A method for coating dry kibble with probiotics using fat as a carrier, and coated kibble prepared by such method.

Abstract

A method of making a pet food product includes the steps of: mixing (a) a powder containing one or more probiotics and (b) a first portion of a liquid fat using a high shear mixer to form a liquid mixture containing one or more probiotics dispersed in the first portion of the liquid fat, mixing a second portion of the liquid fat with the liquid mixture to form a coating composition containing the one or more probiotics and the first and second portions of the liquid fat, and coating a food kibble with the coating composition using a batch or continuous coating equipment to form the pet food product.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing pet food products, comprising the following steps: (a) a powder containing one or more probiotics and (b) a first portion of liquid lipids are mixed using a high-shear mixer to form a liquid mixture containing the one or more probiotics dispersed in the first portion of liquid lipids; The step of transferring the aforementioned liquid mixture to a day tank; A step of mixing the second portion of the liquid lipid with the liquid mixture from the day tank using a static mixer at a position in the fluid line downstream from the day tank and upstream from the coater to form a coating composition comprising one or more probiotics and the first and second portions of the liquid lipid; A step of coating food kibble with the coating composition using the coater to form the pet food product, Methods that include...

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of mixing (a) a powder containing one or more probiotics and (b) a first portion of liquid lipids comprises a batch tank having the high-shear mixer.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the high-shear mixer is configured within the batch tank.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the high-shear mixer is configured in line with the batch tank.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the coater is a batch coater.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the coater is a continuous coater.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the day tank is equipped with a stirrer and a recirculation loop.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the recirculation loop comprises a pump, and the recirculation of the liquid mixture includes a step of using the pump.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the coating of the food kibble includes the step of spraying the coating composition onto the food kibble using the coater.

10. The method according to claim 2, further comprising a lipid storage tank, the lipid storage tank supplying a first portion of the liquid lipid, and the method comprising the step of transferring the first portion of the liquid lipid from the lipid storage tank to the batch tank.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the lipid storage tank also supplies a second portion of the liquid lipid, and the method includes the step of transferring the second portion of the liquid lipid from the lipid storage tank to the position in the fluid line downstream from the day tank and upstream from the static mixer.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the combination of the second portion of the liquid lipid and the liquid mixture from the day tank is subjected to homogenization in the static mixer in the fluid line to form the coating composition.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the concentration of the one or more probiotics in the liquid mixture is 1.5% to 15%.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the coating composition has a total lipid volume defined by a first portion and a second portion of the liquid lipid, and the first portion of the liquid lipid mixed with the powder in the high-shear mixer is 1% to 95% of the total lipid volume of the coating composition.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid lipid is fat.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the fat is an acidified fat containing an organic acid.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid lipid is an oil.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid lipid is selected from the group consisting of animal fat, chicken fat, edible lard, vegetable oil, or a mixture thereof.

19. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of introducing the powder into the batch tank or the high-shear mixer using a weighing feeder or a manual feeder.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein the powder containing one or more probiotics comprises probiotics.

21. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first portion and the second portion of the liquid lipid are introduced into the batch tank and the fluid line, respectively, without containing any other raw materials in the first portion and the second portion of the liquid lipid.

22. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of controlling the flow velocity of the liquid mixture into or through the fluid line by a first injection pump based on data from a flow meter in the fluid line indicating the concentration of probiotics in the liquid mixture.

23. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of controlling the flow rate of the second portion of the liquid lipid into or through the fluid line by a second injection pump such that the flow rate of the liquid mixture and the flow rate of the second portion of the liquid lipid are substantially equal to a predetermined target concentration of the one or more probiotics in the coating composition.

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