spp.-fermented chicken meat for dogs.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate spp.-fermented chicken meat as a snack for dogs. The fermented or non-fermented snacks used in this study were prepared through the following process; meat mixtures containing 52.8% MDCM, 35.2% chicken breast meat (CBM) and 9.7% corn starch were inoculated with or without spp., incubated at 37°C for 24 h and then sterilized at 121°C for 20 min. During the 24-h fermentation, the pH of fermented chicken snack dropped rapidly with concomitant increase in number of lactic acid bacteria. The nutritional composition was not altered by fermentation. pepsin nitrogen digestibility was higher ( < 0.05) in the fermented snack compared with the non-fermented snack. Upon storage at room temperature for 14 days, bacteria grew slowly in fermented vs. non-fermented snack samples. In a palatability trial, dogs preferred non-fermented over fermented snack food. In 12-d-long feeding trial, fecal ammonia content was lowered, but fecal lactic acid content was increased in dogs fed the fermented vs. non-fermented snack food. Our study shows that the fermented MDCM-based snack exhibited good preservability upon storage, and improved nitrogen digestibility and fecal characteristics in dogs.