The use of spray-dried animal plasma in comparison with other binders in canned pet food recipes

Spray-dried animal plasma (SDAP) is used in canned pet food mainly because of some technological properties such as gel strength, water retention and fat emulsion capacities. In this study, 5 different binders commonly used in canned pet food recipes were evaluated in chunk- and loaf-type products. The binders tested were SDAP, wheat gluten (WG), dehydrated pork rind (DPR), soy protein concentrate (SPC) and a newly developed product containing a mixture of plasma, globin and red cells (MIX). The binders were incorporated in the chunk and loaf recipes at 15 or 25g/kg, respectively. The inclusion of SDAP or MIX improved chunk strength with respect to the inclusion of DPR or WG with the inclusion of SPC being intermediate (P<0.001). The recipe containing WG showed the highest water loss value and those containing SDAP and MIX showed the lowest (P<0.001). Viscosity was not statistically different among binders. For loaf products the best texture was obtained with MIX inclusion followed by SDAP inclusion (P<0.001) with DPR giving the lowest quality (P<0.001). The inclusion of DPR resulted in greatest water loss than the inclusion of SDAP (P<0.05). The viscosity of raw emulsions was similar to that observed in the chunk recipes. The inclusion of MIX resulted in a lower L* and higher a* in both types of pet foods, indicating that final cooked recipe was less pale and redder than recipes that included the other binders. The differences in colour observed were still evident 60min after the opening of the can. In summary, the inclusion of SDAP and MIX improved the texture and reduced water loss in chunk and loaf foods compared with the other binders tested. The use of MIX increased the natural red colour of cooked pet foods. The DPR is an alternative binder to WG and SPC if the objective is to maintain the quality of the final product.