PEA-BASED DRY PRODUCT FOR FEEDING ANIMALS

Abstract

The invention relates to a dry product based on peas, to the process for preparing same and to the use thereof.

Claims

1. Product derived from the mixing of a soluble fraction from leguminous plants and of pulps from leguminous plants, wherein its solids content is greater than 85% by weight, preferentially greater than 90% by weight, even more preferentially greater than 94% by weight.

2. Product according to claim 1, wherein the leguminous plant is preferentially chosen from the list consisting of faba bean and pea.

3. Product according to claim 1, wherein 90% of the product constituents have a size of between 50 microns and 3000 microns, preferentially between 300 microns and 1000 microns.

4. Product according to claim 1, wherein its colouring according to the “L*a*b*” technique, wherein its component L is greater than 30, preferentially greater than 40, even more preferentially greater than 50.

5. Product according to claim 4, wherein its component a is less than 20, preferentially less than 10, and its component b is greater than 25, preferably greater than 30, preferably greater than 40, preferentially greater than 50.

6. Product according to claim 1, wherein its lysine content is between 3% and 10% by weight of its total protein content, preferentially between 5% and 8%.

7. Product according to claim 1, wherein the total digestibility of its organic matter for monogastric animals is greater than 75%.

8. Process for preparing the product according to claim 1, comprising the following steps: i) pre-treatment of leguminous plant seeds; ii) wet separation of the constituents of the leguminous plant seeds into four fractions: a starch fraction, a pulp fraction, a protein fraction of globulin type and a soluble fraction; iii) mixing of the pulp fraction and the soluble fraction separated in the preceding step ii); and iv) drying of the mixture obtained in step iii).

9. Process for preparing the product according to claim 8, wherein the ratio, expressed in solids content, of the soluble fraction to the pulp fraction is between 0.8/1.2 and 1.2/0.8, preferentially 1/1.

10. Process for preparing the product according to claim 8, wherein the soluble fraction is pre-concentrated to between 30% and 50% by weight, preferentially to 50% by weight of solids before being mixed with the pulp fraction.

11. Process for preparing the product according to claim 8, wherein the mixing of the pulp fraction and of the soluble fraction is performed in a high-performance mixer for a residence time of less than 5 min.

12. Process for preparing the product according to claim 8, wherein drying is performed via a ring-dryer technology, preferably with recycling of the evaporation mists.

13. Industrial use of the product according to claim 1 in industrial applications such as food for human consumption, animal feed, pharmaceuticals, or cosmetics.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0084] FIG. 1 shows the evolution with time of the L*a*b* colouring of the wheat-based product of the prior art. The x-axis corresponds to time, expressed in minutes, and the y-axis corresponds to the L*a*b* colouring.

[0085] FIG. 2 shows the evolution with time of the L*a*b* colouring of the pea-based product according to the invention. The x-axis corresponds to time, expressed in minutes, and the y-axis corresponds to the L*a*b* colouring.

[0086] FIG. 3 shows the evolution with time of the levels of reducing sugars and of lysine of the wheat-based product of the prior art. The x-axis corresponds to time, expressed in minutes, the y-axis (left) corresponds to the level of reducing sugars expressed as a weight percentage relative to the gross weight and the y-axis (right) corresponds to the level of lysine expressed as a weight percentage relative to the gross weight.

[0087] FIG. 4 shows the evolution with time of the levels of reducing sugars and of lysine of the pea-based product according to the invention. The x-axis corresponds to time, expressed in minutes, the y-axis (left) corresponds to the level of reducing sugars expressed as a weight percentage relative to the gross weight and the y-axis (right) corresponds to the level of lysine expressed as a weight percentage relative to the gross weight.

EXAMPLES

Example 1: Production of a Product According to the Invention

[0088] After dehulling the external fibres using a hammer mill, the pea seeds are milled to produce a meal. 300 kg of meal with a solids content of 87% are then soaked in water at a final concentration of 25% on a dry weight basis, at a pH of 6.5 for 30 minutes at room temperature. 1044 kg of meal suspension containing 25% by weight of solids (thus 261 kg of dry meal) are then introduced with 500 kg of water into a hydrocyclone array adapted from an industrial potato starch processing unit. This separation leads to the production of a light phase consisting of the mixture of protein, internal fibres (pulp) and soluble matter. The heavy phase, containing the starch, is discarded.

[0089] The light phase at the hydrocyclone outlet contains as a mixture (142 kg of solids in total): fibres (about 14.8% by weight, i.e. 21 kg of solids), protein (about 42.8% by weight, i.e. 60.8 kg of solids) and soluble matter (about 42.4% by weight, i.e. 60.2 kg of solids). It is then brought to a solids content of 11.4%. The fibres are separated out on centrifugal decanters of Westfalia type used in an industrial potato starch processing unit. The light phase at the outlet of the centrifugal decanter contains a mixture of protein and of soluble matter, while the heavy phase contains the pea fibres. The heavy phase contains 105 kg of fibres with a solids content of 20%. It is noted that virtually all of the fibres are indeed found in this fraction. This fraction will be referred to hereinbelow as the “internal pea fibres” and corresponds to the pulp fraction.

[0090] As for the light fraction, it contains 1142 kg of a dissolved mixture of soluble matter and protein. The proteins were coagulated at their isoelectric point by adjusting the light phase at the outlet of the centrifugal decanter to a pH of 4.6 and heating this solution at 70° C. for 20 min. After precipitation of the proteins, the sediment, containing 56 kg of proteins (86% of N*6.25 on a dry basis) at 93% by weight of solids, was discarded. The liquid fraction, which will be called “pea soluble fraction” was concentrated by vacuum evaporation to about 50% by weight of SC.

[0091] The two fractions “pea internal fibres” and “pea residual soluble fraction” were mixed using a Lodige FM130 Paddle mixer, with a respective ratio of 45/55 on a solids basis. The solids content was adjusted to about 70% by weight. The mixture was dried using a DEDERT brand ring-dryer. The evaporation capacity was 60-80 kg of water/h. The ring-dryer was configured in “PGR” mode, i.e. with recycling of the evaporation mists. The running of the ring-dryer was adjusted in order to guarantee a temperature of the air inlet of 250° C. and of air outlet of 115° C.

Example 2: Temperature Stability of the Invention Versus Products from the Prior Art

[0092] The aim of Example 2 was to demonstrate the impact of the drying conditions on the properties of the product according to the invention, when it is exposed to temperature.

[0093] For comparative purposes, use was made of reference by-products from the wheat sector, which were mixed in a certain ratio and dried under similar conditions (40° C., 200 mbar, 68 h).

[0094] The analyses of the two products obtained were as follows:

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Pea-based Wheat- product based according product to the of the invention prior art SC (% by weight) 90.8  89.8  Aw or water  0.40  0.53 activity (20° C.) Lysine content  1.04  0.48 (as % by gross weight) Reducing sugars  3.70  5.10 (as % by gross weight)

[0095] Samples containing 100 g of the two samples were then introduced into hermetically sealed aluminium bags, and then introduced into an oven heated to 100° C. Samples were collected on a regular basis over 120 min, at regular intervals.

[0096] The following were analysed on these samples: [0097] Visual observation of the colour (DDGS colour scale); [0098] Measurement of the L*a*b* colouring by spectrophotometry; [0099] Analysis of the lysine content.

[0100] The L*a*b* colourings described in [FIG. 1] and [FIG. 2] did indeed provide evidence for this observation.

[0101] The analysis of the lysine in the collected samples gave the results described in [FIG. 3] and [FIG. 4].

[0102] Surprisingly, it is noted that: [0103] The appearance of colouring was greater with the wheat-based product according to the prior art; [0104] The loss of lysine was ultimately only 33% by weight in the product according to the invention, whereas the loss was 50% by weight in the wheat-based product from the prior art; [0105] This result was the opposite of the previous results regarding colour development. Those skilled in the art would have expected greater degradation of lysine in the product according to the invention.

[0106] These results make it possible to confirm that the product according to the invention shows very special behaviour, and that, if the process performed by the Applicant is followed, a product with a guaranteed colouring and lysine content and which corresponds to the expectations of the animal nutrition sector, is obtained.

Example 3: Assessment of the Nutritional Properties of the Product According to the Invention for Feeding Pigs

[0107] The digestibility of the product obtained according to the invention in Example 1 was studied in vivo.

[0108] This study compared the total digestibility of a control basic ration A, of a ration B with the incorporation of 25% by weight of yellow peas (Canadian origin), and of two rations C and D containing 15% and 30% by weight respectively of the product obtained according to the invention in Example 1. The rations were presented as granules 3 mm in diameter, with a suitable methionine supplementation, in order to compensate for the usually low content of methionine in pea products.

[0109] The pigs were fed twice a day, up to a feeding level equivalent to 3.2 times the maintenance requirement. The average live weight of the pigs at the start of the experiment was 49.5 kg.

[0110] This study showed digestibility values of the organic matter which were in accordance with the values expected for the yellow pea tested (88.7%), in comparison with the value in the reference tables for pig feed (INRA 2002=90%, CVB 2006=92%). This validated the relevance of the retained experimental protocol.

[0111] The average digestibility of the organic matter for the product obtained according to the invention in Example 1 was found to be 82%.

[0112] This result is entirely surprising: the difference in digestibility between the dried by-product and the original raw material was less than 10 units, while it is usual to find a discrepancy of greater than 20 units according to the tables, when the digestibility of the organic matter in pigs is compared between the original raw material and the by-product composed of co-dried fibres and soluble matter. According to the previously mentioned INRA study, the European wheat stillage grain (Wheat DDGS) show an average digestibility of 68%, compared with 90% for wheat. For the corn stillage grain (Corn DDGS), the values are 69% as opposed to 91% for corn.