The particularity of pet nutrition
Due to the particularity of the service objects, pet nutrition is obviously different from traditional livestock and poultry nutrition. The main purpose of traditional livestock and poultry raising is to provide human beings with products such as meat, eggs, milk and fur, with the ultimate goal of obtaining more economic benefits. Therefore, its feeds are more economical, such as feed conversion ratio, feed-to-weight ratio and average daily weight gain. Pets are often regarded as family members and are people’s companions and emotional comfort. In the process of raising pets, people pay more attention to the health and longevity of pets, and economics are almost ignored. Therefore, the research focus of pet feed is to provide pets with a more nutritious and balanced diet, mainly to provide all kinds of pets with the most basic life activities, growth and healthy growth. It has the advantages of high absorption rate, scientific formula, quality standard, convenient feeding and use, preventing certain diseases and prolonging life.
Pet Nutrition Needs Research
At present, dogs and cats are still the main pets kept in the family, and their digestive processes are obviously different. Dogs are omnivores, while cats are carnivores. But they also share some of the same traits, such as lack of salivary amylase and a short gastrointestinal tract that cannot synthesize vitamin D.
1. The nutritional needs of dogs
The canine nutritional requirements standard published by the Canine Nutrition Committee (CNE), a member of the American Association of Feed Supervisors (AAFCO), is adopted by many pet food manufacturers. stage. Healthy dogs can synthesize vitamin C in the body, but other nutrients, such as vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6 and vitamin D, need to be supplemented by the owner. Another feature of a dog’s digestive system is that they can synthesize several essential nutrients, such as niacin, taurine, and arginine. Dogs have a high demand for calcium, especially growing puppies and lactating bitches, so their nutritional needs are greater than cats, and they cannot digest fiber. Dogs have a sensitive sense of smell, so special attention should be paid to the use of flavoring agents, as small amounts, excessive amounts, or unpleasant odors from metabolites can cause them to refuse to eat.
2. Nutritional needs of cats
In the case of cats, they can catabolize and use amino acids as an energy source for gluconeogenesis. Growing diets should provide sufficient protein, and the crude protein (animal protein) content should generally exceed 22%. A cat’s diet consists of 52% protein, 36% fat, and 12% carbohydrate.
As a companion animal, glossy fur is an important indicator of cat health. The diet should provide unsaturated fatty acid (linoleic acid) that cannot be synthesized or insufficiently synthesized in the body, but the content of unsaturated fatty acid should not be too high, otherwise it will easily cause cat yellow Fat disease. Cats can synthesize vitamin K, vitamin D, vitamin C and vitamin B, etc., but in addition to vitamin K and vitamin C that can meet their own needs, all others need to be added, which means that a vegetarian diet cannot provide enough vitamin A.
In addition, cats need a large amount of vitamin E and taurine, and too much vitamin A can lead to its toxicity. Cats are sensitive to vitamin E deficiency, and low levels of vitamin E can cause muscular dystrophy. Due to the large amount of unsaturated fatty acids in cat diets, the need for vitamin E is large, and the recommended supplementation is 30 IU/kg. Haves research believes that taurine deficiency will slow down the maturation and degeneration of cat’s nerve tissue, which is particularly prominent in the retina of the eyeball. Cats’ diets generally add 0.1 (dry) to 0.2 (canned) g/kg . Therefore, pet feed raw materials are mainly fresh meat and animal slaughtered scraps or meat meal and grains, which are very different from the bulk raw materials (corn, soybean meal, cotton meal and rapeseed meal, etc.) used in traditional livestock and poultry feeds.
Classification of pet food
Compared with traditional livestock and poultry feeds with a single product structure, there are many kinds of pet food, which are similar to human food. Calcium, vitamins and protein and other nutrients), snacks (canned, fresh packets, meat strips and jerky for cats and dogs, etc.) and prescription foods, and even some fun foods such as chews.
Pet owners are increasingly interested in whole-natural diets that contain healthy ingredients (oats, barley, etc.), which can reduce the risk of obesity and prevent diabetes, and higher intake of whole grains is associated with lower fasting insulin levels. In addition, the development of pet feed, in addition to meeting the required nutritional indicators, pays more attention to the palatability of the feed, that is, the flavor.
Processing technology of pet food
Pet feed processing technology is a combination of feed production and processing technology and food production technology. The processing technology of different types of pet feed is different, but the processing engineering of other pet feed except canned food basically adopts extrusion technology. The production process of extrusion can improve the gelatinization degree of starch, thereby increasing the absorption and utilization of starch by the pet’s intestinal tract. Due to the shortage of traditional feed ingredients, the utilization of existing unconventional feed ingredients can be improved by using extrusion technology. The different sectors of the food system, including production, transformation (processing, packaging, and labeling), distribution (wholesale, warehousing, and transportation), in and out (retail, institutional foodservice, and emergency food programs), and consumption (preparation and health outcomes).
Semi-moist pet food is also usually produced using an extrusion process very similar to the production of dry puffed foods, but there are significant differences due to differences in formulation, with meat or meat by-products often being added before or during extrusion Slurry, the water content is 25% ~ 35%. The basic parameters in the production process of soft puffed food are basically similar to those of dry puffed food, but the raw material composition is closer to semi-moist pet feed, and the water content is 27% ~ 32%. When it is mixed with dry puffed food and semi-moist food, the food can be improved. The palatability is more popular with pet owners. Baked pet food and treats – are generally made by traditional methods, including dough making, shape cutting or stamping, and oven baking. Products are generally shaped into bones or other shapes to appeal to consumers, but in recent years pet treats have also been made by extrusion , is made into dry food or semi-moist food.
Post time: Apr-08-2022