Chapter 1: Current state-of-the-art
Eggs and sugar are not enough
Typically, granulated animal feed product is made using a fluidized bed system, which operates continuously. For example, a continuous spray or similar granulation process can be used.
Often, the protein is added to a complex matrix, consisting of eggs and sugar. The resulting protein/eggs/sugar solid-containing liquid is sprayed into the fluid bed of process chamber.
During this procedure, the liquid evaporates, which leads to the formation of small particles (granules) from the solids-fraction of the mixture. Subsequently, sprayed protein/eggs/sugar solid-containing liquid collides with and spreads over the existing granules. Such collisions lead to the growth of granules via acquiring successive layers of protein/eggs/sugar solids-fractions. The screen milling cycle is used for the recirculation of over- and under-sized granules, whereas the granules of optimal size are pelleted as a final product.
It is often desirable to increase the thermal stability of certain proteins in the animal feed. To achieve that, specialized ingredients are required. As mentioned above, eggs and sugar ingredients and/or their solutions are sometimes utilized for this purpose. These ingredients, however, do not confer the required thermal stability.
In this Solution, NextGenRnD proposes the selection of the ingredients that would confer the thermal stability (>100°C) to valuable and sensitive proteins/enzymes used for feeding poultry and swine. All the encapsulation ingredients specified in this solution are approved by the AAFCO and by the EU for manufacturing in food production facility. NextGenRnD proposes the encapsulation process allowing operation in continuous and high-throughput manner with minimum moisture introduced. The protein release predictions are based on real data from live swine and poultry. Would you like to maximize the efficiency of enzymes used as additives in swine and poultry feed? This can be done by delivering them safely into the lower gastro-intestinal tract of poultry and swine. This is exactly what we propose in the current solution at a cost of $1–3 per 1 pound (~0.45 kg) of feed.