PROCESS FOR MAKING A PET FOOD IN THE FORM OF A COATED KIBBLE
A process of making a pet food include providing a core pellet; providing at least one coating material; applying the coating material to the core pellet to form a coated kibble using a continuous fluidizing mixer; wherein application of the coating material occurs at a Froude number range of from about 0.8 to about 3 and a Peclet number greater than about 6.
1 - 5 . (canceled)
6 . A process, comprising:
introducing core pellets into a continuous fluidizing mixer that includes a first end, a second end, two counter-rotating axes, and paddles that extend from and are oriented at an angle relative to each of the counter-rotating axes;
rotating the two counter-rotating axes such that the mixer has a Froude number of about 0.5 to about 3.0 and a Peclet number greater than about 6;
applying a first coating to the core pellets in the mixer to form coated core pellets; and
discharging the coated core pellets from the second end of the mixer.
7 . The process of claim 6 , wherein, during the rotating step, the paddles are configured to move the core pellets from the first end toward the second end of the mixer
8 . The process of claim 6 , wherein the pore pellets have a residence time of about 10 seconds to about 600 seconds in the mixer.
9 . The process of claim 6 , further comprising, prior to the discharging step, a step of applying a second coating to the coated core pellets.
10 . The process of claim 6 , wherein the first coating includes a component selected from Probiotic, mannoheptulose, an emulsifier, and combinations thereof.
11 . The process of claim 6 , further comprising, after the discharging step, a step of introducing the coated core pellets into a second mixer.
12 . The process of claim 12 , further comprising applying a second coating to the coated core pellets within the second mixer.