CA1071009A - Moist pet food and process for preparing same - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A food product for use with dry pet foods or to use alone is composed of a nutritionally fortified liquid gravy and blood based, retort stable, meat-like chunks.

Description

~7~Q~)9 The invention rela~es to a food, and more particular~
ly to a moist pet food compris~ng a mixture of a high moistureg vitamin- and mineral-fortified nutritlonal gravy and retort stable blood based chunks suitable for use as a top dressing for a dry pet food or to use alone as a nutritional pet foodO
Within the class of foods known as pet foods9 there are three basic subdivlsionsg dry pet food, semi-molst pet food, and moist pet food. The moisture is determined by con-sldering both the water present in the final product and the water combined with the various components that make up the final product. In general3 the dry pet food - due to its low moisture content which is usually les~ than about 15 percent --tends to exhibit the greatest microbiological stability and requires no 6pecial handling or packaging after processingO
At the opposite end of the spectrum 1B the moist pet food having a moisture content in excess of about 50 percentO
~ue to the high moisture content of the moist pet food, mi-crobiological stability is a ma~or problemO This problem in a moist pet food is overcome only by heat sterilizing the moist pet food and packaging the moist pet food in a hermetically sealed container. Even with the heat sterilization and her-metically sealed package, refrigeration is required after the package of moist pet food is opened to preserve the leftover pet food for even a short time.
Semi-moist pet food has a moisture con~tent generally ranging from about 15 percent to about 50 percent. Since semi-molst peb ~oods are higher in moisture content than dry and lower in moisture than canned, special techniques are re-quired to render it microbiologically stableO This moisture 3~ content in combination with special techniques may produce a microbiologically stable food which does not require refriger-~Q7~09 ation. At the same time9 the higher moisture content of thesemi-~moist pet food provides an increased palatability when compared to the dry pet foodO The semi-moist pet food is gen erally rendered microbiologically stable by using hlgh levels of sugar and solutesO
A typical formula of a dry pet food w~ll s~ow from 24 to 50 percent starch and/or starch-like materials~ between 10 to 30 percent vegetable protein; 5 to 25 percent animal protein; 5 to 15 percent fat material; and 1 to 7 percent sup-plemental ingredient~ like vitamins, minerals, flavoring,coloring, antloxidants and other ingredients plus up to 15 percent moisture.
A dry pet ~ood with its 10 percent moisture content is the most stable pet food and requires the least sophisticat~
ed processing and packaging techniques for stabilization. Dry pet foods typically have a hard, brittle, shell structureO
While they can be highly nutritious, they also may not be nu-tritious and thus need a dressing (or an additive) to add ec-sential vitamins and minerals. The dry pet food~ also lack palatability. Such products are fed on an "as is" sel~-feed-ing basis in some kennels or are moistened with additives or dressings such as water, soups, gravies, or even moi~t all meat canned foods to increase palatability and consumptionO
Except for water, these additives ar~ somewhat effectlve and may or may not be nutritional. A high moisture gravy, which i8 fortified with vitamins and minerals can further enhance nutrition and palatability of a dry dog food if used as a top dressing. Additional improvements in texture, appearance9 palatability and nourishment can result in the forti~ied gravy component if it is blended with retort stable meat-like pieces made predominantly from blood.

-2--~7100~

Blood contributes a high percentage of protein9 and supp:Lements the color9 odor~ flavor and nutrients of a canned pet foodO It is a possible addltive to gravy to form a moist pet ~ood for use with other pet foods. However, when high leve:Ls (above 5~) of citrated or liquid blood are usedg the moist pet food becomes a food with a dark, unappetiz~ng color with a corresponding effect on odor and flavorO Furthermore9 blood does not form stable meat-like chunks when simply added to a gravy and then retorted.
Thus, these detrimental features permit no high per~ :
centage usage of blood in commercial moist pet foodsO Yet~
blood is a readily available materialO Due to this availabil-ity, it is an economical source of protein in ample supply.
It ls also palatable and has very little ~atO If a means can be found for using greater quantities of blood in commercial molst pet foods, the advantages of blood can be put to their best use.
Even when sodium citrate or citric acid is added to fresh blood to prevent its coagulation, or blood i6 nitrated to hold its color, neither of these additions affects the pro-tein content of bloodO Blood averages about 170 6~ protein and 81~ water. Thls nutrient level compares very favorably with other meat or meat by-products used in pet food formulations.
For example, the following ingredients show the following per~
centage of proteinoO
Pork lungs 1209~ Protein Average;
3eef hearts 1306~ Protein Average;
Beef spleens 17.1~ Protein Average;
Beef gullets 1205% Protein Average on an as i8 ba9 iS o One variety o~ a mol~t pet ~ood i8 the canned chunk iO7~009 and gravy typeO This product may be used as a total diet for pets or used as a supplement for a pet's dally rationO Gen erally, the chunks in such a product are pieces of meat or formed. pieces of a mixture of meat and cerealO Such canned products supply aroma, palatability and some added nutritional propertiesO The gravy portion usually has a fluid characteris tic, and may be quite low in a number of essential nutrients for a pet's healthO If a gravy with sufficient nutrients can be mlxed with retort stable chunks made predominantly of blOodg a nutritional improvement in the pét's diet can result. How-ever for reasons described above, it i~ dlfficult to provide a meat-like chunk using only blood for use wlth a gravy to form a top dressing or to form a nutritious pet food aloneO
The present invention provides a moist pet food com-prising retort-stable blood-based, meat-like chunks ~nd a fluid gravy system wherein:
I. the blood-based, meat-like chunks conslst essen-tially of from a trace to about 3 percent gum based on the weight of the chunk, the balance of the chunk being blood;
II. the gravy system compriseso a) from a trace to 5.0 percent of a modified or un-modified starch or flour, or mixtures thereof;
b) from 1 to 50 percent of a flavorlng agent;
c) sufficient vitamins and minerals to provide a nu-tritional pet food;
d) from a trace to 7 percent of an edible oil or animal fat source;
e) from a trace to 90 percent of water -- all per-centages of II. being based on the weight of the gravy mix; and 1~)'71009 III the blood-based3 meat-like chunks comprlsing 10 percent to 50 percent by weight of the pet food and the gravy system comprising from 50 to 90 percent and wherein the molst pet food is readily pourable~
The present invention also provides a process for making a moist pet food compr~sing -I. formulating a gravy system comprising~
a) from a trace to 500 percent of a modified or un modified starch or flour, or ~ixtures thereof, b) from lo O to 50 percent of a flavoring agent;
c) sufficient vitamins and minerals to provide a nu-tritional pet food;
d) from a trace to 7 percent of an edible oil or animal fat source;
e) from a trace to 90 percent of water -- all per-centages of Io being based on the weight of the gravy system;
II. formulating a blood containing meat-like chunk by:
a) adding to blood from a trace to 3 percent of at least one gum to form a mi~ture;
b) solidifying the blood and gum mixture by heating the ~ixture until the mlxture is coagulated;
c) cooling the solidified blood;
d) dlviding the solidified blood into chunks; and e) recovering the blood chunks;
III. admixing the gravy system with about 10 percent to 50 percent by weight chunks based on the weight of the food to form a mixture; and IV. retorting the mixture to form the food~
The present invention also relates to a process for 1071~Q9 mak~ng a top dressing for pet foods composed of chunks made predc,minantly from blood and a flavorful, nutritional vitamin~
and mineral-fortified gravy. These blood based chunks are addecl to the gravy to improve texture, nutrition and palatabil-ityO
The gravy comprises generally a liquid carrier, fats or oils, a thickening agent, and ~lavoring agentsO The gravy i8 generally a fluid materialO The consistency (thickness or thinness) of the gravy is controlled through the amount of thickening agent (usually modified food starch)0 The flavor of the gravy is determined by the amount of natural or artifi~ial food materials ~eDg~ meat, milk, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese by-products, etcO) used in a formulationO These flavorings are used in amounts sufficient to impart the deaired flavor. Flavoring materials may be such things as soup stocks like beef broth, chicken broth, artifi-cial beef flavor, parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese with and without pizza flavor, dry yeast products such as torula yeast or brewers yeast, garlic, onion, fried onion flavor, or mix-tures thereof. Further discussion of gravy is found inTechnical Bulletin No. 12~ entitled "Bauces and Gravies"
published by the Hubinger Co., Keokuk, IowaO By "soup stock, beef broth or chicken broth" is meant any such canned broth or stock commercially available food known in the food trade.
These flavoring materials can be used separately or in com-bination to range from 1 percent to 50 percent of the gravy formula by weight. It is preferable to use about 48 percent beef and/or chicken broth to improve the aroma, color and flavor of the specific beef or chicken flavorO A large number of artificial flavors or natural ingredients may be used in the gravy portion of the formula and are represented by such 1(~71~)9 ~tems as followsO beef, chickeng ham, smoke, tomato9 piza7 fishgkidney, liver9 egg3 roast beef, roast porkg onion9 onion dry powder, onion BOUp, garlic, salt3 sugar or dr~ yeast pro~ucts~
Other flavoring agents can be any suitable ingredi ents or mlxtures thereof which imparts the desired flavor to a gravy to help round out and balance the aroma and taste of such material.
A food thickening agent includes a modifled or un-modified food starch or flourO By the term "modified food starch" is meant the ~se of thln-boiling ~acid or oxidized treated) or thick-boiling regular grain~ root or tuberous starch, high amylose corn starch or waxy maize or combinations thereof, either pregelatinized beforeg after, or distinct from the treatment with cross-linking agents such as sodium tri~
metaphosphate or phosphorous oxychloride alone or in con~unc-tlon with alkylating agents such as propylene oxide or acetyl ating agents such as acetic anhydrides. Within the gravy mix9 at least one modified or unmodlfied food starch or ~ood flour is used aæ the thickening agent. Typical characteristics of the modified food starch suitable for use in this invention include heat and ~hear stability, non-gummy characteristics, and non-retrogradability. Up to 5 percent of the modified food starch may be used. However, it is preferable to use about 3.5 percent to maintain the fluid nature of the gravy.
One example of an unmodified food starch is the use of wheat flour in the gravy.
Up to about 7 percent of at least one edlble oil or animal fat or mixtures thereof is also suitable for use in the gravy part of this invention. Up to about 5 percent of at least one edible oil or animal fat is more sultable for use in this invention~ The oil or fat contributes to the overall --7~

~071~(~9 richness and to the nutritlonal balance9 consistency and flavor of the gravy. Typical oils for use in this invent~on include corn oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, and other blended and stabilized vegetable oils in addition to animal fats such a~ tallow, lard, suet, and choice white grease or mixtures of these oils or fats.
The liquid carrier used for the gravy is present in an amount sufficient to provide fluid characteristic to the gravy. Typically, water is used as the liquid carr~erO The water may be added water or water derived from the components used in the gravy. The total water content o~ the ~ravy is up to about 90 percent by weight of the gravy. By total water content of the gravy is meant the added water plùs any water used in the components of the gravy~ The liquid gravy supple-ment is prepared so that it is readily pourable and maintains a good color and aroma connotation.
The liquid gravy may be further enriched by the ad dition of a vitamin-mineral mixture formulated to meet part (25 percent) to all (100 percent) of a pet's daily require~
ments as specified by the National Research Council for both dogs and cats. For exampleJ a vitamin and mineral mixture prepared by Table I of the ~ation~l Research Council's No. 8 "Nutrient Requirements of Dogs" revised 1974 can be also added to the gravy. For 15-1/2 ounce can (300 x 407), it takes 1~375 grams of this prepared mixture to supply 25 percent NRC
vitamin and mineral requirements; 2~75 grams to supply 50 per-cent and 505 grams to provide 100 percent of a dogls vitamins -- and minerals. The minerals include calcium, phosphorous, po-tassium, sodium chloride, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, iodine and selenium. The vitamins include Vitamin ~9 Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Ribo~lavin, Pantothenlc acid, .. .. . , . . -1071C~)9 Niacin, Pyridoxine, Folic Acid, Biocin, (Vitamin Bl2~g and CholiLne. Cats a~d other pet~ have nutrition determined in the same fashion.
The gravy may have additional ingredients ~uch as milk solids, sugar, salt and emulsifiers, which aids ~n ac-centuating the flavor and appeal of a dry pet food or other pet food. An optional ingredient is edible ~ood grade color~
ings. If coloring is used, up to about l percent by weight of any coloring may be added to the gravy. Typical colors (a~ded for cosmetics) used to connote beef/or liver are caramel color.
The exact level of addition varies with the des~red color note~
Blood based, meat-like chunks used in this invention are gum-stabilized blood chunks described in co-pending Patent Application Serial ~o. 263,692 incorporated herel~ by reference, filed on October19,1976 by the same inventor.
Basically, Serial No. 263,692 relat0s to forming of blood based chunks by dissolving a gum in liquid citrated or ni-trated, fresh or frozen animal blood, heat setting the mixture, and then dicing the cooled coagulated mixture into the desired shape. Other additives may be incorporated into the blood based chunk too. In this manner, a unique, new type of meat~
like chunk for incorporation in the gravy is disclosedO The gravy is further enhanced by incorporating a specific level (10-50 percent) of solid blood based chunk~ into a flavored gravy which has been fortified with from 25-l00 percent of the pet~s vltamin and mineral requirements as indicated by the National Research Council's recommendations~ The chunks and gravy are prepared in two separate operations. While blood based chunks may be added at levels from 10-50 percent of the top dressing, the preferred addition of blood based chunks to the gravy ~ystem is from 20-40 percent of the total. Corre~
_9_ 1C~7~(~09 spondingly, the gravy system comprises 50 90 percent or more preferably 60-80 percent.
The retort-stable blood-based chunk is formed by mlxing gum with the chunk and heatlng the mixture su~flc~ently to coagulate the blood and thereby solidi~y the mixtureO For exampleJ the mixture is heated in a water bath at temperatures from 150-200F. ~or 20 to 60 minutes or unt~l the blood is adequately coagulated. The preferred time for heating ~s about 40 minutes at a temperature of about 180F~, but other times and temperatures may be used to coagulate the blood mix~
ture. The cooled, coaeulated blood is then divided into chunks.
By blood is meant the blood of slaughtered animalsO
Typical slaughtered animals include cattle, swine, sheep, goats, horse~, whale and other mammals as well as poultry and fish~ The preferred blood for use in this invention is beef blood, be~au~e of lts availability (approximately 35 pounds of blood can be obtained from a 1000 pound steer)0 In this ap-plication, liquid blood usage varies depending on whether other food flavoring ingredients like cheese~ meat and meat by-products, fish or ~ust gum sy&tems are used to produce a firm particle. The various types o~ blood are used singly or in any reasonable combination. In all cases, however9 blood is the predomin~nt ingredlent used (or more than 50 percent is blood) to form this meat-like chunk.
Added to the above-referenced blood to form the de-sired solidified product i8 at least one gumO A~ the upper level of gum increases, the corresponding upper level of blood decreases. Such gum is generally present in an amount up to about 3 percent by weight o~ the blood. More preferablyg the gum is pr~ent in an amount of 0.1 to 2 percent and even more .
.

~07~009 preferably 0.2 to o.8 percent by weight of the bloodO
As above stated, the blood and gum are the only necessary elements for forming a solid blood chunk stable under moist pet food canning conditions. It is, however, pos~
sible to modify the meat-like blood chunk by addi~g other in-gredients. When these other ingredients are added, the amount of blood in the chunk is correspondingly reducedg but in all cases the blood is more than 50 percent of the chunk baæed piece. These other ingredlents are in the blood chunk when formed if added prior to solidifying the blood~ I~proved tex-ture or improved nutrition of the solidified blood results when small amounts of at least one required gum are added to the blood together with these optional materials. When blood i5 solidified lnto a meat-like chunk with a firm stable tex-ture by adding the gum with or without the optional ingredi-ents, it can be a~ded to ~a~y types of pet foods, eOgO as chunks in a canned pet food.
Typi~cal guma suitable for use in this invention in-clude the gums listed in U.S. Patent 2,999,018 to Huffmang et al. More specifically, the gums can be one selected from the group consistIng of xanthan gum, locust bean gum, àgar agar, guar gum, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, carrageenan, alginate gums or any mixtures thereof.
The addition of the gums to the blood permits the addition of other ingredients to the blood in order to enhance and supplement the appearance, texture, ~lavor, odorg and nu-tritive properties of the resulting solidified blood particleO
Other optional suitable ingredlents which can be incorporated with the blood of this invention include at least one protein source, at least one a~glaceous lngredient, at least one fat or oil, at least one vitamin or mineral supplement, varlous :1~71~)9 other additives selected from the group consisting of color-ings, flavors, emulsifiers, antioxidants9 and w~ter absorbers, and mixtures thereof.
The additional and optional protein source which may be used up to 25 percent by weight can be animal or vegetable protein sources or mixtures thereof. Meats as a source of animal protein include the flesh of cattle, swine, sheepg goats, horses, whale and other mammals, poultry and fisho Another protein source is a meat by-product. By meat by-products is meant those things shown in the 1975 Associationof American Feed Control Officialsg Inc. under ~oO 9 Animal Products, 9.3 page 70 which says meat by-products are the non-rendered clean wholesome parts other than meat derived from slau~htered animals. Meat by-products include but are not li~ited to lung~, spleens, kidneys, brains, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted fatty tissue using either a low tem-peratur0 or a high temperature process, and stomachs and in-testines freed of their contents. I~ it bears a name descrip-tive of its kind, it must correspond thereto, (Proposal 1973, Adopted 1974 -- NRC5-00-395).
Throughout the specification "up to" is construed as meaning that at least a trace amount of the named ingredient is pr~sent at the lower level.
After the meat-like blood chunks have been cooled to about room temperature, they are diced or cubed to an appro-priate size and are placed into a can. For example, 4.65 ounces (30~) of blood-based chunks are added to a 300 x 407 can together with 10.85 ounces of a gravy system to form 1505 ounce~ of a product after retorting. The blood-based chunks may be ~dded to the can while they are elther cooled or hot.
When the blood chunks are diced while they are hot9 a con-.

1()710Q~

siderable quantity o~ broken and crumbled bits and Pieces showup in the final productO A cleaner finished chunk and gra~y can result by cubing the cooled meat like chunksO In either case~ a hot gravy solution (150-200Fo) i8 poured over the chunks to produce a finished chunks and gravy blend. This procedure permits the blood~based chunks to warm up and ~llows untrapped gases to be expelled prior to the closing operat1onO
These filled cans are vacuum closed and processed using commer cially acceptable sterilization techniquesO
10In the following examples which are intended to il-lustrate without unduly limiting the invention, all p#rts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise specified~
EXAMPT.~. I
One process suggested to transform liquid citrated beef blood to a firm solid chunk is as fol~lowsO
At least one gum i9 added to liquid blood using ade-quate techniques to guarantee dispersion and prevent clumping by blending with other ingredients or with adequate agitation as shown below, such as a standard mixer.
20a. 99.2% Liquid citrated or nitrated or fresh beef blood ~7% Xanthan gum (dry) .1% Calcium citrate (dry) b. ~8.75-99.25% Liquid citrated or nltrated or fresh beef blood ~75-lo 25% Sodium carboxymethylcellulose (dry) c. 99.3~ Liquid citrated or nitrated or fresh beef blood 30~7% Carrageenan gum (dry) d. 99.4% Liquid citrated or nitrated or ~re8h beef blood ~3~ Locust bean gum (dry) .3% ~gar agar (dry) 10'~1009 In each case a suitable solid beef blood-based chunk is obtained upon properly cooking of each of the abo~e mix-ture~3. The large chunk can then be diced to form reddish-brown meat-like chunksO
~MPLE II
Example II illustrates the components of a beef gravy/or chicken gravy, ~ormed in a standard fashion.
A. Ingredient Compositio_ % B. Ingredient Com~osition _~
Modified Food Starch 3,50 Modified Food Starch 3071 10 Chicken/Beef Broth 480qo Vegetable Oil .33 Vegetable Oil 050 Caramel Color olO
Caramel Color .7~ Beef Broth 47093 Vitamin-Mineral Mixture 2075 Water Added 47.62 Condensed Onion Soup lo 50 Vitamin-Mineral Mix at Water Added 43,00 25% N~C 0031 - : .
lOOo 00 lOOo 00 These percentRges are based on the total of the above ingredl-ents. Mixed with the diced blood based chunks of Example I, and retorted each o~ these gravies forms an acceptable top dressing. The blood-based chunks comprise 50 percent by weight of the top dressing.
EXAMPLE III
Example III shows other types of flavoring ingredi-ents like commercial beef gravy mixes and artificial beef flavoring used at lower levels of approximately 5 percent and when mixed with 40 percent by weight of the blood-based chunks o~ Example I iorms an acceptable top dressing.
Ingredient comPosition Beef Gravy Mix 4.35 30 Wheat Feed Flo~r (thickener) 1.50 Modified Food Starch 3.00 Vegetable Oil or Animal Fat .75 Tomato Puree 20 00 Caramel Color 035 Water added 86.80 Vltamin-Mineral Mix to ~upply 100% NRC requirement 100 00 based on total of above ingredients.

' .. ', , . , . . ... , ~ .' .' . ':
...... : .. :.. ,.. - . . . ~ . .. .. . . .

Since gravy is.a liquidg it lends itself to the in corporation of a variety of colors (to simulate such gravies as chlcken, ham, cheese, pizza, white sauces) and permits the incorporation of numerous aromas and flavors as illustrated in Example IV A and IV B.
Yellow Cream Sauce - White Sauce -Ao In~re.d~ent ComPosition ~ _ Bo In~edient Compo_ition Cheddar Cheese 4068 Modified Food Starch 3053 Cheddar Cheese ~ith Pizza 4068Prime Steam Lard 4000 Parmesan Imitation Flavor oO065Skim Milk Powder 2080 Torula Yeast .o6so Onion Powder o67 Modified Food Starch1. 290 Water 88010 Fried Onion flavor .1~0 Suet O9O
Sugar o161 Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate . oo6s Beef flavor O 6450 Water added 87. o46 Vitamin-Mineral Mix ~or loo~ NRc 1.25 100~ 00 lOOo 00 based on total of above ingredientsO
The gravy~combined with the blood-based chunks of Example I is suitable as a top dressing on the dry pet food, such as those di~closed by Bone et al. in U.S. Patent

3~883J672J or Mohrman et al. in U.S. Patent 3,679,429.
EXAMPLE V
Additional examples of gravy using varying levels of the ingredients previously specified and including one ex~
ample of a gravy without any added beef stock for flavor is shown in this Example V-A.

1û71()~9 Ao Ingredient Composition ~ Bo In~redient Composition Beef Gravy Mix 5.00 Modified Food Starch 3075 Wheat; Feed Flour 3000 Tomato Paste 305 Tomal;o Paste 3~50 Animal Fat 301 Modified Food Starch lo 50 Wheat Feed Flour 205 Vegetable Oil or Animal Fat 1~25 Salt loO
Cararnel Color o65 Sugar lo 5 Onion Powder olO Onion Concentrate . 05 Water added 84035 Beef Broth 44,35 Vitamin or Mi~eral Water Added 40025 Mix Added to supply 50%
RoC~ requirements .65 ~ .
100~ OO lOOo OO
based on total of above ingredientsO

.' ' ` ~ -.,

Claims (10)

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

1. A moist pet food comprising retort-stable blood-based, meat-like chunks and a fluid gravy system wherein:
I. the blood-based, meat-like chunks consist essential-ly of from a trace to about 3 percent gum based on the weight of the chunk, the balance of the chunk being blood;
II. the gravy system comprises:
a) from a trace to 5.0 percent of a modified or un-modified starch or flour, or mixtures thereof;
b) from 1 to 50 percent of a flavoring agent;
c) sufficient vitamins and minerals to provide a nu-tritional pet food;
d) from a trace to 7 percent of an edible oil or animal fat source;
e) from a trace to 90 percent of water -- all per-centages of II. being based on the weight of the gravy mix; and III. the blood-based, meat-like chunks comprising 10 percent to 50 percent by weight of the pet food and the gravy system comprising from 50 to 90 percent and wherein the moist pet food is readily pourable.

2. The moist pet food of claim 1 mixed with a dry pet food to thereby improve nutrition and palatability.

3. The moist pet food of claim 1 used alone as a sole diet to the pets.

4. The moist pet food of claim 1 wherein the flour in the gravy system comprises from a trace to 5 percent wheat flour by weight of the gravy system.

5. The moist pet food of claim 1 wherein the mod-ified food starch comprises 3.5 percent by weight of the gravy system.

6. The moist pet food of claim 5 wherein the oil or fat is present up to about 5 percent by weight of the gravy system.

7. The moist pet food of claim 6 wherein the blood-based chunks comprises 20 to 40 percent by weight of the moist pet food.

8. The moist pet food of claim 1 wherein the blood-based chunks further comprise up to 25 percent of an additional protein source by weight of the chunk.

9. The moist pet food of claim 1 wherein the flavor-ing agent for the gravy comprises 1 percent to 50 percent beef broth, chicken broth, soup stock or mixtures thereof by weight of the gravy system.

10. A process for making the product of claim 1 comprising I. formulating a gravy system comprising:
a) from a trace to 5.0 percent of a modified or un-modified starch or flour, or mixtures thereof b) from 1.0 to 50 percent of a flavoring agent;
c) sufficient vitamins and minerals to provide a nutritional pet food;
d) from a trace to 7 percent of an edible oil or animal fat source;
e) from a trace to 90 percent of water -- all per-centages of I. being based on the weight of the gravy system;
II. formulating a blood containing meat-like chunk by:
a) adding to blood from a trace to 3 percent of at least one gum to form a mixture;

b) solidifying the blood and gum mixture by heating the mixture until the mixture is coagulated;
c) cooling the solidified blood;
d) dividing the solidified blood into chunks; and e) recovering the blood chunks;
III. admixing the gravy system with about 10 percent to 50 percent by weight chunks based on the weight of the food to form a mixture; and IV. retorting the mixture to form the food.