Pet food

Abstract

We provide pet food that has a homemade feel and is easy to prepare. [Solution] A pet food according to one embodiment of the present invention is freeze-dried and can be prepared by mixing with water or hot water, and contains boiled vegetables and grains. The boiled vegetables retain their original shape after preparation. The grains are visible after preparation. The total content of the boiled vegetables and grains in the pet food is 20% by mass or more.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a pet food that has been freeze-dried and can be prepared by mixing with water or hot water.

Background Art

[0002] Freeze-drying (lyophilization) is a technique in which food is rapidly frozen at a low temperature, and moisture is sublimated under a vacuum state to dry the food. Thereby, the storage stability can be enhanced while maintaining the flavor and nutrients of the food.

[0003] Pet foods using freeze-drying processing are known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a pet food comprising a base material and material particles protruding from the outer surface of the base material, wherein the material particles are steamed or baked freeze-dried vegetable pieces. Further, for example, Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe pet foods that are freeze-dried and become pasty or soup-like when mixed with water or hot water.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Non-Patent Documents

[0005]

Non-Patent Document 1

Non-Patent Document 2

Summary of Invention

[0006] Some pet owners want to feed their pets, who are like family, homemade food, often including boiled vegetables. On the other hand, some owners, despite having this desire, find it difficult to prepare homemade food due to busy schedules and other factors. Therefore, there is a demand for pet food that has a homemade feel and is easy to prepare.

[0007] In view of the above circumstances, the object of the present invention is to provide pet food that has a homemade feel and is easy to prepare. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To achieve the above objective, a pet food according to one embodiment of the present invention is freeze-dried and can be prepared by mixing with water or hot water, and comprises boiled vegetables and grains. The boiled vegetables mentioned above retain their original shape after preparation. The aforementioned grains are visible after preparation. The total content of the boiled vegetables and grains in the aforementioned pet food is 20% by mass or more. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] As described above, the present invention makes it possible to provide pet food that has a homemade feel and is easy to prepare. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] [Introduction] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In the following description, "content of element A in pet food" refers to the percentage of the mass of element A when the mass of freeze-dried pet food is taken as 100% by mass.

[0011] [Pet food] The pet food of the present invention is freeze-dried and can be prepared by mixing it with water or hot water. In one embodiment of the present invention, the pet food is, for example, freeze-dried in solid form for each serving, and by mixing it with water or hot water, a homemade-style pet food can be prepared by mixing boiled vegetables and grains. Furthermore, the shape of the pet food is not particularly limited and may be cube-shaped, spherical, cylindrical, polygonal prism-shaped other than cube-shaped, plate-shaped, or other shapes.

[0012] [pets] In the present invention, the pets targeted by pet food are animals kept as pets by humans, such as companion animals. More specifically, pets include at least one selected from dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, and ferrets, preferably dogs and / or cats, and more preferably dogs.

[0013] [Boiled vegetables] The pet food of the present invention includes boiled vegetables whose shape is visible after preparation. The raw vegetables can be appropriately selected from vegetables that pets can eat, taking into account palatability, etc., but examples include cabbage, sweet potato, carrot, broccoli, pumpkin, radish, tomato, Chinese cabbage, paprika, etc. The pet food of the present invention may contain one type of boiled vegetable or two or more types of boiled vegetables. Furthermore, with respect to the boiled vegetables, "the shape of the raw vegetables is visible after preparation" means that a person can see the shape of the raw vegetables with the naked eye after preparation. In this way, in the pet food of the present invention, the visibility of the boiled vegetables after preparation enhances the feeling of homemade food.

[0014] [Size of boiled vegetables] In the pet food of the present invention, the maximum dimensions of the boiled vegetables after preparation are preferably between 2 mm and 10 mm. This allows pet owners to clearly see the boiled vegetables, enhancing the homemade feel of the pet food. It also makes the vegetables easier for pets to eat.

[0015] [Content of boiled vegetables] The lower limit of the content of boiled vegetables in the pet food is preferably 15 mass% or more, more preferably 18 mass% or more, from the viewpoint of making the presence of boiled vegetables noticeable. In addition, the upper limit of the content is preferably 70 mass% or less, more preferably 60 mass% or less, from the viewpoint of balance with other ingredients.

[0016] [Grain kernels] The pet food of the present invention contains visually recognizable grain kernels after preparation. In the present invention, the term "grain kernel" refers to a granular grain material. As for the size of the visually recognizable grain kernel after preparation, the maximum dimension is preferably 3 mm or more and 10 mm or less. The grain kernels can be appropriately selected from edible grain kernels for pets in view of palatability and the like, and examples thereof include rice, wheat, barley, corn, oats and the like. Among these, the grain kernels in the present invention preferably contain rice, and more preferably consist only of rice, since they have less concern about food allergies and easily meet the demands of health-oriented owners.

[0017] [Content of grain kernels] The lower limit of the content of grain kernels in the pet food is preferably 1 mass% or more, more preferably 2 mass% or more, from the viewpoint of making the presence of grain kernels noticeable. In addition, the upper limit of the content is preferably 20 mass% or less, more preferably 10 mass% or less, from the viewpoint of nutritional balance.

[0018] [Total content of boiled vegetables and grain kernels] The total content of boiled vegetables and grain kernels in the pet food is 20 mass% or more. Thereby, the boiled vegetables and grain kernels can be sufficiently visually recognized, and the handmade feel can be enhanced. Furthermore, the lower limit of the total content is preferably 25 mass% or more from the same viewpoint. In addition, the upper limit of the total content is preferably 70 mass% or less, more preferably 60 mass% or less, from the viewpoint of nutritional balance.

[0019] [Livestock meat] The pet food of the present invention preferably further includes livestock meat. By including livestock meat, it is possible to supplement proteins to improve nutritional balance, as well as enhance the preference of pets. Examples of the livestock meat include beef, chicken, pork, mutton, horse meat, venison and the like. In addition, the livestock meat may be boiled meat, or may be a pre-processed livestock meat product. The content of the livestock meat in the pet food is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoints of nutritional balance and preference, it is preferably 20 mass% or more and 70 mass% or less, and more preferably 30 mass% or more and 60 mass% or less.

[0020] [Starch] The pet food of the present invention may further contain starch. From the viewpoint of satisfying the demands of health-oriented owners and imparting a natural thickening sensation, the starch preferably includes unmodified starch. Examples of the unmodified starch include corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, wheat starch and the like. By containing starch, appropriate viscosity and coherence can be imparted to the pet food. The content of starch in the pet food is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of imparting appropriate viscosity and coherence, it is preferably 1 mass% or more and 10 mass% or less, and more preferably 2 mass% or more and 8 mass% or less.

[0021] [Other Materials] The pet food of the present invention may contain other materials as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired. Examples of such materials include ingredients other than those mentioned above, saccharides (dextrin, maltose, glucose, fructose, sucrose, etc.), vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants, flavors and the like.

[0022] [Method for Producing Pet Food] An example of the method for producing the pet food having the above configuration will be described.

[0023] (Preparation of Materials) First, materials for the pet food are prepared. For example, vegetables are cut into a predetermined size. Preliminary treatment is also performed on other materials (grain particles, etc.) as necessary.

[0024] (Heating and stirring) Next, the chopped vegetables, grains, and other ingredients as needed are added and the mixture is prepared by heating and stirring. Specifically, it is preferable to first heat and stir the dry grains with water, and then add the other ingredients sequentially. Stirring can be carried out using a stirrer used in the field of food processing, such as a kneader or mixer.

[0025] (Injection into mold) Next, the prepared mixture is poured into a mold. The mold can be made of any material that can withstand the temperature range from the temperature of the mixture to the temperature of the freeze-drying process, such as a plastic tray.

[0026] (Freeze-dried) Next, the molds containing the mixture are freeze-dried. Freeze-drying involves, for example, rapidly freezing the molds containing the mixture to below -30°C, then reducing the pressure to a vacuum to sublimate and remove the water, and finally warming the material under vacuum to remove any remaining water. A vacuum dryer can be used for freeze-drying, but a freezer or freezer chamber may be used for pre-freezing in the process of rapidly freezing the molds containing the mixture. This produces freeze-dried pet food.

[0027] [How to prepare pet food] Furthermore, the preparation method for providing freeze-dried pet food to pets will be explained. First, the freeze-dried pet food is mixed with water or hot water. The amount of water or hot water used for preparation can be set appropriately depending on the amount of pet food, but is preferably 10 mL to 50 mL. The temperature of the water or hot water used for preparation should be such that the freeze-dried material can be rehydrated and the temperature is easy for the pet to eat, preferably 10°C to 45°C, more preferably 30°C to 40°C. Mixing can be done with a spoon or chopsticks so that the blocks of freeze-dried pet food break down. This prepares pet food that can be provided to pets.

[0028] The prepared pet food can be given as is, or mixed with other food.

[0029] [Summary] As described above, the freeze-dried pet food according to this embodiment can be easily prepared by mixing it with water or hot water. Furthermore, the pet food contains at least boiled vegetables whose raw vegetable shapes are visible after preparation, and grains such as rice, with the total content of boiled vegetables and grains in the pet food being 20% ​​by mass or more. As a result, the prepared pet food has the appearance of homemade food with boiled vegetables and grains added. Thus, according to this embodiment, pet food with a homemade feel can be easily prepared.

[0030] Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Examples]

[0031] As embodiments of the present invention, Example 1, which includes beef and cabbage; Example 2, which includes beef and sweet potato; Example 3, which includes chicken and carrot; and Example 4, which includes chicken and broccoli, were each produced according to the following manufacturing methods.

[0032] First, each vegetable shown in Table 1 was cut. The maximum size of the cut vegetables was between 2 mm and 10 mm. Next, water and rice were added to the kneader and heated while stirring to soften the rice. Then, the cut vegetables, cut meat, and starch hydrolysate were added and heated and stirred further. Next, starch was added and heated and stirred further. Finally, the weight was corrected with water. This prepared the mixture. The proportions of the mixture were as shown in Table 1. The proportions shown in Table 1 are the proportions in the final product (block-shaped freeze-dried product).

[0033] Next, the mixture was poured into designated plastic trays, which were then pre-frozen in a freezer. Subsequently, the frozen trays were placed in a vacuum dryer and freeze-dried to produce block-shaped freeze-dried pet food.

[0034] [Table 1]

[0035] When approximately 30 mL of lukewarm water at 30-40°C was poured over the manufactured block-shaped pet food and mixed while breaking it up with chopsticks or a spoon, a wet pet food containing visible boiled vegetables and visible grains was prepared in about 30 seconds.

Claims

1. This pet food is freeze-dried and can be prepared by mixing it with water or hot water. Boiled vegetables in which the shape of the raw vegetables can be seen after preparation, Includes grains visible after preparation, The total content of the boiled vegetables and grains in the aforementioned pet food is 20% by mass or more. Pet food.

2. Pet food according to claim 1, The maximum dimensions of the prepared boiled vegetables are 2 mm or more and 10 mm or less. Pet food.

3. Pet food according to claim 1 or 2, The aforementioned grains include rice, Pet food.

4. Pet food according to claim 1 or 2, Furthermore, including animal meat, Pet food.

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