Drying Kinetics and Physicochemical Properties of Formulated Cat Food Processed using Hot Air and Microwave Drying

This paper explores the opportunity of different processing methods (hot air drying at 60°C, 80°C, 100°C, and microwave drying using 0.7W/g, 0.9W/g, 1.2W/g) on the overall quality of a novel formulated cat food. We compared the drying rates and drying kinetics of cat food and their effects on the appearance, fat content, protein content, textural quality and color properties of cat food. Hot air drying (60°C) took the highest drying time of 420 min, produced a golden colored product, while microwave drying (1.2 W/g) took 45 min, yielded a light yellow color. Logarithmic and Two Term models best fit the drying profile. Compared to hot air drying, microwave drying at 1.2 W/g had minimal effects on color properties, texture profile, and nutritional content of cat food. The study demonstrates that microwave drying, particularly at higher power levels, significantly reduces drying time and better preserves the nutritional, visual and textural properties of cat food compared to hot air drying. These findings highlight microwave drying as a promising technique for producing high-quality cat food with enhanced attributes.