Pet food manufacturing method

Abstract

To provide methods for manufacturing pet food that can easily manufacture pet food that is easier to crunch.SOLUTION: Provided is a method for manufacturing pet food, comprising a swelling step of swelling a pet food material extruded from an extrusion molding machine to obtain a swelled dough, a porosification step of porosifying the swelled dough to obtain a porous dough, and a cutting step of cutting the porous dough.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing pet food. [Background technology]

[0002] Pet food can be divided into staple foods and snacks depending on the occasion for which it is given. Staple food is called a "complete nutritional food" and is made so that pets can get all the nutrients they need just by giving them that food and water. On the other hand, "snacks" are pet foods that are intended to be given in limited quantities to pets for training, exercise, or as a reward. They are classified according to purpose into "complete nutritional foods," "snacks," "therapeutic foods," and "foods for other purposes" that do not fall into any of the above categories.

[0003] In terms of the classification based on moisture content, pet food is roughly divided into dry food with a moisture content of about 10% (12% or less), soft food with a moisture content of about 25-35% and foamed, semi-moist food with a moisture content of about 25-35% and not foamed, and wet food with a moisture content of about 75%. Of these, the demand for dry pet food has been increasing in recent years due to its ease of handling and good storage properties.

[0004] Dry pet food is generally hard, harder than other types of pet food, and harder than most foods eaten by humans. Dogs and cats are originally carnivores, and their teeth evolved mainly to hold prey in their mouths or to cut meat, and are not suitable for crushing hard foods with their molars. For these dogs and cats, traditional hard dry pet food is not easy to eat. Easy-to-chew pellets are easy to eat, and easy-to-eat foods translate to high palatability.

[0005] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram for explaining a conventional method for producing pet food using an extruder. In a conventional manufacturing method using an extruder 100, pet food material m10 is discharged from a die plate 110, and immediately after discharge, pet food material m10 is cut by a cutter 120 to produce pet food PF10. After being cut, the pet food PF10 expands (expands) and becomes rounded grains.

[0006] The expansion of pet food material m10 occurs when the moisture in pet food material m10, which was under high temperature and pressure in the extruder 100, expands and turns into water vapor when it is discharged under normal pressure. At this time, pores are formed by the water vapor in the center of pet food PF10, but pores are less likely to form near the surface of pet food PF10 because the water vapor escapes to the outside of pet food PF10. Therefore, although pet food PF10 has pores in the center, the area near the surface of pet food PF10 does not have pores and becomes hard, tending to be difficult to chew.

[0007] In order to solve the problem of the outside of pet food becoming hard, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for producing pet food using an extruder (extrusion molding machine), characterized in that the pet food material discharged from the extruder is cut after the material has expanded. FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram for explaining the pet food manufacturing method described in Patent Document 1.

[0008] The pet food manufacturing method described in Patent Document 1, which uses an extrusion molding machine 200, uses a die plate 210 having a structure shown in Fig. 2. This is similar to conventional manufacturing methods in that the pet food material m20 is discharged from the die plate 210 and cut by a cutter 220 immediately after discharge. However, in the pet food manufacturing method described in Patent Document 1, after being extruded once within the die plate 210, the pet food material m20 expands in an expansion space 230 and is then cut by the cutter 220. Therefore, the obtained pet food PF20 is considered to be more expanded and easier to chew than the above-mentioned pet food PF10. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-238469 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] In recent years, there has been a demand for pet foods that are easier to chew, for example as pet foods for elderly pets. Pet food PF20 obtained by the pet food manufacturing method described in Patent Document 1 is easier to chew than pet food PF10 obtained by conventional manufacturing methods, but there is room for improvement in terms of ease of chewing.

[0011] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing pet food that can easily produce pet food that is easier to chew. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] In order to solve the above problems, the present inventors focused on the process from when the pet food material is extruded from the extruder until when it is cut. In the pet food manufacturing method described in Patent Document 1 shown in FIG. 2, the length of D is 18 mm, so that when calculated based on a general manufacturing pitch, the time for the pet food material m20 to expand in the expansion space 230 after being extruded once in the die plate 210 is 0.06 seconds or less. As a result of intensive research into this expansion time, it was found that by leaving the pet food material after extrusion molding further, the pet food material further expands while cooling forms a skeleton, resulting in a porous state with more open holes, and this led to the completion of the present invention. That is, it was found that by further having a porosity-making step of making the pet food material porous between the expansion step of expanding the pet food material and the cutting step of cutting the pet food material, the open holes in the pet food are less likely to be crushed, and a pet food that is easier to chew can be manufactured. More specifically, the present invention employs the following.

[0013] The present invention has the following aspects. [1] A method for producing pet food, comprising: an expanding step of expanding a pet food material extruded from an extruder to obtain a expanded dough; a porous forming step of making the expanded dough porous to obtain a porous dough; and a cutting step of cutting the porous dough. [2] The method for producing the pet food described in [1], wherein the step of making the dough porous includes placing the expanded dough under a pressure lower than the extrusion pressure of the extruder for 0.1 seconds or more. [3] The method for producing a pet food according to [1] or [2], wherein the step of making the dough porous includes placing the puffed dough under atmospheric pressure. [4] The method for producing the pet food according to any one of [1] to [3], further comprising setting the temperature of the puffed dough to 70°C or lower in the porosity-forming step. [5] The method for producing a pet food described in any one of [1] to [4], wherein the cutting step includes cutting the porous dough from an extrusion direction of the pet food material by the extruder and a direction intersecting the extrusion direction. [6] The method for producing a pet food according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the pet food ingredients contain grains. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the present invention, a method for producing pet food can be provided that can easily produce pet food that is easier to chew. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a conventional method for producing pet food. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a conventional method for producing pet food. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for illustrating a method for producing pet food according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for producing pet food according to a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] In this specification, the term "pet" refers to an animal kept by a human. In a narrower sense, a pet is an animal kept as a pet by its owner. Furthermore, "pet food" refers to food for pets. The pet food of the present invention can be sold as "animal food" or "animal feed".

[0017] In this specification, "palatability" is an index of whether a food is enjoyed by pets and is determined by the texture, taste, smell, etc.

[0018] In this specification, the value of moisture content is the value obtained by the "loss on drying method". The loss on drying method is a method in which a sample is heated and dried by infrared irradiation, and the amount of moisture in the sample is determined from the mass change due to the evaporation of the moisture contained therein. The moisture content can be measured using a known device. For example, the moisture content can be measured using an Infrared Moisture Analyzer FD-720 (manufactured by Kett Electric Laboratory Co., Ltd.).

[0019] In this specification, the size of the pet food refers to the diameter when the pet food is spherical, and refers to the longest diameter when the pet food is other than spherical (cylindrical, polygonal columnar, plate-shaped, etc.).

[0020] (Pet food manufacturing method) The pet food manufacturing method of the present embodiment includes an expanding step in which the pet food material extruded from the extruder is expanded to obtain a expanded dough, a porous forming step in which the expanded dough is made porous to obtain a porous dough, and a cutting step in which the porous dough is cut.

[0021] [Puffing process] The expansion step is a step in which the pet food material extruded from the extruder is expanded to obtain an expanded dough (expanded dough). The extrusion molding machine is not particularly limited, and a known single-screw or twin-screw extruder or the like can be used.

[0022] The temperature of the pet food material when it is kneaded in the extruder is, for example, preferably from 75 to 140°C, more preferably from 80 to 135°C, and even more preferably from 85 to 130°C.

[0023] Pet food ingredients As the pet food ingredients, powdered raw materials and liquid raw materials known in the manufacture of pet food can be used, and the following pet food ingredients may be used alone or in combination of two or more types.

[0024] Specific examples of powdered and liquid raw materials include cereals (corn, grain sorghum, wheat, barley, brown rice, oats, rye, wheat flour, rice flour, corn flour, wheat bran, rice, wheat germ, wheat gluten, corn gluten feed, corn gluten meal, bread crumbs, etc.); potatoes (sweet potatoes, potatoes, etc.); pulses (soybeans, broad beans, red beans, peas, defatted soybeans, soybean meal, kinako, soy flour, soy protein, okara, etc.); starch. Flours (corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, wheat starch, rice starch, potato starch, sweet potato starch, sago starch, etc.); meats (beef, pork, lamb, mutton, chicken, turkey, poultry, etc., liver and other innards, meat extract powders and liquids, processed products such as pork meal, chicken meal, beef meal, mixed meals of these, etc.); seafood (tuna, bonito, salmon, cod, horse mackerel, sardines, etc.) , shrimp, crab and other crustaceans, shellfish, processed fish meal, fish extract powder and liquid, bonito flakes, etc.; eggs (chicken eggs (whole eggs, dried whole eggs, egg yolks, egg whites), etc.); vegetables (carrots, cabbage, green peas, pumpkin, beet pulp, etc.), nuts and seeds; mushrooms; sugars (sugar, glucose, fructose, isomerized sugar, oligosaccharides, starch syrup, syrup, molasses, honey, etc.); dairy products (whole milk, skim milk, whole milk powder, skim milk powder, whey, cheese, butter, cream, etc.) cream, etc.); oils and fats (animal fats (beef tallow, lard, chicken fat, fish oil, etc.); vegetable fats and oils (soybean oil, sesame oil, germ oil, palm oil, corn oil, olive oil, coconut oil, etc.), fatty acids, etc.); dried yeast and its extract powder and liquid; dietary fiber (cellulose, etc.); herbs; vitamins; minerals; amino acids; sweeteners; coloring agents; preservatives; thickening agents; modified starch; antioxidants; pH adjusters; seasonings; emulsifiers; leavening agents; flavorings, etc.

[0025] Of the above, the pet food in the pet food manufacturing method of the present embodiment preferably contains grains, and more preferably contains grains and meat. The grain content in the pet food material is preferably from 10 to 90 mass %, more preferably from 15 to 80 mass %, and even more preferably from 20 to 70 mass %, based on the total amount of the pet food material.

[0026] The meat content in the pet food material is preferably from 1 to 40 mass %, more preferably from 3 to 30 mass %, and even more preferably from 5 to 20 mass %, based on the total amount of the pet food material.

[0027] As the composition of the pet food in this embodiment, among the above, a mixture of (a) grains, (b) beans, (c) meat, (d) seafood, (e) dietary fiber, (f) dry yeast or its extract powder or liquid, (g) vegetables, (h) vitamins and minerals, and (i) fats and oils is preferable. The mixture may contain coloring agents, antioxidants, and seasonings as necessary.

[0028] The pet food in this embodiment may be a mixture of (a) grains, (b) beans, (c) meat, (d) dietary fiber, (d) dry yeast or its extract powder or liquid, (e) vegetables, (g) vitamins and minerals, (h) oils and fats, (i) seafood, (j) starches, (k) eggs, (l) sugars, and (m) milk. The mixture may contain colorants, preservatives, thickening stabilizers, antioxidants, pH adjusters, seasonings, emulsifiers, and flavors as necessary.

[0029] An example of a complete nutritional pet food (dry food) mix is ​​shown below. The ingredients are adjusted to contain grains (10 to 90% by mass), beans (0 to 40% by mass), meat (0 to 40% by mass), seafood (0 to 40% by mass), dietary fiber (0 to 20% by mass), dried yeast and its extract powder or liquid (0 to 10% by mass), vegetables (0 to 20% by mass), vitamins and minerals (0 to 10% by mass), oils and fats (0 to 20% by mass), coloring agents (0 to 5% by mass), antioxidants (0 to 5% by mass), and seasonings (0 to 5% by mass).

[0030] [Porous process] The porosity-inducing process is a process for making the puffed dough porous to obtain a porous dough (porous dough). The puffing process described above is a process at the moment the dough is extruded from the extruder. On the other hand, the porosity-inducing process is a process for allowing the dough to be sufficiently puffed and for forming a skeleton by cooling.

[0031] A porous dough is one that is more open than a leavened dough and has open pores throughout the dough. The step of making the puffed dough porous is not particularly limited as long as it is a step that can make the puffed dough porous. The porosity-inducing step may include, for example, placing the puffed dough under a pressure lower than the extrusion pressure of the extruder for 0.1 seconds or more (pressure reduction operation); cooling the puffed dough in a cooling machine (cooling operation); and the like.

[0032] Decompression operation When the puffed dough is placed under a pressure lower than the extrusion pressure of the extruder, it is preferably placed for 0.1 seconds or more, more preferably for 1 second or more, even more preferably for 5 seconds or more, even more preferably for 10 seconds or more, and most preferably for 1 minute or more. By placing the puffed dough under a pressure lower than the extrusion pressure of the extruder for 0.1 seconds or more, the expansion of the puffed dough is promoted, and the puffed dough can be made more porous. The upper limit of the time for which the puffed dough is placed under a pressure lower than the extrusion pressure of the extruder is not particularly limited, and is, for example, 30 minutes or less. When this operation is carried out in a batchwise manner as described below, the upper limit of the time is, for example, 48 hours or less.

[0033] Specifically, the pressure lower than the extrusion pressure is preferably atmospheric pressure. That is, in conventional pet food manufacturing methods, the pet food material is cut immediately after being extruded from an extruder, but in the pet food manufacturing method of the present embodiment, it is preferable to extrude the pet food material from an extruder, place it under atmospheric pressure, and then cut it. The pressure reduction operation may be carried out continuously while the puffed dough extruded from the extruder is transported by a transport means such as a belt conveyor, or may be carried out batchwise by moving the puffed dough extruded from the extruder outside the line.

[0034] ·Cooling operation When the puffed dough is cooled in a cooling machine, it is preferable to cool the puffed dough to 70°C or lower. By cooling the puffed dough to 70° C. or lower, the expansion of the puffed dough is promoted, and the puffed dough can be made more porous. In addition, the porous dough becomes less likely to be crushed during the cutting process described below. The lower limit of the temperature of the puffed dough when cooling the puffed dough is not particularly limited, and is, for example, 10°C or higher.

[0035] When the puffed dough is cooled in a cooling machine, the cooling time is preferably 0.1 seconds or more, more preferably 0.5 seconds or more, even more preferably 1 second or more, particularly preferably 3 seconds or more, and most preferably 5 seconds or more. When the puffed dough is cooled in a cooling machine, the upper limit of the cooling time is not particularly limited, and is, for example, 30 minutes or less.

[0036] The cooling machine is not particularly limited, but is preferably a non-contact type cooling machine, and for example, a known spot cooler or the like can be used.

[0037] [Cutting process] The cutting step is a step of cutting the porous fabric. Methods for cutting the porous material include cutting the porous material with a cutter and punching the porous material with a punching die of a specific shape. Specific examples of the cutter include a guillotine cutter, a rotary cutter, a slicer, and the like, and these may be used in combination. In the following description, "a method of cutting a porous material with a cutter and a method of punching a porous material with a punching die of a specific shape" are also referred to as "a method of cutting with a cutter, etc."

[0038] In the method of cutting with a cutter or the like, the porous dough may be cut in the MD, the CD, or both the MD and the CD. Here, the MD (machine direction) is the flow direction of the porous dough (which can also be said to be the flow direction of the puffed dough extruded from the extruder). The CD (cross direction) is the direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the porous dough.

[0039] In the method of cutting with a cutter or the like in the pet food manufacturing method of this embodiment, the surface of the porous fabric cut with the cutter or the like (cut surface of the pet food) becomes a more porous surface (surface with openings) than the surface not cut with the cutter or the like. Therefore, from the viewpoint of manufacturing pet food that is easier to chew, it is preferable that the pet food has a larger cut surface. Therefore, the cutting step in this embodiment is preferably a step of cutting the porous fabric from both the MD and CD directions.

[0040] In the method of cutting with a cutter or the like, the temperature of the porous material when cutting is preferably 70° C. or lower.

[0041] By the method described above, pet food that is easy to chew can be obtained. The shape of the obtained pet food is not particularly limited, and examples include a sphere, an ellipsoid (go stone shape), a pellet, a cylinder, a polygonal prism, a hexahedron (plate shape), a cloverleaf shape, a heart shape, a star shape, a cross shape, and the like. If the method involves punching out a porous material using a punching die, it is possible to manufacture even complex shapes. Among the above, from the viewpoint of more easily achieving the effects of the present invention, the shape of the pet food is preferably cylindrical, polygonal prism or hexahedral, and more preferably hexahedral.

[0042] The size of the resulting pet food is not particularly limited, and may be small enough for a pet to eat in one bite, or large enough for a pet to bite into multiple times. For example, the maximum diameter of the pet food is preferably from 1 to 200 mm, more preferably from 1 to 150 mm, and even more preferably from 3 to 40 mm. Furthermore, the shortest diameter of the pet food is preferably from 1 to 100 mm, more preferably from 1 to 50 mm, and even more preferably from 3 to 30 mm.

[0043] The pet food manufacturing method described above includes a porosity-forming step, in comparison with the conventional pet food manufacturing method shown in Figures 1 and 2. Therefore, pet food that is easy to chew can be easily manufactured.

[0044] The pet food manufacturing method of the present embodiment is a method that is particularly useful for manufacturing dry food with a moisture content of about 10% (preferably a moisture content of 5 to 12%), from the viewpoint of making it easier to obtain the effects of the present invention. Furthermore, the pet food manufacturing method of the present embodiment is a useful method for manufacturing complete nutritional dry food, since it is difficult to manufacture pet food that is easier to chew and the effects of the present invention can be more easily obtained.

[0045] As specific aspects of the pet food manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the pet food manufacturing methods according to first and second embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0046] (Pet food manufacturing method according to the first embodiment of the present invention) Pet food manufacturing method 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[0047] In pet food manufacturing method 1, first, the raw material mixture is kneaded in extruder 10 to obtain pet food material m1. Next, pet food material m1 is discharged from die plate 11 to obtain puffed dough sd1 (puffing step). Next, the obtained puffed dough sd1 is flowed on belt conveyor 13 under atmospheric pressure and room temperature (25°C) (porosity-making step; decompression operation). The puffed dough sd1 flowed by belt conveyor 13 gradually becomes porous, becoming porous dough pd1. Next, porous dough pd1 is cut with cutter 12 to obtain pet food PF1 (cutting step).

[0048] The length of the belt conveyor 13 is set so that the puffed dough sd1 is left under atmospheric pressure at room temperature (25° C.) for preferably 1 minute or more, more preferably 1.5 minutes or more, and even more preferably 2 minutes or more. By leaving the puffed dough sd1 under atmospheric pressure at room temperature (25° C.) for 1 minute or more, the porosity of the puffed dough sd1 is further promoted, resulting in a pet food that is easier to chew.

[0049] In FIG. 3, the porous material pd1 is cut only in the CD by the cutter 12, but it is more preferable to cut it from both the MD and CD directions.

[0050] Pet food manufacturing method 1 can use an existing extrusion molding machine and does not require mechanical modification or complex control, so it is simple and inexpensive. In the pet food manufacturing method 1, an example has been described in which the pressure reduction operation in the porosification step is carried out continuously while transporting the material by a transport means such as a conveyor belt, but the pressure reduction operation may also be carried out batchwise by moving the puffed dough extruded from the extruder outside the line.

[0051] (Pet food manufacturing method according to the second embodiment of the present invention) Pet food production method 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[0052] In pet food manufacturing method 2, first, the raw material mixture is kneaded in an extruder 20 to obtain a pet food material m2. Next, the pet food material m2 is discharged from a die plate 21 to obtain a puffed dough sd2. Next, the obtained puffed dough sd2 is cooled in a cooler 24 to obtain a porous dough pd2. Next, the porous dough pd2 is cut by a cutter 22 to obtain a pet food PF2.

[0053] The temperature of the cooler 24 is set so that the temperature of the puffed dough sd2 is preferably 70° C. or lower. When the temperature of the puffed dough sd2 is controlled to be 70°C or lower, the expansion of the puffed dough is promoted while the dough is less likely to be crushed when cut by the cutter 22, making it easier to obtain a more porous pet food PF2.

[0054] The cooling time in the cooler 24 is preferably 0.1 seconds or more, more preferably 0.5 seconds or more, even more preferably 1 second or more, particularly preferably 3 seconds or more, and most preferably 5 seconds or more. The upper limit of the cooling time is not particularly limited, and is, for example, 30 minutes or less.

[0055] In FIG. 3, the porous material pd2 is cut only in the CD by the cutter 22, but it is more preferable to cut it from both the MD and CD directions.

[0056] Compared to pet food production method 1, pet food production method 2 allows production in a smaller space. In the pet food manufacturing method 2, an example has been described in which the cooling operation in the porosification step is carried out continuously while transporting the material by a transport means such as a conveyor belt, but the cooling operation may also be carried out batchwise by moving the puffed dough extruded from the extruder outside the line. EXAMPLES

[0057] The present invention will be described in more detail below using examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[0058] (Pet food manufacturing) <Example 1> The raw materials constituting the pet food were mixed in the proportions shown in Table 1 to obtain a raw material mixture. In a preconditioner, 12 to 25 parts by mass of water was added to the raw material mixture with respect to 100 parts by mass of the total amount of the raw material mixture, and the mixture was mixed while being heated at 70 to 100°C for 5 seconds to 3 minutes. The heated raw material mixture was put into an extruder, and while being kneaded, it was subjected to a heat treatment at 80 to 125°C for 10 seconds to 2 minutes to gelatinize the starch component, and the mixture was discharged from the extruder to obtain a swollen dough. The obtained dough was cooled in a cooling machine for 10 seconds so that the surface temperature of the dough was 70°C or less, and a porous dough was obtained. Next, the obtained porous dough was cut into a hexahedron shape in the MD and CD with a cutter, and the pet food of Example 1 was obtained. The moisture content of the pet food of Example 1 determined by the above-mentioned "loss on drying method" was 8.4%.

[0059] [Table 1]

[0060] (Pet food preparation) <Comparative Examples 1 to 7> As the pet foods of Comparative Examples 1 to 7, seven types of commercially available pet foods (commercially available products A to G) were prepared.

[0061] <Evaluation of open area ratio> Surface measurement Using a digital microscope (product name "VHX-7000", manufactured by Keyence Corporation), images of the surface of the pet food of each example were taken, and the images were used to measure the open area ratio of the pet food of each example using the measurement and scale tool automatic area measurement (particle count) of the digital microscope, excluding particles with a circle equivalent diameter of less than 50 μm. Note that, for the pet food of Example 1, the open area ratio was measured for the cut surface cut in the cutting step. The specific method is as follows.

[0062] (i) The magnification of the digital microscope was set to 20x so that all specific surfaces of each example of pet food placed on the measurement table were captured. (ii) The setting value of the epi-illumination was set to a value between 100 and 255 at which the aperture was most visible. (iii) In the digital microscope's measurement and scale tool automatic area measurement (particle count), the extraction method was set to "brightness (standard)." Then, the extraction area of ​​the first surface of the pet food was set. (iv) Excluding particles with a circular equivalent diameter of less than 50 μm, the open area ratio was measured using the automatic area measurement (particle count) of the measurement / scale tool of a digital microscope. The results are shown in Table 2 as "surface open area ratio (%)."

[0063] [Table 2]

[0064] As shown in Table 2, the pet food of Example 1 had a higher open area ratio than the pet foods of Comparative Examples 1 to 7. Therefore, it is presumed that the pet food of Example 1 is easier to chew than the pet foods of Comparative Examples 1 to 7.

[0065] From the above, it was confirmed that the pet food manufacturing method of the present embodiment makes it possible to easily manufacture pet food that is easier to chew. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 1...Pet ​​food manufacturing method, 10...Extrusion molding machine, 11...Die plate, 12...Cutter, 13...Belt conveyor, m1...Pet ​​food material, sd1...Puffed dough, pd1...Porous dough, PF1...Pet ​​food 2...Pet ​​food manufacturing method, 20...Extrusion molding machine, 21...Die plate, 22...Cutter, 23...Belt conveyor, 24...Cooling machine, m2...Pet ​​food material, sd2...Puffed dough, pd2...Porous dough, PF2...Pet ​​food

Claims

1. an expanding step of expanding the pet food material extruded from the extruder to obtain an expanded dough; A porous forming step of making the puffed dough porous to obtain a porous dough; A cutting step of cutting the porous fabric, A method for producing a pet food, wherein the step of making the dough porous comprises placing the expanded dough under a pressure lower than an extrusion pressure by the extruder for 0.1 second or more.

2. The method for producing a pet food according to claim 1 , wherein the step of making the dough porous comprises placing the puffed dough under atmospheric pressure.

3. The method for producing a pet food according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising setting a temperature of the puffed dough to 70° C. or lower in the porosity-forming step.

4. The method for producing a pet food according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cutting step includes cutting the porous dough from an extrusion direction of the pet food material by the extruder and a direction intersecting the extrusion direction.

5. The method for producing a pet food according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the pet food material contains grain.

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