Intermediate moisture food product and method of preparing the same

Claim 1

A method of producing an intermediate moisture food product that resists spoilage and is shelf stable at ordinary room temperatures, having a moisture content between about 20 and 35% by weight, a protein content between about 20 and 35% by weight, a water activity between about 0.80 and 0.85, and a bulk density between about 20 and 30 pounds per cubic foot, which method comprises: a. forming a dry admixture of dry solid components, including from about 15 to 35% by weight of a cereal grain, and from about 20 to 70% by weight of a protein source material, an antimycotic agent and other dry additives reduced to a particle size less than Number 6 mesh, U.S. screen seive; b. adding from about 5 to 15% by weight of a polyhydroxy alcohol bacteriostatic agent and forming a uniform blend thereof with the dry ingredients; c. admixing from about 1 to about 10% by weight of comminuted fresh meat to the blend of dry ingredients and polyhydroxy alcohol; d. passing the blended admixture in a confined stream through a precooking zone wherein the blended ingredients are vigorously agitated and the moisture content and temperature thereof are increased by injecting hot water and steam into the agitated mix to produce a hot, moist, essentially unfused granular mix; e. passing the heated, moist granular mix to an extrusion zone wherein the mix is subjected to compressive agitation and pressures above atmospheric pressure and temperatures above the boiling point of water for a time sufficient to cook the admixture to an essentially nongranular, fused, self-sustaining, cohesive state; f. extruding the cooked, fused admixture from the extrusion zone through a restricted orifice to a zone of reduced pressure to form self-expanding, rope-like extrudate; g. cutting the rope-like extrudate into uniform sections to form pellets therefrom; h. subjecting the pellets to tumbling while spraying the pellets with a finely divided water stream and cold air to reduce their temperature to below about 100° F. and increase the moisture content thereof to a pre-determined level; and i. coating the pellets with a liquefied edible fat to raise the total fat content of the pellets to at least 7%.

Claim 2

A method of producing an intermediate moisture food product that resists spoilage and is shelf stable at ordinary room temperatures, having a moisture content between about 20 and 35% by weight, a protein content between about 20 and 35% by weight, a water activity between about 0.80 and 0.85, and a bulk density between about 20 and 30 pounds per cubic foot, which method comprises: a. forming a dry admixture of dry solid components, including from about 15 to 35% by weight of a cereal grain, and from about 20 to 70% by weight of a protein source material, an antimycotic agent and other dry additives reduced to a particle size less than Number 6 mesh, U.S. screen seive; b. adding from about 5 to 15% by weight of a polyhydroxy alcohol bacteriostatic agent and forming a uniform blend thereof with the dry ingredients; c. admixing from about 1 to about 10% by weight of comminuted fresh meat to the blend of dry ingredients and polyhydroxy alcohol; d. passing the blended admixture in a confined stream through a precooking zone wherein the blended ingredients are vigorously agitated and the moisture content and temperature thereof are increased by injecting hot water and steam into the agitated mix to produce a hot, moist, essentially unfused granular mix; e. passing the heated, moist granular mix to an extrusion zone wherein the mix is subjected to compressive agitation and pressures above atmospheric pressure and temperatures above the boiling point of water for a time sufficient to cook the admixture to an essentially nongranular, fused, self-sustaining, cohesive state; f. extruding the cooked, fused admixture from the extrusion zone through a restricted orifice to a zone of reduced pressure to form self-expanding, rope-like extrudate; g. cutting the rope-like extrudate into uniform sections to form pellets therefrom; h. subjecting the pellets to tumbling while spraying the pellets with a finely divided water stream and cold air to reduce their temperature to below about 100° F. and increase the moisture content thereof to a pre-determined level; and i. coating the pellets with a liquefied edible fat to raise the total fat content of the pellets to at least 7%.