Ralston Purina Company

Ronald J Flier

Bernard M Payne

Thomas B Coppage

A complete maintenance, nutritionally balanced animal food composition of a moisture content of about 75% is presented which incorporates expanded soybean fiber chunks throughout to simulate natural meat chunks and to resemble a canned all meat product, said chunks having been impregnated with flavorful components to impart a meat-like taste and consistency thereto, and a process for producing said food composition comprising: grinding raw animal meat containing proteinaceous material to particles of a substantially uniform size; mixing expanded soybean fiber chunks, moisture and oils therewith; cooking the slurry of said chunks to impregnate them with flavorful components of said particles of meat, flavors and oils for consistency and taste, the cooking being carried out at a sufficient moisture content to allow the food compositin to resemble a canned, all meat food product; then forming a nutritionally balanced food composition with the cooked slurry; packing the food composition into a container; and cooking under pressure to sterilize the food composition.

Canned expanded protein lattice food product

A method of producing an expanded product which resembles meat, directly from soybean meal itself, including the steps of utilizing soybean meal that has substantially all the fat removed to an amount of about 5% or less, and preferably 2% or less, moistening the soybean meal such as mixing the soybean meal with water to obtain a moisture content of about 20%-40% by weight, controlling the pH within the range of 5 to 12, preferably 6 to 9, preferably adding an edible pH altering electrolyte while maintaining the controlled pH, and then simultaneously, mechanically working, heating above 212.degree. F., and pressurizing the moistened soybean meal in an extruder chamber sufficiently to cause continuous conversion of the meal to a flowable substance, and forcing the substance through and out of restricted orifice means to expand it into a lattice network structure having resilience, body strength, and appearance approaching that of meat.

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Ladue, MO, United States of America

Ronald J Flier