CA1043624A - Dry dog food - Google Patents

Abstract

DRY DOG FOOD
Abstract of the Disclosure A dry pet food resembling a stew when hydrated is provided having meat simulating pieces and a plurality of vegetable simulating pieces of contrasting colors, whereby undesirable segregation of the vegetable simulating pieces is avoided by control of their geometric shape and bulk density, the bulk density being between 25 to 28 lbs. per bushel and each vegetable simulated piece having flat sides or sharp edges and having a geometrical shape selected from those of the type consisting of ellipsoids, prisms, cubes, cones, pyramids, cylinders, truncated pyramids, truncated prisms and truncated cones.

Description

~043~;Z4 Backqround of the Invention This application is related to our prior application, Canadian Serial No. 155,169, fi~ed October 30, 1972.
The instant invention is directed towards a dry pet food product which upon hydration is designed to resemble a stew.

Pet owners have heretofore expressed a desire for variance of the diet of their pets. Thi~ has been achieved by feeding pet foods with different meats or fish flavors. More recently, users of csnned dog food products have been ~ble to feed canned dog food which resembles a stew in that pieces of vegetable~
such as potatoe~, carrot~ and peas are incorporated with piece~
of meat in a gravy-like broth. This permits a wider variety of materlals to be employed in the pet~' tiets and is of a high tegroe of esthetic appeal to the pet owner due to the vsrlety of materlal~ consumed by the pet. While canned stew~ containing vegetable~ ant meat are highly tesirable as a consumer item, nevertheless, dry pet food products have the considerable advantages of being more economical and more convenient for free choice feeding to the pet. For this reason, dry pet food products have a considerable portion of the total pet food market.
It has now been determinet that a dry pet food protuct can be produced which upon hydration with water, can clo~ely resemble a stew, including vegetable simulQting ant meat simulating pieces. m is product, therefore, has the esthetic appeal of the istew, absent the economic disadvantages of employing -~real meat and vegetables. The meat simulating pieces include fibrous, expanded materials derived ~ub~tantially from vegetable protein source~ such a~ soybeans, with these fibrous materials ~ , C - 2 - , , , . . ; . , , ~ .

1C~3Uj2 4 being capable of rehydrstion ln wster without sub~tantisl di~-lntegratlon Products of thi~ type and methods for their pro-duction arc described in United States Patent 3,496,858 By e~ploying farinaceou~ bai~ed ~sterial~ a8 the starting matcrials, colorlng them appropriately and proce~ing thcm in a ~imilar ~nner as described for the meat i~imulating pieces, vegetable lmulatlng piece- can accordin~ly be provided and lncluded ~ith the meat-like piece~ to resemble a stew upon hydratlon ~lth w ter In produclng a dry food product of thi~ type, con-talnlng a nu~ber of vegetable ~imulating pieces of a variety of color~ which rcisembles, for example, pea~, carrots snd pot toe~, it becamc critical fro~ the ~itandpolnt of e~thetic app- l to provlde a ~ub~tantlally unlfon~ d xtur of the dlfferent colorct v getable Ji~ulatlng pleces In other ~ord~, lt 1~
d-~lrable to have a roproduclble and approximately equal per-cc~tage of pea, carrot and potato ~lmulating pieces ln a r prc~ ntatlve ~ample, without a preponderance of any one com-ponent in order to achleve the maximum degree of appeal to the con~umer In thl~ way, any portion fed to the pet would appear to the con~umer to be about the sa~e as the next portion ln~ofar a~ thc relat~ve pcrcentage~ of vegetable~ and meat slmulatlng chunks It wa~ therefore detenmlned that thls was a falrly dlfficult proble~ to achieve in the production of the lnstant product slnce ln the combinlng of the dlfferent colored vege-table simulating components, there was a tentency for the~ to ~egregate in the mixlng bin~, thereby providing a product whlch lacked tbe de~lrable esthetic appeal of a fairly uniform mix-; . . ;. . . .

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ture of different type~ and color~ of vegetable pieces. m is difficulty in producing a dry pet foot product re~embllng a ~tew was traced to both the geometrlcal ~hape of the vegetable ~imulating pleces as well as the ~arying bulk denslty of each component. In other word~, since all of the different colored vegetable pieces were extruded at thi~ time into a ~ubJtantially ~Imilar spheroidal shape, when they were ultimately combined and d xed ant emptied into a large bin for this purpose they tentet to ~egregate into intiv~dual components. Thus, when the stew protuct was protucet a non-uniform tistribution of different components was obtained, thereby proviting sn unde~irable product. The spheroidal shape of these particles and the varying bulk densitie~ of these different components were tetermined to be the primary contributing factors to this problem. m e shap~ of th~ vezetable sl~ulating piece~ was tetermined to be particular problem since in the mixing or attition of large a~ounts of materials into a bin, a conical effect is achieved, in that when the material piles up or is emptied into the bin it piles up in the shape of a cone. Therefore, the rount ~pherical nature of the particles meant that the pieces which re lntrotucet into the bin later in its filling tented to "roll off" the cone and segregate by themselves at the outer periphery of the cone. For these reasons, a non-uniform and ~egregated product was the result of any attempt to produce a try pet foo~t that resembled a stew upon hydration.
It wa~ thereafter tetermined that the above problems encountered in the production of the dry pet food resembling a ~tew coult be overcome by careful control of both the geometric shape ant bulk tensity of the vegetable simulating pieces.

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-Summary of the Invention The invention comprehends a process for the production of a dry pet food resembling a stew when hydrated which process includes providing a plurality of simulated meat chunks derived substantially from vegetable proteinaceous material and providing a plurality of vegetable simulating components derived from farinaceous materials, the later components having flat sides or sharp edges and contrasting colors with a bulk density of between about 25 to 28 lb. per bushel. Each vegetable ~imulating component has a geometrical shape selected from those of the type consisting of ellipsoids, prisms, cubes, cones, pyramids, cylinders, truncated pyramids, truncated prisms and truncated cones. The simulated meat chunks and the simulated vegetable components are combined to provide a dry pet food product having vegetable simulating and meat simulating pieces and resembling a stew when hydrated.

The instant invention therefore provides a dry pet food which will resemble a stew upon hydration with water and which comprises simulated meat chunks substantially derived from vegetable protein such as soybeans, cottonseed, peanuts, etc., which resemble meat-like pieces upon hydration with water, and a plurality of vegetable simulating pieces which are derived for the most part from farinaceous sources, of a contrasting color and of a controlled geometric shape and bulk density.

In this regard, the vegetable simulating pieces have geometric shapes substantially similar to any of the following, including ellipsoids, prisms, cubes, cones, pyramids, cylinders, r truncated pyramids, truncated prisms and truncated cones. Each D ::

of these described geometric shapes, have flat sides or sharp edges which would permit "stacking" upon being poured into a bin and avoid segregation that would normally occur when the vegetable simulating pieces are substantially spheroidal in nature. Furthermore, by providing a aegree of control over the bulk density of each of the individual vegetable simulating ;
components and controlling them within a predetermined range of between about 25 to 28 lb. per bushel segregation of the vegetable simulating pieces is for the most part avoided.

Therefore, when a plurality of vegetable simulating pieces are provided of the described geometric shapes and the same bulk density resembling peas, carrots or potatoes, they can be preferably combined in respective proportions of about 11 to 21 percent simulated peas, 31 to 41 percent simulated potatoes, 27 to 37 percent simulated carrots with 14 to 18 percent I .
~imulated meat chunks providing an unsegregated dry food product that upon hydration with water resembles a stew. The respective proportions of these ingredients provide a food product which is of a high degree of esthetic appeal to the consumer, having a fairly uniform mixture of different colored and types of ;
vegetable components that is non-segregating during production and upon storage.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments The meat simulating chunks or pieces of the dry food product of the instant invention include those textured protein materials which are well known in the art for their meat simulating properties upon hydration with water. Extruded or expanded proteinaceous materials derived for the ~ost part from vegetable proteinaceous sources such as soybeans, cottonseed, peanut~, etc., and methods for their production, are dlsclosed and described in United State~ Patent 3,946,858. It i8 not lntended that the Instant lnvention be llmited lnsofar as the particular proces~ of produclng a meat slmulating chunk of the instsnt lnventlon, other than the meat chunk is capable of being hydrated without di~integration to provide the chewy texture and mouthfeel characteristics of real meat.
Although it is preferred that the meat simulating chunk i8 derived substantially from a vegetable proteinaceou~
material, such a~ soybeans, cottonseed, peanuts, etc., never-thele8s co-extruded pieces of primary protein such as a meat ~ource and vegetable protelnaceous m~terlal as 18 de~cribed in Canadian Patent ApplicatioQ, Serial No. 151,402, filed September 11, 1972, may also be conveniently employed. After fo D lation of the ~lmulated meat chunk8 by extruslon, expano~on or ~imilar means, it i- dried to a moi8ture content of between about 6 to 12 percent by weight and thereafter may be incorporatet ln the try foot protuct together with the simulated vegetable piec-~ in amount8 of between about 14 to 18 percent by weight of the product.
m e plurality of vegetable simulating pieces of con-tra8ting color are provided in a preferred embodiment, to include ~ gr-en component which closely resembles a pea, an orange-colored component which resembles a carrot and a light or tan component that ~imulates a piece of cooked potato. The vege-table simulating pieces such as those described, are preferably produced from a common basal ration that is derived from farina-ceous materials which are substantIally white in color. The ~hite farinaceous material and ~ources for it are preferret for 043U~zxl ~ variety of reasons, first of all, the color of the cooked white farinaceous ~terial~ closely resemble a cooked potato, therefore, tyes c~n be eliminated from this segment of the ~lmulated stew. Secondly, when dyes sre introduced to color the other simNlated vegetable pieces, they can be added at relatively low levels to provide the requi~lte degree of color, thereby maintaining the manufacturing co~t of the dry pet food at ~
level thst is compar~ble to that of other dry pet food~. White farlnaceou~ materlsls are therefore deflned for the purpo~e of tho inst~nt lnvention as those lacking any discernible degree of color and among typlcal sources which are suitable are white corn, wheat flour, potato flour, or flakes, rlce flour ant oth-r ~ubJtantially bleached flours.
A8 edtitives to the simulated vegetable pleces of the ln8tant invention, dried vegetablos or vegotable flours derivet from pe~s, c~rrots or potatoes respectively can be e~ployed i~ do~lret, although a portion of the dye may still be required a~ an atditive in order to achieve the appropriate degree of color.
It is preferred in the inst~nt invention that the vege-table simulating portion of the try pet foot protuct comprise threo components, a green colored component resembling peas, an orange coloret component resembling carrots and a tan or a whltl8h-brown component re8embling potatoes. As previou~ly noted above, to avoid undesirable ~egregation of the~e vegetable simulating components, it is necessary to control both the geometrical shape of these component~ and their bulk ten~ity.
In this regard, it has been teterminet that if the goometric 8hapes of the vegetable simulatlng pieces are ~ubstan-, ....... , - , ~ , . ; ~

- ~04;~6Z4 élally similar to those of the type seleceed fro~ the group con-i~ting of ellip~old~, pri~ms, cube~, cones, pyramitJ, cylinders,truncsted pyramids, truncated prisms and truncated cones, that undeslrable segregat$on of the different colored vegetable plece~
for the mo~t part i8 avoidet Employing geometric ~hapes of the above de~cribed types, provlde~ flat edges and sharp edgeJ
on the pleces to penmit "stacking" of the resulting particles, thereby avoiding their segregatloD during manufacturing as wvuld normally occur wlth round or spherlcal partlcles because of the formation of cones of the particles during emptying or ~ixlng in the mlxlng blns ~ Ithough the particular shape of the vegetable simulating ploce is not lntended to really be a limiting factor as long a~
lt 1~ among the type listed above, it is preferred tbat the parti-cular vegctable ~imulating pieces desired havo geomotrlc shapo~
~elected from the above types which are a~ close a~ pos~ible to a plece of the real vegetable lt 18 lntended to ~imulato ~or ~xaople, a whole pea is best represented by a geometric ~hape of an ellipsoid while a prl~m resembles somewhat a drled potato piece and rectangular p n sm would re~emble a carrot Jllce.
The particùlar shape of each vegetable type may, however, be varied aoong any of the above typeJ dependlng upon what 18 te d red.
In-ofar as a vegetable slmulating component which ro~embles a pea, it is preferably of a geometrical ~hape that i~ substantially simllar to that of an ellip~oid, green in color and havlng a bulk density of between about 25 to 28 lb. per bushel. It i8 produced by employing as the starting material farinaceous sources such as the sub~tant~ally bleached flours _ g _ .. . ~ . .~ . ..
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043U~2 4 ~escribed above along with added vitamins and minerals and a green dye. A dough of ehe mixture of these materials 18 fonmed by ralslng the moisture level of the dry product to about 30 percent. me dough mlxture 1~ thereafter kneadet and fed lnto an extruder havlng a two hole die cap w$th a c~rcular orifice and thereafter extruded into the deslred shape. The extrudate was a relatively smooth ~urfsced green piece having a geometric ~hape subJt~antial}y similar to that of an ell~psoid with dimen-~ion~ along the ~a~or axls of between about 3/8 and 4/8 inches and dimensions along the minor axis of between sbout 11/32 and 13/32 inches.
m e green dye which i~ addet to the mixture can be ~elected from a variety of food grade tye~ suitable for this purpose and the particular dye employed is not lntendet to be limiting lnsofar as the in~tant lnvention. The dye 18 preferably addet in an amount of between about .01 to .05 percont by ~elght of the dough mixture. A typical tye is a green dye of th~ ~atar ~oluble type, #6542, avallable from Warner-Jenkin~on M~nufacturing Company, St. Loui~, Missouri.
In~ofar as the carrot ~imulating piece, it preferably ha~ a geometric ~hape which is similar to that of a rectangular pri~m and i8 orange in color, having a bulk densitr of between bout 25 to 28 lb. per bushel. m e carrot simulating piece i~
produced from the same common ba~al ration as is the pea ~imu l-ting piece and includes a~ an additional ingredient an orange dye ~uch as for example water soluble FD&C Yellow ~6 in an a~ount of between about .01 to .05 percent by weight of the dough.
The dough mixture was thereafter extruded to a singular rectangular 1/8 by 7/16 inch slot with slightly flared ends. The extrutate . , .

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was cut by a rotating knife located flush with the orifice.
The extrudate was a piece having a shape similar to that of a rectangular prism with a width ~nd height of between about 1/2 to 3/4 inches and a length of between about 5/16 and 7/16 inches.
The potato simulating piece preferred in the instant invention has a geometric shape substantially similar to that of a prism and is white or, brownish-white or tan in color and has a bulk density of about 25 to 28 lbs per bushel. The described potato simulating piece is produced as generally described above with regard to the other vegetable simulating pieces in that it is also derived from a common basal ration of farinaceous materials including additives such as vitamins and minerals omitting, however, a dye. The dough-like mixture derived from the farinaceous materials is fed into an extruder and extruded through the die in the shape of an equilateral triangle having a lateral edge of 11/16 inches. The potato-like piece is therefore the size whereby the prism-like shape has equilateral sides of between about 9/16 and 13/16 inches and a length of between 3/8 and 1/2 inch.
As previously noted, it is not intended that~ the instant invention be limited insofar as a particular geometric shape of the vegetable simulating piece is employed, since it may be any of the above described shapes which provide flat edges or sharp edges to permit "stacking" of the particles in a mixing bin without substantial segregation thereof. It is furthermore not intended that the instant invention be limited as to the specific types of vegetables that the pieces are designed to simulate, but the color and type being a matter of choice depending on the esthetic appeal desired with the final product.

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~` 1043624 The vegetable ~imulating pieces are thereafter dried to a moisture content of between about 6 to 12 percent and com-blned with the meat ~imulating chunks in proportions desired and whlle in a dry sta8e. Agsin, it i~ not intended that the speclfic amount of different vegetable ~imulating pieces be a limiting factor since thi~ will a8ain depend on the e~thetic appeal of the stew and the particular vegetable mixture desired. However, in~ofar as the u~e of only pea, carrot and potato simulating pleces, together with the simulated meat chunks, it i~ preferred that the stew therefore comprise between about 14 to 18 percent of ~imulated meat chunks, 11 to 21 percent of pea si~ulating pieces, 27 to 30 percent of carrot simulating pieces and 31 to 41 percent of potato-like pieces. m e respective bulk densltie~
of the~e different vegetable pieces are therefore a~ described ~bove with regard to each ~pecific one and provide a product ~hercby the geometric shape of the lndivldual vegetable piece~
and thelr respectlve bulk densitites are controlled to prevent unt-slrable segregation of the vegetable components turing the ~ nufacture thereof.
The following example is ~et forth as illustrative of the instant invention of tho~e specific embotiments tisclosed th-reln and 18 not intendet to be llmltlng lnsofar a~ the ln~tant invention.
xamPle 1 A basal ration derived from farinaceous materlal~
wa~ formulaèed from which the simulated vegetable piece~ of the instant invention could be fonmed.
m e formulation for the farinaceous dough used for the product of this invention is as follows:

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_ 1043624 In~redient Percent By Wei~ht Ground White Corn 28 Clear White Flour 20 White Hominy Feed 15.15 Ground Oat ~roats 5.5 Potato Flakes 2 Dehydr~tet Peas 1.25 Dehydrated Carrots 1.25 Soybean Meal (49% Protein) (Solvent Extracted) 10 Corn Gluten Meal 6 Meat Meal 4.3 Steamed Bone Meal 3.5 Vitamin Premix 1.2 Concentrated Minerals 0.6 All of the above ingretients, except the wheat flour, were first ground through a 4/64 inch ~creen on a hammer mill ~nt then mixet in a ribbon blender The ground farinaceous material was then separated into three separate parts and each part was placed in a separate hopper. Each hopper was provided with an auger type conveyor which conveyet the mixture to a paddle mixer in which the ~ppropriate dye as indicated below was added, with steam and water be~ng added to raise the total isture content of the mixture~to about 30 percent, thereby providing a dough of the farinaceous material. m e dough in this instance was fed by gravity to separate auger type extruders where each dough was formed by the kneading action of the auger. Extrusion conditions were identical in all cases except for the shaping teps, of course, ant a maximum extrusion temperature was 300 F.
One part of the farinaceous mlxture was mixed with 0.02 percent of the water soluble green dye, Warner-Jenkinson ~6542, svailable from Warner-Jenkinson Msnufacturing Company, St. Louis, Mis~ouri, m is mixture was designed to produce ~imulated pea and was fed into an extruder having a two-hole tie cap with each circular orifice having a diameter of 1/4 inch.
m e extrutate was a smooth green dyed simulated pea which had a geometric ~hape ~ubstantially similar to that of an ellipsoid with a ma~or axis of about 3/8 inch and a minor axi~ of about 7/16 inch.
A second portion of the farinaceous basal mixture was hantled in the same manner except that 0.04 percent of FD&C
Y llow #6 wa~ atded to the mlxture ant the die opening employed on the oxtruder was a 8ing1e rectangular 1/8 by 7/16 inch lot with ~lightly flared ends. m e cxtrudate was cut by a rotating ~nife blate located flush with the orifice. The oxtrudate was of a geometrical shape resembling a rectangular prism, with a width and height of about 5/8 inch ant a length of about 3/8 $nch. The surface of the vegetable simulating pleco was essentially smooth surfacet, carrot coloret, resembling a ~liced piece of the real carrot.
The third portion of the farinaceous tough was made $nto a 81mulatet potato piece ant closely resenblet piece~ of oven brownet pot~toes. No tye was used for the simulatet pot~to.
Otherwise, the described pieces were made in the same way as described above. Because of the use of the white farinaceous source and the choice of dye, the simulated potato produced was found to closely resemble a small cooket whole potato in color . : .. .. - , -, - - -; . . . -.. ,- . . , , , ~ . , , ... ~ . .

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and had a geometrical shape substantially similar to that of a prism w~th an essentially smooth surface and uniform ~hape~
The ~imulated meat pieces of the instant product were made from dehulled solvent extracted soybean meal pursuant to the teaching~ of United States Patent 3,496,858. Pursuant to the~e teaching~, the following dry ingredients were combined:
In~redients Percent BY Weight Soybean Meal (49% Protein)99.85 Sulphur 0.1 FD~C $2 Amaranth Dye 0.30 FD&C #47 Mbnoblend Dye .015 Water and ~team were atded to the try ingretients to achieve a level of sbout 33 percent by weight and the moi~tened mass was conveyed to an extruder in whlch the proteinaceou~ dough was ~orket mechanically in the auger ~ection ant extruded with the re~ultant expan~ion. m e msxlmum temperaturo turing extrusion w~ about 330 F. as measured at the orifice. Each of the above components, including the meat ~imulating chunks and vege-table slmulating pieces were dried in an air type drying system to a moisture level of about 10 to 12 percent. The above com-ponents were thereafter mixet together in the proportions indicatet below and coated with animal fat and dried meat ~olubles, the former adtet for flavor ant the latter atded to form a natural beef-like broth when hydratet with warm water.
me final dry stew-like product containet the following ingretient~
Ingretient~ Percent By Wei~ht Potato Simulating Vegetable33.21 Piece Pea Simulating Piece 15.00 Carrot Simulating Piece 28.50 , ` - 15 -~Ck~3U~Z 4 In~redient~ Percent By Wei~ht Meat Simula~ing Piece 16.00 Animal Fat 6.5 Dry Meat Solubles .50 Salt .25 FD~C Monoblend #47 Dye .03 Vitamin A & E Oil .01 The resultant product was determined to be a substantially uniform mixture of the above described vegetable simulating pieces without a substantial degree of segregation resulting from the manufacturing process. The resultant product when mixed with warm water was found to rehydrate and was characterized by pieces of proteinaceous material resembling chunks of meat and pieces o colored farinaceous material resembling vegetables nestling in a brown natural meat-like broth resulting from the ~olubllization of the added meat 801ubles and dyes.

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Claims (20)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A process for the production of a dry pet food resembling a stew when hydrated, comprising:
a) providing a plurality of simulated meat chunks derived substantially from vegetable proteinaceous material;
b) providing a plurality of vegetable simulating components derived from farinaceous materials having flat sides or sharp edges and contrasting colors with a bulk density of between about 25 to 28 lb. per bushel with each vegetable simulating component having a geometrical shape selected from those of the type consisting of ellipsoids, prisms, cubes, cones, pyramids, cylinders, truncated pyramids, truncated prisms and truncated cones;
c) combining said simulated meat chunks and said simulated vegetable components to provide a dry pet food product having vegetable simulating and meat simulating pieces and resembling a stew when hydrated.

2. The process of Claim 1 wherein said vegetable simulating components include a green pea simulating component, an orange carrot simulating component and a tan potato simulating component.

3. The process of Claim 2 wherein said green component has a geometric shape substantially similar to that of an ellipsoid.

4. The process of Claim 2 wherein said orange component has a geometric shape substantially similar to that of a rectangular prism.

5. The process of Claim 2 wherein said tan component has a geometric shape substantially similar to that of a prism.

6. The process of Claim 1 wherein said vegetable simulating components consist essentially of a substantially white farinaceous material with added dye colorants.

7. The process of Claim 1 wherein said simulated meat chunks consist essentially of an extruded mixture of a meat source and vegetable proteinaceous material.

8. The method of Claim 2 wherein said green pea simulating component is in an amount of between about 11 to 21 percent by weight, and has a geometrical shape substantially similar to an ellipsoid, said orange carrot simulating component is in an amount of between about 27 to 37 percent by weight, and has a geometrical shape substantially similar to a rectangular prism, and said tan potato simulating component is in an amount of between about 31 to 41 percent by weight, and has a geometric shape substantially similar to that of a prism.

9. The process of Claim 2 wherein said simulated meat chunks are present in the amount of between about 14 to 18 percent by weight of said pet food.

10. The process of Claim 2 wherein the green component has a geometric shape substantially similar to that of an ellipsoid having a major axis length between about 3/8 and 1/2 inch, and a minor axis length between about 11/32 and 13/32 inches, said orange component has a geometric shape substantially similar to that of a rectangular prism with a width and a height of between 1/2 and 3/4 inches and a length of between about 5/16 and 7/16 inches, and said white component has a geometric shape substantially similar to that of a prism having a length between about 3/8 and 1/2 inches and equilateral sides of a length between about 9/16 and 13/16 inches.

11. A process for the production of a dry pet food resembling a stew when hydrated comprising:
extruding a dough of a farinaceous material to provide a plurality of vegetable simulating pieces having contrasting colors and with a geometrical shape selected from those of the type consisting of ellipsoids, prisms, cubes, cones, pyramids, cylinders, truncated pyramids, truncated prisms, and truncated cones, said vegetable simulating pieces having flat sides or sharp edges to prevent segregation and having a bulk density of between about 25 to 28 pounds per bushel; drying said extruded pieces to a moisture content of between about 6 to 12 percent, and combining said vegetable simulated pieces with simulated meat chunks derived substantially from vegetable protein in proportions of between about 14 to 18 percent by weight simulated meat chunks, the balance comprising vegetable simulating components; thereby providing a dry pet food product having vegetable simulating and meat simulating pieces and resembling a stew when hydrated.

12. A process as set forth in Claim 11 wherein said vegetable simulating pieces comprise a green pea simulating component in an amount of between about 11 to 21 percent by weight, an orange carrot simulating component in an amount of between about 27 to 37 percent by weight and a tan potato simulating component in an amount of between about 31 to 41 percent by weight.

13. A process as set forth in Claim 12 wherein said green component has a geometric shape substantially similar to that of an ellipsoid, said orange component has a geometric shape substantially similar to that of a rectangular prism, and said tan component has a shape substantially similar to that of a prism.

14. A process as set forth in Claim 13 wherein the green component has a geometric shape substantially similar to that of an ellipsoid having a major axis length between about 3/8 inch and 1/2 inch, and a minor axis length between about 11/32 and 13/32 inches, said orange component has a geometric shape substantially similar to that of a rectangular prism with a width and a height of between 1/2 and 3/4 inches and a length of between about 5/16 and 7/16 inches, and said white component has a geometric shape substantially similar to that of a prism having a length between about 3/8 and 1/2 inches and equilateral sides of a length between about 9/16 and 13/16 inches.

15. The process of Claim 11 wherein said meat simulating chunks are derived substantially from extruded vegetable proteinaceous material dried to a moisture content of from 6 to 12 percent and said vegetable simulating components consist essentially of a substantially white farinaceous material with added dye colorants.

16. The product when produced by the process of Claim 1, 2 or 3.

17. The product when produced by the process of Claim 4, 5 or 6.

18. The product when produced by the process of Claim 7, 8 or 9.

19. The product when produced by the process of Claim 10, 11 or 12.

20. The product when produced by the process of Claim 13, 14 or 15.