Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~5~
Simulated Egg Treats for Pets
The present application has been divided out of
Canadian Patent Application Serial No. 473,058 filed
January 29, 1985.
The present invention relates to a ~old. The
mold is used in a process for preDaring treats for pets.
The pet treats incorporate a simulated appearance, flavor
and aroma of cooked eggs, with a meat or meat by-products
portion.
It is well-known that certaln pets, such as dogs
and cats, crave eggs. The lncorporatlon of eggs or an
egg flavor component lnto pet food ls also well-known as
exempllfled by the followlng U.S. Patents.
U.S. Patent 3,808,341 to Rongey teaches a pet food
product havlng the appearance, flavor and aroma of
cooked eggs. An egg base coatlng encases a less palat-
able core to mask lts taste and appearance. The core ls
generally formed o~` materlals, such as starch contalnlng
cereal and ground meat or rlsh. Thls product ls not
used as a treat, but lnstead ls employed as a meal for
pets.
U.S. Patent 4,046,922 to Barkwall, Jr., teaches a
cooked pet food product whlch slmulates a natural fried
egg and has the form Or a rounded dlsk wlth a whlte
outer portlon and an lnner yellow portlon. It ls
produced by coextruslon and contalns 20% to 40% by
welght molsture.
U.S. Patent 3,916,029 to Hlldebolt, teaches a pet
food contalnlng a seml-molst lnner matrlx lncludlng a
small percentage of whole eggs wlthln an lnsltu baked
outer pastry shell. The lnner portlon ls precooked,
ground up and coextruded wlth the outer portlon.
U.S. Patents 3,899,607 and 4,032,665, both asslgned
to Ralston Purlna Co., teach slmulated bone pet foods
whlch are formed by depresslng the materlal ln the shape
Or a rounded bone cross-sectlon wlth hollow lnterlor
followed by stufflng brownlsh, farlnaceous materlal lnto
the hollow to resemble bone marrow. The clalmed process
requlres shaplng the dough at 100 to 220F whereln a
slmulated bone havlng a shear value of not less than 250
lbs. per square lnch results.
None Or these prlor art references teach the pro-
ductlon of a pet treat by depositlng a yolk portlon con-
talnlng egg proteln onto a base portion contalnlng meat
or meat by-products and slmultaneously baklng both por-
~L2S~ 9~
3tions to bond them ;nto a hard biscuit.
According to the present invention there is
provided a mold for use ;n a rotary molder, comprising:
a curved plate adapted ror attachment to, and use
In, a rotary molder;
sald curved plate havlng at least one depresslon
rormed thereln, on one s~de o~ qald curved plate;
each of sald at least one depresslon being bounded
along sald curved plate by a perlmeter;
sald perlmeter belng ln the shape of an outllne Or
an egg;
sald depresslon havlng a generally planar surface
located entlrely wlthln sald depresslon, the planar
surface havlng a generally clrcular perlmeter and belng
ralsed above the surroundlng area of-sald depresslon;
sald planar surface belng adapted to form a
depresslon ln dough whlch ls recelved ln sald
depresslon;
sald planar surface havlng a plurallty of ralsed
rldges thereon, each Or sald rldges lylng entlrely
wlthln sald depresslon;
sald ralsed rldges belng adapted to form
correspondlng grooves ln doueh whlch ls recelved ln sald
depresslon;
whereby dough passlng beneath a rotary molder
havlng sald curved plate attached thereto ls recelved by
sMId depresslon so as to be shaped thereby ln the shape
'~2~
- 3a -
Or an outllne o~ An ege havlng a depresslon formed ln
the doueh at a locatlon correspondlng to the locatlon o~
a yolk in an egg.
In the parent application there is described a
method of making a dry, hard pet treat biscuit having a
base portion supporting a smaller portion comprisiny:
preblending dry ingredients of a base portion including
flour, meal, and egg solids; adding water and mixing;
separately preblending dry components of a yolk portion
including flour, meal, sugar and egg solids; adding water
and mixing; forming the ba~se portion into shape; providing
the base portion indentation; injecting the yolk portion
into the indentation to form a pet treat; and baking the
pet treat.
Both the base portion and the egg yolk portion
are integrated into a single product and are baked which
causes adhesion of the egg yolk portion to the base
portion. The base portion is formed with an indentation
on one surface. The yolk portion is applied in fluid form
by extruding or depositing the yolk portion into the
indented portion. Both the egg yolk portion and the hase
portion are hard. Because the yolk portion is hard, solid
fats do not leach or hleed after baking. Baking the
product with low heat is essential because high
temperature heat could prematurely set the product before
sufficient b~nding has occurred.
-- 4
S In order for the egg yolk por~ion to be extrudable,
it must have sufficiently low viscosity. Sugar provides
the necessary viscosity and aids in uniform spreading of
the filling to obtain a final egg treat which is somewhat
planar. The sugar to wate~ ratio is important because
the sugar helps bind the yolk portion of the egg base
portion and because the sugar to water ratio affects
the extrudability and the viscosity of the egg yolk
portion. The sugar to water ratio is between about
5% to about 20%. A ratlo hlgher than 20% whereln too
much sugar exlsts causes browning. A ratlo lower than
about 5% causes poor blndlng between the yolk and base
portlon due to the lack Or sugar, and may cause a short
shelf llfe due to excesslve water. Because the egg t
whlte portlon ls deslred to be whlte, use Or most sugars
ls lmpractlcal. For example, lf dextrose or ~ructose ls
employed, such sugars cause brownlng upon baklng. Corn
syrup does not produce sufflclently low vlscoslty. Ac-
cordingly, only sucrose produces the deslred vlscoslty
and pre~ents brownlng Or the egg whlte portlon.
In drawin~s ~hich illustrate preferred embodiments of
the present invention:
Flgure l ls a top elevatlonal vlew Or a mold ac-
cordlne to the lnventlon;
Figure 2 ls a slde sectlonal vlew taken along llne
2-2 Or rl gure l;
~2~5~3~
-- 5
Flgure 3 ls a vlew ln sectlon taken along line 2-2
Or flgure l;
Flgure 4 ls a top elevatlonal vlew Or an egg treat
product;
5Flgure 5 1~ a slde sectlon vlew taken along llne
5-5 of rlgure 4.
The dry, hard pet treat comprises two discrete
portions shaped similarly to the cross-section of a
hard-boiled egg wherein a yellow yolk portion 22 is
10surrounded by a bone white or light brown meat and/or meat
by-product portion which is referred to hereunder as the
egg white portion 21. The pet treats are
microhiologically stable and can be stored without
refrigeration or specia] packaging for periods up to at
15least 12 months, up to about 18 months. The preferred
shape is that of a cross-section of a hard-boiled egg but
other shapes such as round, animal-shaped, or steak-like
(steak and eggs) are also contemplated. In a preferred
embodiment, thickness of approximately 1/2 inch is used
20and is typical for this and other pet treats.
The long shelr ll~e ls attrlbutable to a molsture
content Or less than about 30% and a water actlvlty ln a
range well-recognized and conventlonally known for sta-
blllty, usually ln the range Or, or below, .55-.70
25(water actlvlty belng deflned as the ratlo. Or partlal
~5~9 ~J
pressure Or H20 ln the product, to the partlal pressure
of H20 at standard laboratory condltlons). The low
water actlvlty prevents the flow of water upon baklng.
The hlgh vlscosity of the unbaked product (l.e., a con-
slstency slmllar to peanut butter) has the added deslred
effect Or preventlng bleedlng because water or other
llqulds do not work lnto any caplllary cracks. Higher
molsture and water actlvlty above that whlch ls set
forth could cause bleeding or smearing of the yolk into
the meat-containing, or meat-by-product containing,
surrounding area during extrusion, cutting, curing, and
baking of the compositions employed. Hardness reduction
is caused by the formation of steam pockets which convert
into air pockets when the pet treat is baked.
The followlng descrlptlon uses the word "meal".
The meal may be any one Or the followlng plant or anlmal
meals lncludlng, but not llmlted to, soybean meal, wheat
meal, meat and bone meal, flsh meal, poultry meal, oat-
meal, rye meal, corn meal, rlce meal, and barley meal.
The stablllty of the pet treat Is achleved through
a low water actlvlty Or the ran6e well recognlzed for
stablllty, whlch ls generally ln the range of .65-.70 or
less. Thls low water actlvlty ls achleved by dehydra-
tlon or the use Or humectants known to those skllled ln
~S~
-- 7 --
the art such as glycerin, propylene glycol, salt, corn
syrup, sugar or the like.
The meat and/or meat by-product containing
portion, i.e., the egg white portion, preferably contains
from about 40 to 50% by weight flour; about 10 to 15%
meal; about 2.5 to 3.5~ flavoring, vitamin and mineral
preblends and preservatives, 10 to 15% egg solids; and 25
to 30% water. The preferred yolk filling contains about
15 to 25% flour; 4 to 8% meal; 3 to 5% flavoring, mineral
and vitamin premix; coloring agents and preservatives; 12
to 18~ sugar; 15 to 20% egg solids; and 30 to 40% water.
The meat or meat by-product-containing portion comprises
90 to 95% by weight of the entire egg treat (shown in
Figs. 4,5) before baking. The baked weight of the pet
treat is approximately 70% to 80% of the weight of the egg
treat before baking.
The dry ingredients can be blended together in any
typical mixer such as a ribbon blender, rotary blade
mixer or Hobart* type mixer until a substantially homo-
2J geneous composition is achieved. The water is then
added to produce a stiff dough which is extruded through
a die to form the base portion. All mixing can be per-
formed at 20 - 100 rpm of the blades. The dry blending
is typically at room temperature and atmospheric pres-
Tcade Mack
sure for a perlod of about 3 to 10 mlnutes, but any
amount of tlme may be used to blend the lngredlents.
The water may be hot tap water having a temperature of
approxlmately 90 to 150F. Nonetheless, any lukewarm~
to very hot, to bolllng water may be used lf such ls
available. After the hot water has been added, addl- r
tlonal mlxing of 3 to 5 mlnutes ls necessary to form the
stlff dough, although thls can vary greatly depending
upon how the dough ls mlxed. Generally, the egg whlte
10 portlon may be extruded and an lndentation is formed on
the top surface thereof. Thls ls not the preferred
method of maklng the egg whlte port~on, however, slnce
the extruded product must be sllced, as by a wlre sllc-
er. Sllclng causes warplng, bendlng, and other types of
dlstortlon of the egg whlte portion, whlch ls not recti-
fied by settllng of the egg white portlon slnce the
dough of the egg whlte portlon ls too vlscous to settle
flat wlthout appllcatlon of an addltlonal external
force. Warped egg whlte portlons are not as attractlve
20 as flat egg whlte portlons, nor are they as amenable to
addltlon Or the yolk portlon ln an automated productlon
process. However, ln a preferred method of formlng, the
egg whlte portlon dough can be rolled flat and cut lnto
an egg shape by a rotary cutter as descrlbed hereunder.
In preparlng the yolk portlon 22, the dry lngredl-
g
ents are generally blended for approxlmately the same
length of tlme as the egg whlte portion dry lngredlents
ln order to achleve substantlal unlformlty. Agaln, how-
ever, any amount of tlme may be used for blendlng, de-
pendlng on the mixer, the speed of operatlon, and the
amount and quallty of the materlals to be blended. Then
cold tap water Or about 40F to 80F ls added and addl-
tlonal mlxlng for about 3 to 5 minutes ylelds a peanut
butter type consistency of product havlng a yellow
colorlng. Any avallable cold tap water wlll sufflce.
Thls fllllng ls placed lnto an e~ector or extruder and
forced outwardly through a die or nozzle lnto the ln-
dented portlon of the base of the pet treat.
The pet treats are baked, to achleve a shelf stable
product wlthout the need for a molsture barrler protec-
tor. Typical baklng temperatures are from about 200 to
6000F for about 8 to 25 mlnutes. Typlcal drylng condl-
tlons are from about 200F to about 325F for approxl-
mately 12 to 25 mlnutes ln a forced alr dryer. On a
welght basls, the flnal product is approxlmately 70% to
80Z llghter than the prebaked product. Thls results
from evaporatlon of the water durlng baklng.
Flgure 1 ls a top elevatlonal vlew of a mold
element showlng a mold element 1 for produclng egg white
portlons 21 uslng a conventional rotary cutter (not
~L~5
f
--1 0--
shown). In a rotary cutter, a large cyllndrlcal sup-
port, havlng molds flxed thereto, is rotated ln place ln
contact wlth a moving flat sheet of dough. A support ls
under the movlng dough. Pressure between the molds and t
the dough support forces the dough to flll the mold. 5
~our e8g whlte mold patterns 2,13,14,15 are formed
in the mold element 1. As shown ln sectlon ln flgures 2
and 3, the pattern shown ls formed ln depresslons 4 ln
- the mold surface. Two palrs Or lntersectlng rldges
10,11 are ralsed above an elevated dle surface 7. The
ralsed dle surface 7 ls used to form an lndentatlon ln
the egg whlte dough 21 for the egg yolk portion ?2 (both
shown in flgures 4 and 5). The ralsed ridges 10,11 are
used to form correspondlng depresslons ln the egg whlte
dough 21. The yolk portlon 22, when ln~ected lnto the
depresslon formed by surface 7 in the egg whlte portlon
21, spreads lnto the depresslons formed by rldges 10,11
of the mold element so as to lncrease the strength of
the bond between the egg yolk portlon 22 and the egg
whlte portlon 21. Thls advantageously lmproves the
quallty Or the flnal product to the consumer.
ProJectlons 9,18,19,20 are formed above the depres- j
slon 4 ln each mold. Each pro~ectlon ls splke-llke.
None of the proJectlons extend above the level of the
top of the surroundlng body 1. Pro~ectlon 9 extends
~ S~s~ g7
f
--11--
above the flat raised surface 17 to a point close to the
top of the surroundlng body 1. The pro~ection 9> al-
though shown as centrally located on the ralsed surface
17, may be located anywhere else on the ralsed surface
17 or could be omitted entlrely. ProJectlons 18-20
extend above the level 5 of the ralsed portion 7, and
are spaced away from the ralsed portlon 17 along the
bottom surface of the depresslon 4.
The ralsed surface 17 ls bounded by an edge 6. The
lower portlon or base of ridge 7 ls deslgnated by the
numeral 5 ln flgures 1-3.
The base portlons of ralsed rldges 11 are deslgned
ln the drawlngs as base 7. The base portlons of raised
ridges 10 are deslgnated as base 8. The outermost edge
Or the depresslon 4 ls denoted by ~uncture 2 whlch ls
the lntersectlon of the generally smooth curve of the
top surface of the body 1 wlth the upwardly extendlng
walls Or the depresslon 4. The base Or the depresslon
wall ls lndlcated ln flgure 1 as the numeral 3; the up-
wardly sloplng sldewall between sldewall base 3 andJunctlon 2 ls angled outward to permlt ease of removal
Or dough 21 from depresslon 4 durlng operatlon of the
rotary cutter. ProJectlons 9, 18-20 slmilarly are pro-
vlded for aldlng ln the smooth removal Or dough 21 from
the respectlve mold depresslon 4. Mountlng holes 12
~2~ 7'
havlng bevelled edges 16 are shown ln flg. l, and re-
celve rastenlng elements ror attachlng the body l to the
rotatlng cutter.
Flgure 2 shows a slde cross-sectlonal vlew o~ the
mold taken along llne 2-2 ln flgure l. The elements
shown in flgure 2 have been dlscussed ln the above wlth
reference to figure l. The ralsed lntersectlng r~dges
lO and ll are shown ln rlgure 2 wlth rldge l0 belng
sllghtly hlgher than rldge ll. However, the relative
helghts may be equal or may be reversed, wlthout de-
partlng from the scope Or the present lnventlon. Addl-
tlonal rldges may also be provlded at any location on
the ralsed surface 17, and may be at any deslred angle
to rldges 10,ll. Other shapes may be used lnstead of
llnear rldges, lncludlng clrcularS S-shaped, angled,
dotted, dashed, or even flat-topped ralsed surfaces Or
planar extent less than that of the ralsed surrace 17.
Flgure 3 shows a sectlonal vlew taken along llne
3-3 of flgure l. The elements shown are as dlscussed ln
the above. Flgure 3 lllustrates the curved shape Or the
mold, sultable ror mountlng upon a rotatlng molder sup-
port cyllnder surface (not shown).
Pigure 4 is a top elevational view of the egg treat
product. The egg white portion 21 has the overall shape
of a longitudinal cross-section.
5~ '7,
., .
of an egg. The egg yolk portlon 22 rests ln a depres- ;
slon ln the egg whlte portion 21 formed by operation Or
the rotary molder on the dough 21, as dlscussed in the
above.
Flgure 5 ls a side vlew ln sectlon taken along line
5-5 ln flgure 4. Flgure 5 clearly shows the depression
formed ln the egg white portlon 21 ln which the egg yolk
portlon 22 is received.
Typlcally 5 to 10% of the total welght Or the eg8
treat base 21 and egg yolk portlon fllllng 22 ls the
filllng portion before baklng. The lndentatlon on the
base portion berore the inJection of the yolk por*ion
lncludes ln a preferred embodlment a cross hatching
pattern at the bottom of the indentatlon. The cross
hatching pattern ls formed by the grooves 10,11 of the
mold. Vpon heating the yolk fllling flows into the
grooves thereby causing the yolk filllng to lock ltself
into the base portion such that lt ls strongly bonded to
the base portion.
Sugar, tallow, and water glve the yolk portlon
fluldlty partlcularly when these lngredlents are mlxed
with hlgh shear mlxlng devlces such as an Eppenhach or
Oakes mlxer. These mlxers qulckly homogenlze the in-
gredlents yleldlng a conslstency Or peanut butter, which
ls pumpable and eJectable. The low temperature setting
~s~-9~l
-14-
and low resldence tlme ln the baklng oven prevents the
fllllng from prematurely settlng before lt has tlme to
flow and ~111 the entlre indentatlon. Furthermore, tem-
perature sufflclent to cause premature settlng would
also prevent the ~llllng from lnterlocklng wlth the base
portlon, lncludlng the grooves at the bottom of the ln-
dentatlon. The texture Or the yolk can be varled from
the texture Or the base portlon by lntroduclng air lnto
the yolk fllllng. Likewise, the base and fllllng can be
Or dlfferent colors, dlfferent sweetness levels, or any
other propertles, thus permlttlng the posslble produc-
tlon Or many varletles of products.
The flour ls generally a blend of a hard flour and
a medlum flour ln order to attaln a stifr, but not elas-
tlc, dough for the egg treat base portlon. The meal may
be any one Or the following plant or anlmal meals ln-
cludlng, but not llmlted to, soybean meal, wheat meal,
meat and bone meal,~flsh meal, poultry meal, oatmeal,
rye meal, corn meal, rlce meal, and barley meal.
The varlous flavorlnes can be elther llquld or dry
type flavorlngs lncludlng powdered milk, salt, cltrlc
acld, calclum carbonate, MYF twhich stands for Molasses
Yeast Fermented sollds) flavorlng, lnedlble tallow
(stablllzed wlth BHA), ascorblc acld, meat, poultry or
flsh flavorlngs, and veeetable flavorlnes, among others.
1~25F~ 3r~ (
'
The mlnerals and vltam1ns generally may comprlse
any of such mlnerals as calclum, phosphate, etc. and a
conventlonal commerclally avallable vltam5n mlx. A
dough condltioner ls typlcally sodlum metablsulfite to
produce a more workable dough, used alone or ln com-
blnatlon with preservatlves. The egg portlon 22 lngre-
dlent may be a conventlonal, commerclally avallable egg
solld composlng commerclally drled eggs or ground hard-
bolled eggs. The sugar normally employed is a non-
reduclng sugar such as sucrose sugar. It has been foundthat fructose and dextrose cause the egg treat to brown
when baklng when employed ln the yolk fllllng. Corn
syrup does not produce sufficlently low vlscoslty nor
blnding actlon necessary to blnd the yolk fllllng por-
tlon 22 to the base portlon 21. Accordlngly, sucrose,
whlch does not brown upon baklng to the extent that
dextrose and fructose do, ls the most practlsal and
economlcally useful sugar. In the egg yolk portlon 22
fllllng, various coloring agents can be employed such as
tltanlum dloxlde, carotenold, or any other conventlonal
colorlng agents. The sucrose sugar ls generally a flne-
ly ground sugar. A coarser sugar ls not deslrable, but
stlll could be used, because from a practical stand--
polnt, the quick solublllty Or the flner sugar shortens
the preparatlon tlme and would result ln lesser produc-
~L2~
tion costs. The yolk portion 22 may~ if desired, extend
su~-stantially ahove the surface of the base portion 21.
The following examples illustrate the present
inventinn and the invention disclosed and claimed in
Canadian Patent Application Serial No. 473,058.
EXAMPLE
The egg treat base portlon comprlses 43.38% flour,
13.23% meal, 2.81% flavorlng, 0.41% vltamln and mineral
premlx, 0.04% preservatlve, 12.08% eg8 and 28.5~ water.
The percentages are all based upon welght and approxl-
mately total 100% of the base Or the egg treat. All the
lngredients, except the water, are mlxed at room temper-
ature ln a mlxer a sufflclent tlme to obtaln a unlform
mlxture. Hot tap water ls added to the dry blended
mlxture and mlxing ls contlnued untll a unlform mlxture
ls obtalned and results ln a stlfr dough. The base
fllllng ls molded into an egg shape by a rotary molder.
Dough 21 ls molded and an lndentatlon ls then made on
the upper surface of the dough 21 wlth grooves 10,11
formlne cross hatchlng belng rormed ln the bottom Or the
lndentatlon.
The egg treat yolk fllling portlon comprlses 21.41%
rlour~ 5.60Z meal, 3.24~ rlavorlng, 0.27g vltamln and
mlneral premlx, 15.55Z sugar, 1.11% coloring agents,
~ 125~q1l9'~
--17--
r
zero to 0.01~ preservatlve, 16.28% egg solids and 36.53%
water. Preservatives are not usually used or needed.
These percentages of lngredlents are based upon welght
and comprise 100% of the fllllng. All the lngredlents,
except water, are mlxed at room temperature to obtaln a
unlform mlxture. Cold tap water ls then added to the
dry blend mlxture and mlxing ls contlnued until a con-
sistent mixture ls obtalned to form a stlff fllling
havlng a peanut butter-llke conslstency and vlscosity.
The mlxlng ls accompllshed ln a hlgh speed ~akes mixer.
The yolk fllllng ls then extruded through a band de-
posltor havlng multlple noz~les lnto the lndentations of
the base portlon 21 whlch ls dlscussed ln the above.
Then the egg treat product ls baked at a temperature of
about 2000F-6000F for about 5-15 mlnutes. Drylng occurs
at about 200F to 325F for about 12-25 mlnutes, ln a
forced alr dryer lncludlng about a 7 mlnute retentlon
tlme ln the oven. Thls reduces the welght of the egg
product by approxSmately 25%. The welght reductlon ls
due to loss of molsture; the flnal product then has a
molsture content Or approxlmately 11%.
Although ln the preferred embodlment a depresslon
ls formed on the egg whlte portlon 21, a ralsed area
could be provlded instead. That ls, the surface 17
formed on the egg whlte portlon could, ln the alter-
125~31.9'~
- 18 -
natlve embodlment, be ralsed above the remalnlng areas
of the egg portlon 21 and stlll retain thelr functlon Or
asslstlng ln the attachment Or the egg yolk portlon 22.
The improved treat is capable of achieving the
ahove-enumerated advantages and while preferred
embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed,
it will be understood that it is not limited thereto but
may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the
following claims.
