An animal feed producing system comprises a compression screw assembly. The compression screw assembly includes at least a first screw, a second screw and a plurality of barrels. The first and second screws include a plurality of flights and roots. The plurality of screws is configured such that they include a plurality of sections. Each section comprises a set of plurality of flights and a plurality of roots configured to perform a specific compression function, such as perpendicular compression and lateral compression.

A device for producing a high density compact livestock feed from a loose granular material according to various embodiment can include a source for supplying a loose granular material to be treated and moving the treated material through a series of successive treatment zones. Rotatable screws are provided within an extruder to compress and transport the treated material a die. The treated material is pressed through the die while a two-dimensional cross-section compression is applied to the treated material.

A method of producing a jerky dog treat, comprising, tumbling, under vacuum, a mixture comprising diced chicken, salt, and water for about 5 minutes, tumbling, under vacuum, the mixture further comprising one or more additional ingredients for about 15 minutes, molding the mixture into one or more strips comprising the jerky dog treat that are placed on a screen, and cooking the one or more strips in an oven.

A pet food cooker and mixer includes a housing within which is enclosed a motor and a removable mixing pot where the mixing pot is configured with curved walls and an open top, a longitudinal axis, and an outlet at one end. A mixer blade is driven by the motor and is configured with a shaft extending along the longitudinal axis within the mixing pot, the mixer blade comprising plurality of paddles extending radially from the shaft and configured to force food material toward the outlet and a scraper arm extending outward from the shaft, the scraper arm having a scraper paddle in contact with the curved walls. An extrusion auger is also driven by the motor and is configured to force food material through the outlet. The device is also configured with a heating element for heating the mixing pot.

A process to remove the glucosinolates of oilseed meals, such as Brassica carinata oilseed meals, is provided. In one embodiment, exogenous myrosinase is used to convert the glucosinolates to volatile isothiocyanate compounds, which can then be removed under conditions of mild heat and negative pressure. In another embodiment, heat and pressure are used to remove glucosinolates from Brassica carinata oilseed. The processed meals may contain less than 80% of their starting levels of glucosinolates and may be suitable for use in various applications, including as animal feeds.

A method is disclosed for producing an extruded daily ration feed product with a known concentration of diethylcarbamazine. The method involves mixing propylene glycol and diethylcarbamazine together to form an active blend with a predetermined ratio. The active blend and a feed mixture are then introduced into an extruder and forced through a die to form the extruded daily ration feed product. Inline near-infrared spectroscopy is used to detect the propylene glycol within the extruder. The detected level of propylene glycol is correlated to the concentration of diethylcarbamazine within the extruded daily ration feed product based on the predetermined ratio. This method provides a reliable and efficient way to ensure the desired concentration of diethylcarbamazine exists in the extruded daily ration feed product during the production process.

A pelletizer with a removable pelletizer die is disclosed, including a plurality of bolts and a plurality of precision pins each provided in a plurality of flanges to fasten a pelletizer die. The plurality of bolts and the plurality of precision pins enable an operator to disassemble and clean a pelletizer die and replace the pelletizer die in a suitable position. A drive side shaft seal and an end each include a removable internal bushing, a larger surface and packing with an outside flange surface using the plurality of bolts to compress the packing.

Apparatus and methods for food production including a food preconditioner (228) operable to heat and partially pre-cook food ingredients, and a twin screw extruder (20) operable to further cook the preconditioned ingredients to create final food products. The extruder (20) includes a pair of hollow core extrusion screws (50, 52, 124, 126, 190) having elongated hollow core shafts (54, 128, 130, 192) equipped with helical fighting (56, 132, 134, 194) along the lengths thereof. The fighting (132, 134, 194) is also of hollow construction which communicates with the hollow core shafts (54, 128, 130, 192). The fighting (56, 132, 134, 194) also includes forward, reverse pitch sections (64, 162, 216). The extrusion screws (50, 52, 124, 126, 190) are designed to impart high levels of thermal energy into materials being processed in the extruders (20), without adding additional moisture.

A method and apparatus for the automated mass production of spiral body pet treats, particularly chewable, spiraling rawhide-type pet treats, employs an extruder for extruding at least one rope in the form of a spiraling cross-sectional body having a plurality of radially spaced layers and an outer terminal end portion which is radially in-turned and conjoined with an adjacent one of the plurality of radially spaced layers. The rope is cut by a cutting assembly at longitudinally spaced locations in creating spiral shaped intermediate products which are then dried to form the spiral body pet treats. The spiral body pet treats are hard when dried but, with the radially in-turned outer terminal end portion being joined to a radially inward spiral layer, no terminal edge with potentially sharp contact points is exposed.

A pet food cooker and mixer includes a housing within which is enclosed a motor and a removable mixing pot where the mixing pot is configured with curved walls and an open top, a longitudinal axis, and an outlet at one end. A mixer blade is driven by the motor and is configured with a shaft extending along the longitudinal axis within the mixing pot, the mixer blade comprising plurality of paddles extending radially from the shaft and configured to force food material toward the outlet and a scraper arm extending outward from the shaft, the scraper arm having a scraper paddle in contact with the curved walls. An extrusion auger is also driven by the motor and is configured to force food material through the outlet. The device is also configured with a heating element for heating the mixing pot.