Method of making a degradable animal chew toy
View Patent ↗A chew for a domestic animal comprises one or more sheets of a chewable bovine rawhide formed into a shape suitable for chewing by a domestic animal, wherein the one or more sheets has a mass loss of at least 45% as measured by the Degradability Standard Test Protocol. The bovine rawhide is made with a process that includes treatment with an enzyme. A process of making a pet chew from a split bovine hide comprises treating the split bovine hide with an enzyme solution.
1. A process of making a pet chew from a clean, split bovine hide that has been washed and de-haired, comprising:
treating the split bovine hide with a deliming solution to provide a delimed split bovine hide;
treating the delimed split bovine hide with an enzyme solution for a time and temperature to improve the degradability of the bovine hide without significantly affecting the chewable quality of the hide to provide an enzyme treated split bovine hide;
washing the enzyme treated split bovine hide to remove the enzyme solution; and
forming the thus treated split bovine hide into a shaped pet chew, wherein the pet chew has a mass loss of at least 45% as measured by the Degradability Standard Test Protocol.
2. The process of claim 1 and further comprising bleaching the washed split bovine hide with a bleaching solution.
3. The process of claim 1 wherein the enzyme treating act is carried out for 30-60 minutes and at a temperature in the range of 20-45° C.
4. The process of claim 3 wherein the enzyme solution has a pH in the range of 8.0-11.0.
5. The process of claim 1 wherein the enzyme solution comprises a mixture of enzymes.
6. The process of claim 1 wherein the enzyme in the enzyme solution is selected from the group of oxidoreductase, transferase, hydrolase, lyase and isomerase enzyme classes and combinations thereof.
7. The process of claim 6 wherein the oxidoreductase enzyme is at least one of a peroxidase, catalase, glucose oxidase, laccase and combinations thereof.
8. The process of claim 6 wherein the transferase enzyme is at least one of a fructosyl transferase, glucosyl transferase and combinations thereof.
9. The process of claim 6 wherein the hydrolase enzyme is at least one of a lipase, protease, glycosylase and combinations thereof.
10. The process of claim 9 wherein the hydrolase enzyme is at least one of trypsin, chymotrypsin, pepsin and combinations thereof.
11. The process of claim 9 wherein the hydrolase enzyme is at least one of a collagenase, a gelatinase and combinations thereof.
12. The process of claim 6 wherein the hydrolase enzyme is at least one of a serine peptidase, cysteine peptidase, threonine peptidase, glutamic peptidase, aspartic peptidase, metallopeptidase and combinations thereof.
13. The process of claim 6 wherein the lyase enzyme is at least one of a pectin lyase, pectate lyase, acetolactate decarboxylase and combinations thereof.
14. The process of claim 6 wherein the isomerase enzyme is at least one of a glucose isomerase, xylose isomerase and combinations thereof.
15. The process of claim 1 wherein the wherein the pet chew has a mass loss of at least 50% as measured by the Degradability Standard Test Protocol.
16. The process of claim 1 wherein the pet chew has a mass loss of at least 60% as measured by the Degradability Standard Test Protocol.