The current invention relates to methods of reducing hyperthyroidism in an animal by feeding the animal with a diet including vitamin K. The vitamin K is in an amount effective to reduce factors such as creatinine, triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). The current invention also relates to pet food composition that include effective amount of vitamin K to reduce the circulating levels of creatinine, T3 and TSH. In addition, the methods of making such a food composition are also disclosed.

Provided is pet food including: mock meat pieces which contain animal protein raw ingredients and vegetable protein raw ingredients; and meat flakes, in which the moisture content is 50% by mass or greater, the content of vegetable protein is 4% by mass or greater in terms of dry matter, and the content of methionine is in a range of 0.62% to 1.5% by mass in terms of dry matter.

Provided is pet food including: mock meat pieces which contain animal protein raw ingredients and vegetable protein raw ingredients; and meat flakes, in which the moisture content is 50% by mass or greater, the content of vegetable protein is 4% by mass or greater in terms of dry matter, and the content of methionine is in a range of 0.62% to 1.5% by mass in terms of dry matter.

A system according to various embodiments can include a source for supplying a material to be treated, an extruder, at least two screws, and a drive coupled to the screws for axially rotating the screws. The extruder includes an inlet for receiving the material, which is fed therein in a controlled manner. The screws are provided within the housing of the extruder. The screws have a plurality of compression and release stages that create mechanical heat which is directly applied to the material to change the mechanical properties of the material thereby facilitating a conversion of a physical state of the material from a non-compactable state to a compactable state as the screws rotate and move the material longitudinally along the screws to produce a final product, for example, a feed tub for use as an animal feed.

A method for manufacturing an edible dog chew includes the steps of: extruding a first edible mixture through a mold having an opening in a first direction to form a lengthened chew interior material; cutting the lengthened chew interior material into defined lengths to form at least one cut chew interior material; drying the cut chew interior material to form a chew interior; and coating the chew interior with a second edible mixture different from the first edible mixture. Further methods and pet chews are also provided.

A method for manufacturing an edible dog chew includes the steps of: extruding a first edible mixture through a mold having an opening in a first direction to form a lengthened chew interior material; cutting the lengthened chew interior material into defined lengths to form at least one cut chew interior material; drying the cut chew interior material to form a chew interior; and coating the chew interior with a second edible mixture different from the first edible mixture. Further methods and pet chews are also provided.

The present invention relates to a method for identifying a pepsin resistant alpha amylase enzyme for use in a feed supplement comprising: i) providing an alpha amylase enzyme; ii) admixing said alpha amylase with corn based feed and buffer o solution comprising a pepsin concentration of 9000 U/ml at pH 3, 40° C., 500 rpm for at least 120 minutes and analysing alpha amylase activity on said alpha amylase compared to a control sample; wherein said control sample differs in that no pepsin is o present during incubation; and iii) selecting an alpha amylase enzyme which substantially maintains alpha amylase activity under the assay conditions; feed supplements and feedstuffs comprising a pepsin resistant alpha amylase and the use of pepsin resistant alpha amylases in feed.

The present invention relates to a method for identifying a pepsin resistant alpha amylase enzyme for use in a feed supplement comprising: i) providing an alpha amylase enzyme; ii) admixing said alpha amylase with corn based feed and buffer o solution comprising a pepsin concentration of 9000 U/ml at pH 3, 40° C., 500 rpm for at least 120 minutes and analysing alpha amylase activity on said alpha amylase compared to a control sample; wherein said control sample differs in that no pepsin is o present during incubation; and iii) selecting an alpha amylase enzyme which substantially maintains alpha amylase activity under the assay conditions; feed supplements and feedstuffs comprising a pepsin resistant alpha amylase and the use of pepsin resistant alpha amylases in feed.

A pet food including a base material (10), and a grain (20) fixed on a surface of the base material (10), in which a particle diameter of the grain (20) is 0.5 to 20 mm.

Described are stable, durable granules with active agents, which have consistently low internal water activity, and methods for making such granules. The granules are particularly suitable for inclusion in steam treatment processes, including pelleting and tableting processes and steam processing of feed, without appreciable loss of active agent activity. The granules can be manufactured using humid processing air without compromising the stability of the active agents