Retorting conditions affect palatability and physical characteristics of canned cat food

Abstract

The effects of different temperature and time conditions during retorting of canned cat food on physicochemical characteristics and palatability were examined. For this purpose, lacquer cans containing an unprocessed loaf-type commercial cat food were heated in a pressurised retorting system at three specified temperature–time profiles (113°C/232 min, 120°C/103 min and 127°C/60 min) to equal a similar lethality (F0 value = 30). Physicochemical properties (viscosity, texture, particle size, pH) were determined, and a 10 d three-bowl palatability test was performed with ten European shorthair cats. Retorting at 113°C/232 min resulted in differences in all the physical parameters examined (<viscosity, firmness, adhesiveness, and > particle size). Significant pH differences were observed (6·53, 6·63 and 6·66 for T113/232, 120 and 127°C, respectively). Preference ratios were 0·38, 0·31 and 0·31 for T113/232, 120 and 127°C, respectively (P = 0·067). It can be concluded that different retorting temperature–time profiles with equal F0 value significantly affect physical characteristics and tended to affect palatability of moist cat food.

Effect of sterilization and storage on a model meat analogue pet food

“…Few studies on these properties for pet foods are available in the literature. Hagen-Plantinga et al (2017) reported firmness of loaf type pet foods from 1.9 to 4.0 kg. Than et al ( 2019) compared 42 commercial canned pet foods of the type with chunks and demonstrated hardness values in the range of 9.1-71.2 N. Hardness of CCMA after sterilization measured in this study was in this range for chunks in water and jelly (30.7-46.9 N), whereas chunks in gravy were harder (77.6-113.7 N).…”

The Effects of Select Hydrocolloids on the Processing of Pâté-Style Canned Pet Food

“…These metrics may be important to pet owner acceptability and pet palatability and food preference. Reports suggest that cats prefer a softer food requiring less work to chew in the first 7 days of consuming a canned food [28]. The softer textures for LBG and XGG vs. KCG may be preferred by cats, but this was not a focus of the present study.…”

“…This methodology was selected instead of a texture profile analysis procedure because some of the treatments did not form structures that would remain stable if removed from the can. A similar methodology was applied to canned cat foods processed to comparable lethality values with different processing conditions [28].…”

Investigating the Palatability of Lamb and Beef Components Used in the Production of Pet Food for Cats

“…Furthermore, all components were fed raw in this study to eliminate the effects of processing and production of desirable Maillard products or undesirable products, such as the formation of lipid peroxides that can have implications on the palatability of pet food [7,22,23]. It is possible that the outcomes for palatability of raw components described in this study may differ from palatability results for single components that have been processed.…”