Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23K—FODDER
  • A23K20/00—Accessory food factors for animal feeding-stuffs
  • A23K20/10—Organic substances
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23K—FODDER
  • A23K20/00—Accessory food factors for animal feeding-stuffs
  • A23K20/10—Organic substances
  • A23K20/158—Fatty acids; Fats; Products containing oils or fats
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23K—FODDER
  • A23K40/00—Shaping or working-up of animal feeding-stuffs
  • A23K40/30—Shaping or working-up of animal feeding-stuffs by encapsulating; by coating

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the coating of animal feedstuffs, in particular feedstuffs in the form of pellets, and to a fat or oil composition suitable for such coating.
• Feedstuffs for livestock such as pigs, cattle, poultry and fish are conventionally based on cereal-type raw materials such as wheat, soya, maize and gluten.
• cereal-type raw materials such as wheat, soya, maize and gluten.
• fat or oil it is necessary to add fat or oil to the raw material, and this is typically carried out by incorporating the fat or oil into the raw material at the batch mixing stage before the feedstuff is processed into its final form, most commonly as pellets.
• the amount of fat or oil which can be added to the raw material prior to pelleting is limited to a maximum of about 3% by weight, it being found that greater amounts tend to have a detrimental effect on the quality of the final pellets.
• An absolute maximum of about 6% by weight may theoretically be added this way, but in practice it is limited to about 3%.
• the addition of any higher amounts to the pellet surface results in the fat/oil leaching away. This, in turn, causes product handling and physical quality problems and has a detrimental effect on the physical stability of the pellets, particularly over long periods.
• a method of treating a livestock feedstuff comprises coating the feedstuff with a composition comprising a fat or oil and a lignosulphonate.
• the treatment enhances the quality of the feedstuff by allowing its physical stability to be maintained. It also has the advantage of increasing the amount of fat or oil which may be incorporated into the feedstuff.
• the feedstuff which is coated is in the form of pellets.
• Pelleted feedstuffs typically range in diameter from 3mm to 12mm.
• the coating composition is prepared by blending the fat or oil with a lignosulphonate.
• the fat or oil may be any which is conventionally employed in feedstuffs, used either 'straight 1 or blended, for example palm FAD (fatty acid distillate), soya oil, tallow, refined vegetable oil, fish acid oil, animal lard or crude fish oil.
• the fat or oil is suitably heated during the blending process, typically to a temperature of from 40*C to 100'C, for example from 45*C to 95*C, and preferably from 50*C to 92*C. A temperature of from 60*C to 90*C is particularly preferred.
• the lignosulphonate may be in liquid or powder form.
• the coating composition with the fat or oil takes the form of an emulsion.
• the coating composition comprises lignin particles suspended in the fat or oil.
• the liquid fat or oil and lignosulphonate may be pre-blended, in which case constant agitation of the two components is required.
• the two components may be proportioned, mixed and then applied on-line.
• Lignosulphonates are the principal components in the spent pulping liquor from wood pulping processes. They are also known as sulphite lignins. Various compounds of lignosulphonate may be formed, one example being calcium lignosulphonate.
• calcium lignosulphonate is typically prepared by the Howard process, which involves adding calcium hydroxide to the spent pulping liquid in three stages. The first precipitate which forms is calcium sulphide, which is recycled to the pulping liquor. The second step separates an insoluble calcium lignosulphonate. The third stage precipitate, which consists of a small additional amount of lignosulphonate together with excess lime, is added to the lime of the first stage of a succeeding batch.
• Lignosulphonates of various bases may also be prepared by base exchange, or in the pulp digestion itself.
• a liquor of calcium lignosulphonate for example, can be made into ammonium lignosulphonate by the addition of ammonium sulphate. The calcium sulphate precipitate is removed before the lignosulphonate liquor is used or dried.
• adding calcium hydroxide to ammonium lignosulphonate liquor liberates ammonia, leaving calcium lignosulphonate.
• Large amounts of sodium lignosulphonate may be prepared by similar methods.
• the sugars contained in lignosulphonate may be separated by various methods. Fermentation and yeast growth remove much of the sugars, whereas to produce specialised lignosulphonate products techniques such as ion exchange, ion exclusion, gel absorption, electrodialysis, ultra-filtration and reverse osmosis are used.
• Examples of lignosulphonates which may be used in accordance with the invention include calcium, ammonium and sodium lignosulphonate. A number of cations are in fact complexed by lignosulphonate, which may in turn be unfermented, or fermented, i.e. sugar reduced, lignosulphonate.
• a high sugar lignosulphonate liquid form containing about 50% lignin solids, is one example of a suitable material.
• Calcium based lignosulphonates are particularly suitable, and these are preferably sugar reduced lignosulphonates although de-sugared lignosulphonate, i.e. lignosulphonate of which the sugar content has been chemically destroyed may also be used.
• the lignosulphonate is suitably used in any commercially available form, such as "Wafolin" supplied by Holmen Chemical Products.
• the fat or oil and lignosulphonate are blended in relative proportions of fat or oil and lignosulphonate which depend on the dimensions of the feedstuff, for example the pellet diameter, and on the amount of fat or oil which it is desired to add to the feedstuff.
• the weight ratio of fat or oil to lignosulphonate in compositions specifically for coating feedstuffs may range from 10:1 to 1:10, typically from 5:1 to 1:5 and preferably from 3:1 to 1:3. A weight ratio from 3:1 to 1:1, especially 1:1, is particularly suitable.
• the coating composition may include additional ingredients, for example selected from pigments, vitamins, flavourings and pharmaceutical agents. Such additives are typically introduced into the composition during the blending of the fat or oil and lignosulphonate.
• Flavouring agents may be particularly advantageous since they mask the taste of lignin, which may be unpalatable to certain livestock.
• the coating composition comprising fat or oil and lignosulphonate, optionally together with further additives, is typically sprayed onto the feedstuff to form a coating thereon.
• the feedstuff may be coated cold, or may be heated before the coating is applied. Feedstuff which is coated "cold” may have been taken from storage, in which case it is typically at ambient temperature. Alternatively, feedstuff pellets may be coated directly after emerging from the cooler, in which case they are generally at a temperature a few degrees above ambient. Feedstuff which is heated is typically coated at the temperature at which it emerges from the pellet press generally from 50'C to 80 ⁇ C, typically about 65'C.
• the coating composition itself may be at any convenient temperature when it is sprayed onto the feedstuff, for example any temperature from 15*C to 95*C, such as from 30*C to 80*C, or from 40 # C to 70*C. A temperature of 50*C is particularly suitable.
• the feedstuff preferably in the form of pellets, is suitably subjected to a tumbling action whilst being sprayed. This maximises the efficiency of coating whilst also preventing the pellets from sticking together and causing the fines produced to stick to the pellets.
• feedstuff pellets are sprayed immediately on leaving the die, all the pellets and fines produced are coated with the composition.
• a similar result is achieved if the pellets are sprayed when they emerge from the cooler and before sifting. In this case, however, fines and dust removed by the cooler fan will need to be returned to the container in which the coating takes place if no reprocessing of fines returns is required.
• the method of the invention gives rise to feedstuff pellets having an improved durability.
• the greatest durability is found to occur when the coating composition sprayed on to the pellets is such as to produce a weight increase due to lignin solids of about 2.7%, and the pellets are heated.
• the method of the invention also enables higher levels of fat or oil to be incorporated into livestock feedstuffs than has previously been possible. It is considered that overall fat or oil levels of up to 20% by weight may be achieved by the method of the invention. It appears that the fat or oil contained in the coating composition sprayed onto the feedstuff pellets separates out and is absorbed by the feedstuff. It is prevented from subsequently leaking out, for example during storage, by the lignosulphonate "skin" which forms around each of the pellets. This skin, or shell, of lignin serves as a protective outer layer for the pellets.
• the term "consists essentially of” means that the composition contains fat or oil and lignosulphonate, with small amounts of other ingredients present only to the extent that they do not have any substantial effect on the properties of the composition. It embraces the use of fats/oils and lignosulphonates in their commercially available forms.
• the composition may comprise any fat or oil which it is desired to stabilise against oxidation.
• the fat or oil may be any which is conventionally employed in animal feedstuffs, for example animal lard.
• the lignosulphonate may be any lignosulphonate as hereinbefore described.
• composition of the invention comprises the components in any weight ratio, for example, a weight ratio of fat or oil to lignosulphonate of from 99:1 to 1:99, from 90:10 to 10:90, of from 70:30 to 30:70. Preferably, a 50:50 ratio is used.
• the composition of the invention may be prepared by blending together the fat or oil and the lignosulphonate.
• the invention therefore further provides a method of reducing the tendency of a fat or oil to oxidise, which comprises forming a blend of the fat or oil and a lignosulphonate and then heat treating the blend.
• Heat treatment is typically carried out by spreading the composition onto a planar substrate, for example a sheet of metal (e.g. aluminium) foil, and placing this under a grill until the mixture is of a crusty consistency. This may take from 1 to 5 minutes, typically 2 minutes, and is suitably carried out under the grill of a gas oven.
• the composition is spread fairly thinly onto the substrate, suitably at a thickness which is no greater than 2 mm, for example 1 mm. It is usually necessary to maintain a distance of at least 15 cm (6 inches) between the composition and the flames of the grill in order to avoid ignition.
• composition is conveniently broken up and stored in bags to await use.
• composition of the invention may be used as a pre ix in animal feedstuffs, when it can yield a feed having improved shelf-life because oxidation of the fat/oil is reduced. It may also be used in the method of the present invention to coat pellets of animal feed.
• Animal feed-stuff may be prepared by combining meal such as wheat, soya, maize or gluten, with the composition of the invention, which has optionally been heat treated and, if desired, pelletising the resulting mixture.
• the mixture prepared in pellet form is particularly preferred.
• the feed raw materials such as wheat, soya, maize or gluten are stored in silos above a weigher, next to which there is a hopper for additives such as minerals, vitamins and pellet binder.
• a batch comprising feed raw materials and additives is blended in the weigher and then routed to a grinding plant for maceration into what is termed "mixed meal".
• the mixed meal proceeds to a batch mixer where liquid additives such as water, fat and molasses are introduced.
• liquid additives such as water, fat and molasses are introduced.
• the composition of the invention may therefore conveniently be added at this stage. Steam and molasses can be added subsequently, and the composition is then pelleted if desired.
• the feedstuff is provided in pelletised form.
• the addition of the fat or oil to the meal prior to pelleting has been shown sometimes to give rise to pellets of unsatisfactory durability. It is therefore also possible, instead of incorporating the composition of the invention into the batch mix prior to pelleting, to spray the composition consisting essentially of fat or oil and lignosulphonate onto the feedstuff pellets once these are formed in accordance with the method of the present invention described above.
• the keeping quality of the heat treated fat/oil and lignosulphonate composition can be assessed by measuring the free fatty acid content (as %-oleic acid) and the peroxide value of the fat/oil at fixed intervals.
• the mixture may be broken up and stored in plastics bags under conditions of ambient light and temperature. Samples may then be taken out for measurement of the free fatty acid content and the peroxide value, using conventional techniques such as are exemplified in Comparative Example 1 which follows.
• Example 7 which follows describes such a process of testing; the results achieved may be compared with those reported in Comparative Example 2 which relate to samples of fat either without any additives or containing a conventional antioxidant.
• Crude fish oil (300 g) was blended by hand stirring, whilst being heated to 50'C, with a high sugar lignosulphonate (300 g) in liquid form containing 50% solids.
• the resulting composition (60 g) which was in the form of an emulsion, was applied by means of a hand-held liquid spray to sifted cold salmon pellets of 8 mm diameter (500 g) which were held in a container and tumbled by shaking the container.
• Example 2 Coating of cold pellets The procedure of Example 1 was repeated, but with heating the crude fish oil to 92*C whilst it was being blended with the liquid lignosulphonate.
• Example 1 The procedure of Example 1 was repeated, but this time the composition of fish oil and lignosulphonate was sprayed onto unsifted salmon pellets straight off the press at a temperature of about 65 * C.
• Crude fish oil (300 g) was blended by hand stirring, whilst being heated to 92*C, with lignosulphonate (100 g) in powder form.
• the resulting composition was a mixture of lignin particles suspended in the fish oil, rather than being an emulsion.
• the composition was applied to sifted hot salmon pellets of 8 mm diameter (500 g) as described in Example 1.
• Example 5 The process of Example 5 was repeated exactly as described.
• Peroxide value Titre - Blank ml N /500 thio/g oil
• a blank on all reagents should be carried through at intervals and should be less than 0.10 ml of 0.002 M thiosulphat .
• FFA free fatty acid value
• a portion of refined lard was mixed with "Wafolin" (Registered Trade Mark) , a lignosulphonate binder, in a weight ratio of 50:50.
• the mixture obtained was spread onto aluminium foil to a depth of approximately 1 mm and placed under the grill of a domestic gas oven until it was of a crusty consistency. Grilling took place for approximately 2 minutes and it was necessary to keep the mixture at least 115 cm (6 inches) from the flame to avoid ignition. Before forming into a crusty material the mixture appeared to liquify. The mixture was then allowed to cool, broken up and stored in closed plastic bags in light at ambient temperatures (Sample A) .
• Sample B was drier than Sample A. During grilling Sample B appeared to bubble more violently then did Sample A. However, Sample B was less "friable" than Sample A.
• Example C A portion of refined lard was heated gently and a standard antioxidant (such as EMBANOX-BMA from May and Baker) added thereto at 375 ppm.
• a standard antioxidant such as EMBANOX-BMA from May and Baker
• the mixture (Sample C) was allowed to cool and was then stored as described in Example 1.
• a portion of refined lard without additives (Sample D) was also stored as described in Example 1.

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• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
• Zoology (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Food Science & Technology (AREA)
• Animal Husbandry (AREA)
• Fodder In General (AREA)

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ID=26296542

Family Applications (1)

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• 1991
  • 1991-01-23 EP EP91903593A patent/EP0512030A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1991-01-23 WO PCT/GB1991/000096 patent/WO1991011110A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1991-01-23 IE IE023691A patent/IE910236A1/en unknown

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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