IES960057A2

IES960057A2 - "food production"

Info

Publication number: IES960057A2
Application number: IE960057A
Authority: IE
Inventors: Adrian Joseph Thomas Glover
Original assignee: Ballyview Enterprises Ltd
Priority date: 1996-01-22
Filing date: 1996-01-22
Publication date: 1996-04-17
Also published as: GB9601523D0; IES67785B2; GB2309370B; GB2309370A; GB2309370A8

Abstract

Canned pet food is produced by mixing together pre-set quantities of prepared offal, bones and/or cereals, some of which may be flocculated by mixing, chemical dosing, forming and bathing. The mixture is heated by steam injection in a mixing tank and filled into cans. After steaming, the cans are delivered into one of a number of retorts. Steam is injected into the retort at 40 to 65 psi until a target temperature is reached. After a pre-set cooking time the cans are cooled and discharged into a common canal. The cooled cans are at a target temperature of 35°C for drying and labelling.

Description

FOOD PRODUCTION Canned pet food is produced by mixing together pre-set quantities of prepared offal, bones and/or cereals, some of which may be flocculated by mixing, chemical dosing, forming and bathing. The mixture is heated by steam injection in a mixing tank and filled into cans. After steaming, the cans are delivered into one of a number of retorts. Steam is injected into the retort at 40 to 65 psi until a target temperature is reached. After a pre-set cooking time the cans are cooled and discharged into a common canal. The cooled cans are at a target temperature of35°C for drying and labelling.

Food Production APPLICATION No..... s The invention relates to a method for producing canned pet food.

The production of batches of a wide range of different canned pet foods in an efficient manner is a difficult process. One of the problems is that there are a large number of individual steps involved in the process and for optimum efficiency all production equipment should be utilised to the highest efficiency possible.

The invention is therefore directed towards providing a highly efficient method for producing a wide range of different canned pet foods.

Statements of Invention According to the invention there is provided a method for producing canned pet food comprising the steps of: mixing pre-set quantities of one or more of prepared offal, prepared bones and/or prepared cereals to form a pet food; filling the pet food into cans; seaming the filled cans; loading the filled cans into one of a plurality of retorts; cooking the pet food in the cans in the retort by injecting steam into the retort under pressure; /Λ TiON SECTION 28 AND RULE 23 JNL. No...®^.........

OOQA 57 ' - 2 after a pre-set cooking time, cooling the cooked cans in the retort by injecting cooling water into the retort and displacing steam; discharging the cooked cans from the retort into a discharge canal for final cooling; maintaining the temperature of the cooling water in the canal to a control temperature of between 30°C and 40°C; drying the cooled pet food cans; and applying a label to the cooled dried pet food cans.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the temperature of the cooling water in the canal is maintained at a control temperature of approximately 35°C.

In one embodiment of the invention steam is injected into the retort at a pressure of from 40 to 65 psi, preferably approximately 55 psi. Ideally, the steam is injected into the retort to maintain a temperature of 127°C and a pressure of approximately 1.4 bar.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the method includes the step of: heating the mixture of prepared ingredients as required to a temperature of between 12°C and 70°C.

In one embodiment of the invention the cooling water for cooling the cooked pet food cans in the retort is delivered to the retort from a dedicated retort cooling water supply. •e on 5 7 In one embodiment of the invention the method includes the step of flocculating a food material to form a flocculated food material and adding the flocculated food material to the mixture to form the raw pet food. The food material may be ground bones and/or ground cereal and/or offals.

In one arrangement the method includes the step of mincing together animal lungs and liver in desired proportions to provided prepared offal.

Typically the method includes the step of grinding bones to provide prepared bones.

In a preferred arrangement the method includes the steps of sorting and blending cereals to provide prepared cereals .

In one embodiment of the invention the pet food is a cat food. The cat food may be prepared from a mixture of % by weight Bone Lung Liver Flocculated Bone Gums & Gels Vitamins Colour Water 3.5 0.3 0.2 In this case preferably the mixture is heated to maintain the temperature of the mixture at approximately 21°C t|6005 Detailed Description The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description thereof given by way of example only.

Pet food is prepared by mixing together pre-set quantities of prepared offal, prepared bones and/or prepared cereals. The offal may be a mixture of beef, pork, poultry or fish offals which are individually processed by inspection, metal detection and refrigerated storage. Portions of these offals are delivered to a mincer and the offal is prepared by mincing desired proportions.

Cereals are prepared by sorting and blending to provide a prepared cereal mixture.

Bones are inspected, sorted, broken, metal is detected and the bones are then ground.

A portion of the prepared bones and/or cereals and/or offals are flocculated by mixing, chemical dosing, forming and bathing the flocculated material in a bath to partially solidify the flocculated material.

The prepared ingredients are then mixed in proportions to form a desired pet food mixture. For example, in the case of a premium cat food the ingredients are as follows: % by weight Bone Lung Liver Flocculated Bone Gums & Gels Vitamins Colour Water 3.5 0.3 0.2 - 5 960Λ5; The mixture is heated to a required temperature by steam injection in a mixing tank. In the case of the cat food formulation above the mixture is heated to a temperature of approximately 21°C.

The mixed pet food is then filled into cans in a filler unit. A can end is fitted to the filled can and attached by seaming. The filled cans are then washed and conveyed upwardly to a top inlet opening in one of a plurality of retorts. The retort is filled with water prior to loading so that the filled cans fall randomly to the bottom of the retort. The retort is filled to the top with cans and the top inlet is then closed. A continuing stream of filled cans is automatically directed to the next available retort. Steam is injected into the retort at a pressure of from 40 to 65 psi, preferably approximately 55 psi which purges out the water. Steam is continually injected into the retort until a target temperature of typically 127°C is reached. After a pre-set cooking/sterilising time which is typically from 50 to 120 minutes, air is injected into the retort to balance the steam pressure and the steam supply to the retort is shut off. Cooling water is then pumped into a bottom inlet of the retort, displacing the steam as it rises through the retort. The water is typically controlled to a temperature of 35°C. The cooling water is pumped through the retort for a specified time which is typically 10 minutes. The cooling water for the retort may be provided from a separate cooling water supply.

After the cooking/sterilising/cooling cycle is complete an outlet door of the retort is opened, discharging the cans into a common canal for final cooling. The canal is full of cooling water. The temperature of the water in the canal is controlled so that after travel through the canal - 6 the can is preferably at 35°C + 5°C which it was found to be the optimum temperature for drying the cans.

The operation of the retort system is optimised to provide the lowest cycle time with consequent processing efficiency.

After final cooling in the canal, the cans are dried. Labels are applied using a high speed labelling machine. Because the cans are at a substantially uniform temperature, the operation of the labelling machine is optimised.

The invention therefore provides a highly efficient and flexible method for producing a wide variety of canned pet food.

Many variations on the specific embodiment of the 15 invention will be readily apparent and accordingly the invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which may be varied in details.

Claims

claims

1. A method for producing canned pet food comprising the steps of: mixing pre-set quantities of one or more of prepared offal, prepared bones and/or prepared cereals to form a pet food; filling the pet food into cans; seaming the filled cans; loading the filled cans into one of a plurality of retorts; cooking the pet food in the cans in the retort by injecting steam into the retort under pressure; after a pre-set cooking time, cooling the cooked cans in the retort by injecting cooling water into the retort and displacing steam; discharging the cooked cans from the retort into a discharge canal for final cooling; maintaining the temperature of the cooling water in the canal to a control temperature of between 30°C and 40°C, preferably approximately 35°C; drying the cooled pet food cans; and applying a label to the cooled dried pet food cans. 960057+ - 8

2. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein steam is injected into the retort at a pressure of from 40 to 65 psi, preferably approximately 55 psi, preferably steam is injected into the retort to maintain a temperature of approximately 127°C and a pressure of approximately 1.4 bar.

3. A method as claimed in any preceding claim including the step of: heating the mixture of prepared ingredients required to a temperature of from 12°C to 70°C.

4. A method as claimed in any preceding claim including the step of flocculating a food material, typically ground bones and/or cereals, to form a flocculated food material and adding the flocculated food material to the mixture to form the raw pet food, preferably the method includes the step of mincing together various offals in desired proportions to provide prepared offal, the method may include the step of grinding bones to provide prepared bones, the method may also include the steps of sorting and blending cereals to provide prepared cereals.

5. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the pet food is a cat food, typically prepared from a mixture of % bv weight Bone 13 Lung 15 Liver 15 Flocculated Bone 8 Gums & Gels 3.5 Vitamins 0.3 Colour 0.2 Water 45 L9H057 in this case preferably the mixture is heated to maintain the temperature of the mixture at approximately 21°C.