Palatability improver

Abstract

To provide a method for producing a palatability improver that exhibits superior effectiveness in improving palatability over conventional palatability improvers.SOLUTION: A method for producing a palatability improver includes the following steps: (1) for preparing a mixture containing hydrated Okara (bean curd lees), amino acids, and reducing sugars, with a moisture content of 45-90 mass%; and (2) for heating and drying the mixture derived from the step (1).SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a palatability improver for use in pet foods and the like, and a method for producing the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Pet food can be broadly divided into four types: dry (moisture content of approximately 10% or less), semi-moist (unfoamed with a moisture content of 20-40%), soft-dry (heat-foamed with a moisture content of 20-40%), and wet (moisture content of approximately 70%, canned). Wet pet foods can contain livestock meat, fish meat, etc., either as is or after appropriate processing, making them highly palatable for pet animals. However, the nutritional balance can be easily unbalanced. Dry, semi-moist, and soft-dry types of pet food can be mass-produced to produce homogeneous pet foods, and the nutritional content can be easily adjusted, so these types of pet foods have become the mainstream of pet foods distributed on the market. However, these pet foods have the problem of being less palatable to pet animals than wet pet foods. For this reason, it is common to manufacture pet food by blending a palatability improver into the ingredients, or to attach or coat the surface of the manufactured pet food with the palatability improver. In particular, for dry-type pet food, it is common to attach / coat the surface with a dried powdered palatability improver. A known example of such a palatability improver is a Maillard extract, which is prepared by adding a reducing sugar as needed to a raw material containing amino compounds (amino acids, peptides, and proteins) obtained by hydrolyzing meat, fish meat, yeast, etc. with enzymes, acids, etc., and then heating the mixture to cause a Maillard reaction, thereby improving palatability with Maillard reaction products such as aroma components. Because the Maillard reaction proceeds easily in an aqueous solution and is easy to control, Maillard extracts are typically produced by preparing a mixed aqueous solution of raw materials containing reducing sugars and amino compounds, and heating the mixture at 90 to 150°C for a certain period of time; in other words, the Maillard reaction is generally carried out via a water-soluble solvent. When this palatability enhancer is used to adhere or coat the surface of non-wet pet food, particularly dry pet food, if the obtained Maillard extract is used as an aqueous solution, the texture and shape retention of the pet food will be significantly impaired, so the aqueous solution must be dried and powdered by spray drying, vacuum drying, air drying, etc. Although the palatability enhancer produced in this way has an excellent palatability improving effect, it requires multi-stage production processes and production equipment, and the Maillard reaction via a water-soluble solvent takes time, which results in high production costs. In addition, since there is a limit to the amount of palatability enhancer that can be adhered to the surface of pet food, there is generally a demand for inexpensive, high-potency palatability enhancers. Patent Document 1 discloses a method for producing such a palatability improver, which includes a step of sealing a powdered raw material containing amino acids and reducing sugars in a container and subjecting it to dry heat treatment at a product temperature in the range of 80 to 180°C for 5 to 200 minutes. This method for producing a palatability improver has a simplified production process compared to palatability improvers obtained by the Maillard reaction via conventional water-soluble solvents, but has problems in that the dry heat treatment makes the material prone to burning and also requires a step in which each ingredient must be powdered. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a coating composition containing a powdered extract for use with soft dry or semi-moist pet food, characterized in that the coating composition contains 30 to 90 parts by mass of soy pulp powder. By coating soft dry or semi-moist food with soy pulp powder, the stickiness of the food and the lines is reduced without significantly reducing the amount of extract coated on the food, but there is no mention of further processing the soy pulp powder to improve palatability. Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses a food material or pet food material with excellent palatability and health functionality, which is obtained by adding reducing sugars to amino acids and then heat-treating the mixture, and which is characterized by containing Maillard reaction products produced by the heat treatment. The Maillard reaction products enable the production of food materials or pet food materials with improved palatability and excellent antioxidant properties, methods for producing the same, and food, pet food, or supplements using the same, but there is no mention of using raw soy pulp as a raw material. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2019-187255 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2012-075414 [Patent Document 3] Patent Publication No. 2017-006030 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] To provide a method for producing a palatability improver having a higher palatability improving effect than conventional palatability improvers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present inventors have discovered that by mixing hydrous soybean pulp with amino acids and reducing sugars and then heating and drying the mixture to cause the Maillard reaction, a palatability improver having a higher palatability improving effect than conventional palatability improvers can be obtained. Furthermore, the present inventors have found that the use of raw okara that has not been subjected to heat drying treatment, and in particular raw okara made from ground soybeans, has a greater effect in improving the palatability of the resulting Maillard-type extract than the use of water-swollen okara obtained by adding water to dried okara, and have thus completed the present invention.

[0006] That is, the present invention is as follows. [1] The following process (1) obtaining a mixture containing hydrated soybean pulp, amino acids, and reducing sugars and having a moisture content of 45 to 90% by mass; (2) a step of heating and drying the mixture obtained in step (1); A method for producing a palatability enhancer comprising: [2] The method for producing a palatability improver according to [1], wherein the hydrated okara in step (1) is water-swollen okara obtained by adding water to raw okara and / or dried okara. [3] The method for producing a palatability improver according to [1], wherein the hydrated soybean pulp in step (1) is prepared from ground soybeans. [4] A method for producing pet food, which uses a palatability improver obtained by the method for producing a palatability improver according to any one of [1] to [3]. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, a palatability improver having a higher palatability improving effect than conventional palatability improvers can be obtained. Furthermore, according to the present invention, by using soybean curd refuse discarded as food waste as a raw material and inducing the Maillard reaction by utilizing the heat generated during drying of the soybean curd refuse, the palatability improver can be produced more cheaply than conventional palatability improvers. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The present invention relates to a method for producing a palatability improver, which includes the following steps: (1) obtaining a mixture containing hydrous soybean pulp, amino acids, and reducing sugars and having a moisture content of 45 to 90% by mass; and (2) heating and drying the mixture obtained in step (1).

[0009] (Method for producing palatability enhancer) "Step (1): A step of obtaining a mixture containing hydrated soybean pulp, amino acids, and reducing sugars and having a moisture content of 45 to 90% by mass" The hydrous soybean pulp may be raw soybean pulp, and the process for obtaining raw soybean pulp may be any method similar to that for obtaining raw soybean pulp in the usual method for producing tofu. For example, raw soybeans are soaked in water for 12 to 24 hours, and then ground in a grinder while adding water to obtain raw soybean pulp. The raw soybean pulp is boiled and then squeezed to obtain raw soybean pulp with an adjusted moisture content. Hydrated okara can also be obtained by adding water to dried okara to produce water-swollen okara. Commercially available dried okara, soy milk okara powder (Kikkoman), or raw okara dried by any method can be used as the dried okara. When using dried okara, it may be pre-hydrated to produce water-swollen okara (hydrated okara) and then mixed with other ingredients (amino acids and reducing sugars), or water-swollen okara (hydrated okara) may be produced by adding more water when or after mixing the dried okara with other ingredients. Because raw okara has poor shelf life, dried okara that has been subjected to a heat-drying process is generally available. From the perspective of improving palatability, it is preferable that the hydrated okara be raw okara. Furthermore, the hydrous okara may be prepared from ground soybeans. In the present invention, "ground soybeans" may be prepared by crushing whole soybeans into two or more parts using any method, and can be obtained, for example, as described in JP 2012-187058 A. In conventional tofu production, whole soybeans are generally used as the raw soybean material in the process of obtaining raw okara, but the use of ground soybeans can shorten the soaking time. Furthermore, the use of ground soybeans increases the content of proteins and lipids, which are components necessary for the Maillard reaction, in the raw okara obtained compared to when whole soybeans are used.

[0010] In the present invention, "amino acids" refer to amino acids (regardless of whether they are α, β, or γ type) and derivatives thereof, and examples of amino acids include histidine, arginine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, hydroxylysine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, valine, asparagine, aspartic acid, serine, glutamine, glutamic acid, proline, hydroxyproline, glycine, alanine, threonine, methionine, cystine, cysteine, thyroxine, ornithine, citrulline, hydroxyproline, hydroxylysine, etc. One type of amino acid may be used alone, or multiple types, for example, 2 to 8 types, may be used in combination. The amount of amino acids relative to the total dry solid content of the mixture is not particularly limited and can be set within a range in which the Maillard reaction occurs, and is preferably 0.5 to 20% by mass, more preferably 0.5 to 15% by mass, and even more preferably 1 to 10% by mass. As the amount of amino acids increases, the amount of Maillard reaction products produced increases and palatability tends to improve, but at the same time, raw material costs tend to increase.

[0011] In the present invention, "reducing sugar" refers to sugars (aldoses and ketoses) that have a free aldehyde group or ketone group in the molecule and exhibit reducing properties. Reducing sugars may be any of monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides, and are preferably monosaccharides or disaccharides. Reducing sugars are classified according to the number of carbon atoms, from trioses to hexoses, but pentoses and hexoses are preferred, as they are more likely to undergo the Maillard reaction chain reaction to produce aromatic and flavor compounds. From the viewpoint of availability, glucose (grape sugar) and xylose are the most preferred aldoses, and fructose (fruit sugar) is the most preferred ketose. One type of reducing sugar may be used alone, or multiple types, for example, 1 to 5 types, may be used in combination. The amount of reducing sugar relative to the total dry solid content of the mixture is not particularly limited and can be set within a range in which the Maillard reaction occurs, and is preferably 0.5 to 20% by mass, more preferably 0.5 to 15% by mass, and even more preferably 1 to 10% by mass. As the amount of reducing sugar increases, the amount of Maillard reaction products produced increases and palatability tends to improve, but at the same time, raw material costs tend to increase.

[0012] The mixing means and conditions are not particularly limited as long as they can uniformly mix the raw materials. Preferably, the raw materials are mixed until they become uniform using a stirrer such as a kneader or a mixer.

[0013] The water content of the mixture is 45 to 90% by mass, preferably 65 to 90% by mass, and more preferably 80 to 90% by mass. If the water content exceeds 90% by mass, the drying efficiency in the step (3) described below tends to decrease, and if the water content is less than 45% by mass, the effect of improving palatability due to the Maillard reaction tends to decrease.

[0014] "Step (2): A step of heating and drying the mixture obtained in step (1)" In the present invention, "heat drying" refers to a heat treatment method in which raw materials are heated by exposure to conductive heat, radiant heat, radiant heat, hot air, electromagnetic waves (microwaves), etc. Known heat drying means can be used, such as a hot air dryer or a kneader with a heating mechanism. An example is the use of a food dryer (Tensei Japan Co., Ltd.). There is no restriction on the moisture content of the resulting dried product as long as it can be powdered in the powdering process, but since high moisture content tends to reduce storage stability, the moisture content is preferably 15% or less, and more preferably 10% or less. There are no particular limitations on the drying temperature or drying time in the heat drying step, and they can be set within a reasonable range that does not cause scorching. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of improving industrial efficiency in drying, since a lower drying temperature takes longer to dry, the temperature inside the chamber (temperature inside the device) is set to 200 to 400°C, preferably 250 to 300°C. Keeping the temperature within this range allows for efficient drying. For example, the drying may be performed at 200 to 400°C for about 30 to 120 minutes, preferably 60 to 90 minutes, and more preferably 250 to 300°C for 60 to 90 minutes.

[0015] "Step (4): A step of powdering the dried product obtained in step (3)" In the method of the present invention, the dried product obtained in step (3) may be further pulverized (step (4)). In the present invention, "pulverization" refers to pulverization by a mechanical process, such as a jaw crusher, roll mill, cutter mill, hammer mill, rotary mill, pin mill, atomizer, attrition mill, grinder, or stone mill. Preferably, a pin mill is used, such as the Makino DD-2 pulverizer (Makino Sangyo Co., Ltd.).

[0016] (Pet food manufacturing method) The present invention relates to a method for producing pet food using a palatability improver obtained by the above-mentioned method for producing a palatability improver. The method for producing pet food of the present invention follows conventional methods except for using the palatability improver of the present invention. For example, pet food can be produced by blending the palatability improver with ingredients, or the palatability improver can be attached to or coated on the surface of the produced pet food. In particular, for dry-type pet food, a dried powder of the palatability improver can be attached / coated on the surface. The amount of the palatability improver used can be varied as appropriate; for example, when the palatability improver is blended with ingredients to produce pet food, it is 0.1 to 5.0 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of ingredients. When the palatability improver is attached to or coated on the surface of the produced pet food, it is 0.1 to 100 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of pet food. [Example]

[0017] EXAMPLES The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

[0018] Manufacturing example 1: Manufacturing dry pet food for dogs 50 parts by mass of corn, 16 parts by mass of wheat flour, 12 parts by mass of soybean meal, 8 parts by mass of chicken meal, 7 parts by mass of meat meal, 5 parts by mass of wheat bran, 1 part by mass of minerals (manganese carbonate, zinc carbonate, ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt sulfate), and 1 part by mass of vitamins (A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D3, E, K3, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid, folic acid, biotin) were thoroughly mixed, and then 20 parts by mass of water was added and the mixture was fed to a single-screw extruder (Wenger X-20 model), kneaded at a temperature of 140°C, extruded through a die, cut, and dried in a hot air dryer (Espec PH-202) at 120°C for 20 minutes so that the moisture content was 8 to 10%, to produce puffed dry food granules for dogs (diameter 10 mm, length 10 mm).

[0019] Production example 2: Production of raw soy pulp According to the standard method for tofu production, raw soybeans were soaked in water for 20 hours, and then ground in a grinder (Masuko Sangyo Co., Ltd. MKZA10-15JIVα) while adding water to obtain raw soybeans. After boiling the raw soybeans, they were squeezed to obtain raw soybean pulp A1 with a moisture content of 80%.

[0020] Production Example 3: Production of palatability enhancer for dogs and cats by heating aqueous solution (conventional technology) 100 parts by mass of raw soy pulp A1, 0.1 parts by mass of xylose, and 0.1 parts by mass of methionine were mixed with 500 parts by mass of water, and the reaction mixture was heated in an autoclave at 100°C for 60 minutes. The reaction mixture was then allowed to cool naturally and then freeze-dried. The resulting dried product was pulverized in a pulverizer (Verder Scientific, RetCh ZM200 model) to obtain palatability improver B1 (Comparative Example 1).

[0021] Production Example 4: Production of a palatability improver for dogs and cats using raw soy pulp (the present invention) 100 parts by mass of raw soy pulp A1, 0.1 parts by mass of xylose, and 0.1 parts by mass of methionine were mixed. The mixture was placed in a soy pulp drier (Tensei Japan Co., Ltd.) and dried with hot air at 250°C until the moisture content was 10% or less. The resulting dried product was pulverized in a pulverizer to obtain a palatability improver C1 (Example 1). The amount of dry solids in the dried product obtained during the process can be calculated by dividing the moisture content by the weight of the raw materials and mixture. The moisture content of the mixture can be calculated from the moisture content in the raw materials or by measuring the mixture. Methods for measuring the moisture content of powdered raw materials or mixtures are known. For example, a sample can be collected in a wide-mouthed container such as a beaker or a petri dish, placed in a dry heat dryer with the opening, and dry-dried at 135°C for 3 hours. The moisture content can then be calculated from the weights before and after drying using the following formula (heat drying method): Moisture content (%) = (weight before drying - weight after drying) / weight before drying x 100

[0022] Manufacturing Example 5: Dry pet food for dogs with a palatability enhancer attached 94 parts by mass of the dry food granules obtained in Production Example 1 were placed in a rotary drum mixer. 5 parts by mass of beef tallow heated to 75°C was added dropwise while stirring the dry food granules, and the surfaces of the dry food granules were coated with beef tallow. Next, 1 part by mass each of palatability improver B1 or palatability improver C1 was added while stirring the dry food granules, and mixed uniformly to obtain a dry-type pet food for dogs to which a palatability improver was attached.

[0023] Preference test 1 Pet food C1 with the palatability improver C1 attached and pet food B1 with the palatability improver B1 attached, obtained in Production Example 5, were each placed in separate feeding dishes in amounts of 150 g. Five dogs were placed in separate kennels and given the two types of pet food simultaneously. They were allowed to eat ad libitum between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM, and a choice-based palatability test was conducted. Palatability was calculated using the following formula, and the results are shown in Table 1. Formula: Amount of pet food C1 consumed / (amount of pet food B1 consumed + amount of pet food C1 consumed) x 100 Table 1. Preference test results TIFF2025015091000001.tif41125 The palatability improver of Example 1 exhibited superior palatability to the palatability improver of Comparative Example 1. This is thought to be because the present invention was able to produce palatable components by the Maillard reaction more efficiently than the prior art.

[0024] Production Example 6: Production of palatability enhancer for dogs and cats using dried soybean pulp Raw okara A1 was placed in a okara dryer and dried with hot air at 250°C to obtain dried okara A2 with a moisture content of 8%. 100 parts by mass of dried okara A2 with added water to make the moisture content 80%, 0.1 parts by mass of xylose, and 0.1 parts by mass of methionine were mixed. The mixture was placed in a okara dryer and dried with hot air at 250°C to make the moisture content 10% or less. The obtained dried product was pulverized in a grinder to obtain palatability improver C2 (Example 2).

[0025] Manufacturing Example 7: Dry pet food for dogs with a palatability enhancer attached 94 parts by mass of the dry food granules obtained in Production Example 1 were placed in a rotary drum mixer. 5 parts by mass of beef tallow heated to 75°C was added dropwise while stirring the dry food granules, to coat the surfaces of the dry food granules with beef tallow. Next, 1 part by mass each of palatability improver C2 or palatability improver C1 was added while stirring the dry food granules, and mixed uniformly to obtain a dry-type pet food for dogs to which a palatability improver had been attached.

[0026] Preference test 2 Pet food C1 with the palatability improver C1 attached thereto obtained in Production Example 7 and pet food C2 with the palatability improver C2 attached thereto were placed in separate feeding trays in an amount of 150 g each. A test was conducted in the same manner as in palatability test 1. Palatability was calculated using the following formula, and the results are shown in Table 2. Formula: Amount of pet food C1 consumed / (amount of pet food C2 consumed + amount of pet food C1 consumed) x 100 Table 2. Preference test results TIFF2025015091000002.tif47141 The palatability improver of Example 1 exhibited superior palatability to the palatability improver of Example 2. This is thought to be because raw okara produced more palatable components through the Maillard reaction than okara that had been heated and dried once.

[0027] Production Example 8: Production of raw soybean pulp using ground soybeans Raw soybeans that had been ground into two or more pieces were soaked in water for 1 hour, then ground, boiled, and squeezed in the same manner as in Production Example 1 to obtain raw okara A3 with a moisture content of 80%.

[0028] Production Example 9: Production of a palatability improver for dogs and cats using raw soybean pulp (present invention) 100 parts by mass of raw soy pulp A3, 0.1 parts by mass of xylose, and 0.1 parts by mass of methionine were mixed. The mixture was placed in a soy pulp drier and dried with hot air at 250°C. The resulting dried product was pulverized in a pulverizer to obtain a palatability improver C3 (Example 3).

[0029] Manufacturing Example 10: Dry pet food for dogs with a palatability enhancer attached 94 parts by mass of the dry food granules obtained in Production Example 1 were placed in a rotary drum mixer. 5 parts by mass of beef tallow heated to 75°C was added dropwise while stirring the dry food granules, and the surfaces of the dry food granules were coated with beef tallow. Next, 1 part by mass each of palatability improver C3 or palatability improver C1 was added while stirring the dry food granules, and mixed uniformly to obtain a dry-type pet food for dogs to which a palatability improver was attached.

[0030] Palatability test 3 Pet food C3 with the palatability improver C3 attached thereto obtained in Production Example 10 and pet food C1 with the palatability improver C1 attached thereto were placed in separate feeding trays in an amount of 150 g each. A test was conducted in the same manner as in palatability test 1. Palatability was calculated using the following formula, and the results are shown in Table 4. Formula: Amount of pet food C3 consumed / (amount of pet food C1 consumed + amount of pet food C3 consumed) x 100 Table 3. Preference test results TIFF2025015091000003.tif47141 The palatability improver of Example 3 exhibited superior palatability to the palatability improver of Example 1. This is thought to be because raw okara A3 produced more palatable components through the Maillard reaction than raw okara A1.

[0031] Production Example 11: Dry pet food for dogs with a commercially available palatability enhancer attached Pet food B2 of Comparative Example 2 was obtained in the same manner as in Production Example 10, except that a commercially available yeast extract (SK yeast extract: Nippon Paper Chemicals) was used as the palatability improver.

[0032] Preference tests 4, 5, 6, 7 Pet foods C1, C2, C3 and B1, B2 of Examples 1, 2, and 3 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were each placed in separate feeding trays in an amount of 150 g, and a test was carried out in the same manner as in palatability test 1. The palatability was calculated using the following formula, and the results are shown in Table 4. Formula for palatability test 4: Amount of pet food C1 consumed / (amount of pet food C1 consumed + amount of pet food B2 consumed) x 100 Formula for palatability test 5: Amount of pet food C2 consumed / (amount of pet food C2 consumed + amount of pet food B2 consumed) x 100 Formula for palatability test 6: Amount of pet food C3 consumed / (amount of pet food C3 consumed + amount of pet food B2 consumed) x 100 Formula for palatability test 7: Amount of pet food B1 consumed / (amount of pet food B1 consumed + amount of pet food B2 consumed) x 100

[0033] Table 4. Preference test results TIFF2025015091000004.tif47141 The palatability improver of Comparative Example 1 had the same palatability as the commercially available palatability improvers. The palatability improvers of Examples 1, 2, and 3 also showed superior palatability to the commercially available palatability improvers.

[0034] Manufacturing Example 12: Examination of moisture conditions Water was added to dried soybean pulp A2 (water content approximately 7% by mass) to achieve the water content shown in Table 5 below, and xylose and methionine were mixed in the proportions shown in Table 5. Each mixture was dried and pulverized in the same manner as in Production Example 4 to obtain palatability improvers C4 to C7 of Examples 4 to 7. The proportions of xylose and methionine in the solid content were adjusted to be the same as those of palatability improver C1. Table 5 formulation TIFF2025015091000005.tif36144

[0035] Manufacturing Example 13: Dry pet food for dogs with a palatability enhancer attached 94 parts by mass of the dry food granules obtained in Production Example 1 were placed in a rotary drum mixer. 5 parts by mass of beef tallow heated to 75°C was added dropwise while stirring the dry food granules, to coat the surfaces of the dry food granules with beef tallow. Next, 1 part by mass each of the palatability improvers C4 to C7 was added while stirring the dry food granules, and mixed uniformly to obtain a dry-type pet food for dogs to which the palatability improvers had been attached.

[0036] Preference tests 8, 9, 10, 11 Pet foods C4, C5, C6, C7, and B2 of Examples 4 to 7 and Comparative Example 2 were each placed in separate feeding trays in an amount of 150 g, and a test was carried out in the same manner as in palatability test 1. The palatability was calculated using the following formula, and the results are shown in Table 6. Formula for palatability test 8: Amount of pet food C4 consumed / (amount of pet food C4 consumed + amount of pet food B2 consumed) x 100 Formula for palatability test 9: Amount of pet food C5 consumed / (amount of pet food C5 consumed + amount of pet food B2 consumed) x 100 Formula for palatability test 10: Amount of pet food C6 consumed / (amount of pet food C6 consumed + amount of pet food B2 consumed) x 100 Formula for palatability test 11: Amount of pet food C7 consumed / (amount of pet food C7 consumed + amount of pet food B2 consumed) x 100 Table 6. Preference test results TIFF2025015091000006.tif47143 When the water content of the mixture was less than 50% by mass, the palatability was equivalent to that of commercially available yeast extract. Palatability enhancer C7 showed sparse coloring due to the Maillard reaction. It is presumed that the components in the okara did not mix well with the sugars and amino acids, and the Maillard reaction between the added sugars and amino acids only partially occurred.

[0037] Production Example 14: Production of dry pet food for cats 40 parts by mass of corn, 15 parts by mass of wheat flour, 8 parts by mass of soybean meal, 5 parts by mass of corn gluten meal, 8 parts by mass of chicken meal, 7 parts by mass of meat meal, 15 parts by mass of fish meal, 1 part by mass of minerals (manganese carbonate, zinc carbonate, iron sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt sulfate), 1 part by mass of vitamins (A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D3, E, K3, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid, folic acid, biotin) were thoroughly mixed, and then 20 parts by mass of water was added and fed to a single-screw extruder (Wenger X-20 type), kneaded at a temperature of 140 ° C., extruded through a die, cut, and then dried in a hot air dryer (Espec PH-202) at 120 ° C. for 20 minutes so that the moisture content was 8 to 10% by mass, to produce expanded cat dry food granules (diameter 10 mm, length 10 mm).

[0038] Production Example 15: Production of dry pet food for cats with a palatability enhancer attached 94 parts by mass of the dry food granules for cats obtained in Production Example 14 were placed in a rotary drum mixer. While stirring the dry food granules, 5 parts by mass of beef tallow heated to 75°C was added dropwise to coat the surfaces of the dry food granules with beef tallow. Next, while stirring the dry food granules, 1 part by mass each of palatability enhancers C1 to C3 was added and mixed uniformly to obtain cat pet foods C8 to C10 of Examples 8 to 10.

[0039] Manufacturing Example 16: Dry pet food for cats with a commercially available palatability enhancer Cat pet food B3 of Comparative Example 3 was obtained in the same manner as in Production Example 15, except that a commercially available yeast extract (SK yeast extract: Nippon Paper Chemicals) was used instead of the palatability improvers C1 to C3.

[0040] Preference tests 12, 13, 14 100g of each of the cat pet foods C8 to C10 and B3 of Examples 8 to 10 and Comparative Example 3 was placed in a separate feeding dish. Five cats were placed in separate cattery and simultaneously fed pet foods C8 to C10 and B3 of Example 6 and Comparative Example 5. The cats were allowed to feed ad libitum between 4:00 PM and 9:00 AM the following morning, and a choice preference test was conducted. Preference was calculated using the following formula, and the results are shown in Table 7. Formula for palatability test 12: Amount of pet food C8 consumed / (amount of pet food C8 consumed + amount of pet food B3 consumed) x 100 Formula for palatability test 13: Amount of pet food C9 consumed / (amount of pet food C9 consumed + amount of pet food B3 consumed) x 100 Formula for palatability test 14: Amount of pet food C10 consumed / (amount of pet food C10 consumed + amount of pet food B3 consumed) x 100

[0041] Table 7. Palatability test results TIFF2025015091000007.tif47141 Palatability enhancers C8 to C10 showed superior palatability enhancing effects compared to commercially available palatability enhancers. It was confirmed that the palatability enhancers of the present invention also have a palatability enhancing effect in cats.

[0042] Qualitative test: component analysis of raw soy pulp The components of raw okara A1 and A3 were analyzed, and the results calculated on a dry matter basis are shown in Table 8 below. Protein analysis was performed using the Kjeldahl method, and lipid analysis was performed using the diethyl ether extraction method. The values ​​per dry matter (values ​​assuming a moisture content of 10% by mass) were calculated from the moisture content measured using the atmospheric drying method. Raw okara A3, made from ground soybeans, has a higher protein and lipid content than raw okara A1, made from whole soybeans, and it is presumed that raw okara contains a large amount of the components necessary for the Maillard reaction, which makes it highly palatable to dogs and cats. Table 8. Composition analysis of raw soybean pulp TIFF2025015091000008.tif21138

Claims

1. The following process (1) obtaining a mixture having a moisture content of 45 to 90% by mass, comprising hydrous soybean pulp, amino acids and reducing sugars; and (2) A step of heating and drying the mixture obtained in the step (1) A method for producing a palatability enhancer comprising the steps of:

2. 2. The method for producing a palatability improver according to claim 1, wherein the hydrated okara in step (1) is water-swollen okara obtained by adding water to raw okara and / or dried okara.

3. 2. The method for producing a palatability improver according to claim 1, wherein the hydrated soybean lees in step (1) are prepared from ground soybeans.

4. A method for producing pet food, comprising using a palatability improver obtained by the method for producing a palatability improver according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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