Pet Feed Pellets with Clay Mineral Carrier and Coating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pet feed pellets face challenges in maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of probiotics and fat-soluble vitamins due to leakage of oil/fat over time, which compromises the intestinal health benefits they provide.
Innovation Solution
The development of feed pellets that incorporate a prebiotic, probiotics, fat-soluble vitamins, and a clay mineral selected from the group of phyllosilicates, which acts as a carrier and additive to promote intestinal health. The pellets are extruded into porous granules coated with an oil/fat mixture and probiotics, ensuring even distribution and retention of active ingredients.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If extruded porous feed granules are used to distribute probiotics and fat-soluble vitamins, then the distribution effectiveness is improved, but oil/fat leakage occurs over time causing loss of fat-soluble vitamins
Solution Approach 1:
A coating layer is introduced as an intermediary between the porous feed granules and the external environment. This coating layer contains the probiotics and fat-soluble vitamins, preventing their direct contact with air and moisture that would cause degradation and leakage. The coating acts as a protective barrier while still allowing the granules to function as effective distribution carriers.
Solution Approach 2:
The feed product is structured as a composite system with an inner core of porous feed granules and an outer coating layer. The porous granules provide distribution effectiveness for prebiotics and minerals, while the coating layer provides protection and controlled release for probiotics and fat-soluble vitamins. This composite structure combines the advantages of both materials while mitigating their individual disadvantages.
2Reliability
If probiotics are incorporated into the feed composition, then intestinal health support is improved, but probiotic viability is reduced during long-term storage
Solution Approach 1:
The coating layer serves as a protective intermediary for the probiotics, isolating them from environmental factors such as oxygen, moisture, and temperature fluctuations that would otherwise kill them during storage. This allows the probiotics to remain viable for long periods while still being delivered to the animal's gut where they can exert their health benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The coating layer creates a protected, inert environment around the probiotics, shielding them from harmful external conditions during storage and transport. This inert barrier maintains probiotic viability until the feed is consumed, at which point the protective effect is temporarily suspended to allow probiotic action in the gut.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution ensures optimal retention and distribution of active ingredients, maintaining the quality and effectiveness of the feed pellets over a longer period, thereby providing sustained support for intestinal health in pets.
Implementation Method 1
the carrier material functions at least as a carrier material for the prebiotic
Implementation Method 2
the one or more coating layers comprise an oil/fat mixture and a probiotic, which are evenly distributed over the porous volume of the entire feed granule
Implementation Method 3
the feed composition is extruded into porous feed granules
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to feed pellets for pets, such as dogs or cats, comprising a feed composition, wherein the feed composition is extruded into porous feed granules, wherein the porous feed granules are enveloped by one or more coating layers, wherein the one or more coating layers comprise an oil/fat mixture and a probiotic, which are evenly distributed across the porous volume of the entire feed granule, and wherein the feed composition further comprises a prebiotic and one or more fat-soluble vitamins wherein the feed composition further comprises a carrier material, wherein the carrier material functions at least as a carrier material for the prebiotic and wherein the carrier material is a clay mineral selected from the group of phyllosilicates. The present invention also relates to a method for producing feed pellets for animals and the use of the feed pellets to improve intestinal health in dogs or cats.