In Vitro Protein Disappearance of Raw Chicken as Dog Foods Decreased by Thermal Processing, but Was Unaffected by Non-Thermal Processing.

The objectives of the present study were to determine the influence of thermal and non-thermal processing procedures on in vitro ileal disappearance (IVID) of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) in chicken meat as dog foods using 2-step in vitro assays. In thermal processing experiments, IVID of DM and CP in chicken meat thermally processed at 70, 90, and 121 °C, respectively, with increasing processing time was determined. For non-thermal processing experiments, IVID of DM and CP in chicken meat processed by high-pressure, ultraviolet-light emitting diode (UV-LED), electron-beam, and gamma-ray was determined. Thermal processing of chicken meat at 70, 90, and 121 °C resulted in decreased IVID of CP (p < 0.05) as heating time increased. In non-thermal processing experiment, IVID of CP in chicken meat was not affected by high-pressure processing or UV-LED radiation. In vitro ileal disappearance of CP in electron-beam- or gamma-ray-irradiated chicken meat was not affected by the irradiation intensity. Taken together, ileal protein digestibility of chicken meat for dogs is decreased by thermal processing, but is minimally affected by non-thermal processing methods.