy protein isolate, alkali-modified soy protein concentrate, or alkali-modified soy flour or meal. Also alkali-modified wheat gluten is suitable for use.
Other vegetable protein sources suitable for use in this invention include soy ~lour, soy protein concentrate, soy protein isolate, cottonseed flour, cottonseed protein concen-trate, cottonseed protein isolate, peanut flour, peanut pro-tein concentrate, peanut protein isolate. A wide range of 10647S~3 other proteins are also suitable ~or use in this invention.
In addition to the protein contribution of the vegetable protein materlal, there is a further contribution of water absorptiGn and bînding by the vegetable protein.
The moisture content of this product is about 15%
to about 50% by weight~ or more preferably 30~ to 50%. Above about 50% by weight the product is too sloppy and soupy to be shaped into the desired imitation sausage structure.
The moiqture is pro~ided in any suitable ~ashion--either by 10 components o~ ~he product or water in any combination. For example, the meat or meat by~products contain a substan-tial amount of mo1sture and provide a portion or all of the moisture suitable when used in t;he product. Water can also be used to provide the moisture content of the product in whole or in part. In fact, up to about 50% or prefer-ably up to about 20% o~ the sausage product can be water.
~his is especially true, i~ the other components of ~he sausage product do not provide an adequate moisture content.
The sugar in this composLtion is any saccharlde 20 which is soluble in water. Customarily the sugar soluble in water provides an osmotic pressure of a water solution and thereby provides a bacteriostatic e~ect on the composition.
Such bacteriostatic e~ect is not the main purpose of the su~ar in this particular case. This stability function is .~

~C~6475~3 carried out by other ingredients primarily with some help from sugar. The sugar is added basically for flavor. Further-more, sugar concentrations cannot be too high because cats tend to get sick with the high sugar concentration. The saccharide is required to be non-toxic and must not provide any undesirable taste effects when used in the required concentration. Preferably, the sugar must have a low molecu-lar weight because of the taste effect. These sugars of low molecular weight also have a pronounced effect in increasing the osmotic pressure. Among the sugars that may be used for this invention are the reducing and non-reducing water-soluble monosaccharides; the reducing and non-reducing polysaccha-rides and their degradation products such as pentose, aldo-; pentose, methyl-pentose and keto-pentoses such as xylose and arabinose; rhamnose; hexoses and reducing polysaccharides;
aldo-hexoses like glucose, galactose, and mannose; the keto-hexoses including fructose and sorbose; the disaccharides includin~ maltose, and lactose; the non-reducing disaccha-rides such as sucrose, and other polysaccharides such as dextrin and raffinose and hydrolyzed starches which contain as their constituents o~egosaccharides. Syrups such as corn syrup, can also provide the sugar and leave the food accept-able to cats. Sugar comprises from 0 to about 20% by weight of the final product and more preferably up to about 10%.
The pet food imitation sausage is stabilized by a combination of polyhydric material, and antim~cotic, and a high le~el of acid providing thereby a low pH. This combina-` - ~
~06~7S~

tion of ingredients permits a s~able product without des-troying palatability.
A suitable acid or mixture of acids is used to form the desired acid content of the product to provide stability. Organic acids such as fumaric, acetic, lactic, adipic, and succinic acld are suitable edible acids. In-organic acids such as phosphoric acid and hydrochloric acid are also suitable. Salts of the edible acids which are also edible can further be substituted for the acid itself. For example, salts such as mono-calcium phosphate, mono-sodium phosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, aluminum ammonium sulfate, aluminum calcium sulfate, aluminum potassium sul-fate, and aluminum sodium sulfate are suitable salts for both reducing the pH of the product and providing the desired stability. From about 1% to about 5% by weight of the final product is at least one acid with the desired pH being 5 or lower and pre~erably about 4 to 5.
The antimycotic acts with the acid to assert the greatest possible activity against yeast and mold growth.
The preferred antimycotic is sorbic acid or potassium sorbate.
Other edible antimicrobial acids such as the benzoates, the parabans, the propionates, and the acetates are suitable.
Up to about 0.5% antimycotic is present in the final product.
Further, a wide range of polyhydric alcohol mater-ials can be used to form the stabilizing function required.
Suitable materials include those having the general ~ormula HOCH2(CHOH)mCH2OH where m is a number from 0-6 but also ex-~6475~it pressly including propylene glycol and l,3-butanediol.
Tritols EIeptitols glycerol glycero-gulo-heptitol D-glycero-D-ido-hPptitol Tetritols perseitol erythritol volemitol D-threitol L-thraitol Octitol D,L-threitol D-erythro-D-galacto-octitol Pentitols ribitol xylitol D-arabitol L-arabitol Hexitols allitol dulcitol sorbitol (D-glucitol) L-glucitol D,h-glucitol D-mannitol L-mannitol D,L-mannitol D-talitol ~-talitol D,L-talitol D-iditol ; L-iditol The preferred polyhydric materials are propylene glycol, and 1,3-butanediol~ These glycols are customarily ;present in the compositLon ~rom about 1% to about 10% by weight.
Fat including animal fat can be added to the compo-sition in an amount of from 0 to about 10% by weight in order to provide palatability and the desired calories. Typical ats used in the composition include prime steam lard, choice white grease or tallow. Other examples of fats are found in 106~75 !3 U.S. Pat. 3,840,679 to Leipa above cited.
Cereals in an amount of from O to about 15% by weight of the product provide moisture absorption and binder qualities to the desired sausage product. The cereals can be in the form of starch or flour or grains. Typical materi-als Lnclude cereal grains and meals from grains such as corn, oats, wheat, milo, barley, rice, and the various milling by-products of these cereal grains, wheat feed flour, wheat middlings, wheat mixed feed, wheat shorts, wheat red dog, oat groats, hominy feed and any other such material. Also suitable as a source for this binder are amylaceous ingredi-ents such as the tuberous food-stuf~s exemplified by potatoes and tapioca. Amylaceous ingredients such as edible grain or tuberous starches and modified starches are also suitable for u~e as a binder.
This combination can be shaped in any suitable fashion and have the ingredients adjusted to meet t~e desired cat~or~ dog food nutrition. The material can be cased in a conventional sausage casing or can be extruded to the shape of a frankfurter or the like. It is possible to pressurize or cold pack this material in a standard fashion also. This imitation sausage composition can be ad]usted as to protein content and maintain the required palatability for both cats and dogs.
Other additives to this food composition include flavorants, colorings, vitamins, minerals and salts. These 1C~6~758 additives are usually present in an amount of about 3% to about 10% by weight of the final product. They are added to provide nutrition and flavor as well as provide a desir-able appearance for the product. These materials are those standardly acceptable by the Food and Drug Administration.
A typical ~xample of a ~lavorant includes onion, garlic, spices, etc. A typical example of coloring includes FD&C
Red 40, Red 2, Yellow 6, iron oxide, caramel color, etc.
Vitamins and minerals are well known additives. They are lQ customarily available and easily combinable with a variety of oods in any suitable fashion. Table I is provided to summarize the speciication and show the components and purposes o each component~ A typical mineral mix is shown in Table II.
In the following examples which are intended to illustrate without unduly limiting the claimed invention, all parts and per~entages are by weight o the ~inal produck unless otherwise specified.
:
Example 1 The components listed in Table III are provided.
These components are mixed and ormulated in a standard way known in the pet ood art to form an extrudable dough. The resulting combination o components is pasteurized by heating to a temperature in the range o 175F. to 200Fo is extruded to orm imitation sausage type links. In a standard pet eeding test known as two component preference test, the resultant product shows great acceptability by dogs. The ~(~6~75l~

imitation sausage maintains the flavor and aroma of sausage.
The test results of the feeding test is shown in Table IV.
This test compares a semi-moist pet food of the burger type with the sausage of this invention, A substantial number of dogs preferred the sausage.
Example 2 Example 1 is repeated using the ingredients listed in the appropriate column of Table III. The fresh meat by-products are eliminated. The resultant, imitation, sausage ood is acceptable for dogs.
Example 3 Example 1 is repeated but for the use of 5% sugar in place o corn syrup and a low amount of fresh water. The food is acceptable for dogs. The composition is tabulated in Table III.
ExamEle_4 Example 1 is repeated to form a stable ~ood accept-able for cats containing no sugar. The food has the desired protein content.
Example 5 Example 3 is repeated using corn syrup in place o sugar~ The resultant food is acceptable to cats.

--1~--~i;475~3 TABLE I
COMPOSITIO~ RA~GE
Weight % 0~
Component final prod. Pur~ose of_comPonent meat and meat palatability, protei~, fat, by-products 0% to 50% moisture Water 0% to 50% provide the desired moisture content to the extent not provided by other components Meat Meals 5% to 30% palatability, protein Protein Vegetable 5% to 30% provide protein and moist-Materials ure absorbtion.
Sugar 0% to 20% Flavor, adjust water ~ activity (Aw) ~ Flavorants, color- 3% to 10% Nutrition, ~lavor, appear-ings, vitamins & ance minerals, salts Cereal 0% to 15% Moisture absorbtion, binder Animal Fat 0% to 10% Palatability, calories Polyhydric compo- 1% to 10% antimycotic, stability nent Edible acid1% to 5% Microbiological stability A~timycotic 0% to 0.5% Microbiological stability :, ' .

1~64~S~3 TABhE II
Mineral Mix Ferrous Fumarate 29.780 : Zinc Oxide4.530 Cupric Oxide1.040 Manganous Oxide 0O840 Cobolt Carbonata 0.690 Potassium Iodide 0.229 Calcium Carbonate 62.891 100.,000 `:~

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o o o o~ o o o . .'-1 ~c CU ~ ~ c~ ~ ~ ~ C~l ol Oo o ~ o o ~ o O O ~ ~O O O O ~Y o oo ~ o~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ o ~oo H
H
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a) ~ ~
a) ^ h H
U~
o ~
Q~ ~1 O ~ h C.) h O
o ~ ~ ,n ~ h ~ H ~ ~ h ~ hu~ a) O rl H h h dp ~ ~ h ~4 ~ ~ O ~ O .~j h h ,~:1 0 ~L~64758 TABLE IV

No. Dogs Avg. % Signifi-Pref.. Consumed t-Test cance "Burger" Type Product 14 29.64 - -~ Pet Food "Sausage" 46 70.30 4~67 99% highly : signifi-cant .

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Claims (13)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An imitation, semi-moist sausage pet food product stabilized by a combination of at least one polyhydric alcohol, at least one edible acid, and at least one antimycotic compris-ing:
a.) 0% to about 50% meat or meat by-products;
b.) about 15% to about 50% by weight moisture;
c.) about 5% to about 30% by weight meat meals;
d.) about 5% to about 30% by weight vegetable protein;
e.) about 1% to about 20% by weight sugar, f.) about 3% to about 10% by weight flavorants, color-ings, vitamins, minerals and salts;
g.) 0% to about 15% by weight cereal, h.) 0% to about 10% by weight animal fat;
i.) about 1% to about 10% of the polyhydric alcohol;
j.) about 1% to about 5% of the edible acid sufficient to adjust the sausage to pH 5 or lower; and k.) about 0.5% of the antimycotic - all percentages being based on the weight of the final product and totalling 100%.

2. The product of Claim 1, wherein the polyhydric com-ponent is selected from the group consisting of 1,3-butanediol and propylene glycol, and mixtures thereof.

3. The product of Claim 2, wherein the acid is phosphoric acid.

4. The product of Claim 3, wherein the antimycotic is potassium sorbate.

5. The product of Claim 1, wherein:
1.) meat by-products comprise 15% to 30%;

2.) the meat meal comprises about 10% to about 20%
3.) the vegetable protein comprises about 10% to about 20%;
4.) the sugar is a low molecular weight sugar added up to about 10%;
5.) the moisture content of the product is 30% to 50%; and 6.) the pH of the product is 4 to 5.

6. The product of Claim 5, wherein the edible acid or edible acid salt is at least one selected from the group con-sisting of fumaric acid, acetic acid, lactic acid, adipic acid, succinic acid, phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, mono-calcium phosphate, mono-sodium phosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, aluminum ammonium sulfate, aluminum calcium sulfate, aluminum potassium sulfate, and aluminum sodium sulfate.

7 The imitation sausage of Claim 5, wherein the meat and meat by-products are lungs, spleens, and gullets.

8. The product of Claim 7 wherein the meat meal is meat and bone meal.

9. The product of Claim 7 wherein the vegetable protein is soy protein concentrate and soy flour.

10. The product of claim 9, wherein the sugar is corn syrup.

11. A process for preparing a semi-moist, imitation sausage pet food comprising:
a.) forming an extrudable dough of 0% to about 50% meat or meat by-products, 0% to about 50% water, about 5% to about 30% meat meals, about 5% to about 30% protein veg-table materials, about 1% to about 20% sugar, about 3% to about 10% flavorants, colorings, vitamins, minerals and salts, 0% to about 15% cereals, 0% to about 10% animal fat, about 1% to about 10% polyhydric components, about 1% to about 5% edible acid, and about 0.5% antimycotic;
b.) pasturizing the dough, and c.) extruding the dough to form an imitation sausage.

12. The process of Claim 11, wherein the pasteurizing is accomplished by heating the dough to a temperature of about 150°F. to about 215°F.

13. The process of Claim 12, wherein the temperature range is 175°F. to 205°F.