Green banana flour (GBF) has gained popularity for its health-promoting properties, since it is nutrient-rich, gluten-free, low in free sugars, and high in fiber, particularly resistant starch type 2 and pectin. Resistant starch helps promote gut health, and pectin could act as a natural thickening agent for manufacturing. Also, GBF may contribute a natural brown color to finished products. The objective of this pilot study was to determine the chemical composition of four commercially available GBFs and the effects of inclusion of these ingredients on texture, color and water binding characteristics in wet pet food products. Four types of GBF were analyzed to determine their nutritional composition. Canned foods containing four sources of green banana flour in different amounts were tested for their effects on texture and/or color of the products. For the chemical composition, all four GBF had high resistant starch concentration, ranging from 28.4% to 40.9%, and low free sugar concentration (1.8% to 7.5%). Crude protein and acid hydrolyzed fat concentrations were below 6% and 4% for all GBF tested, respectively. Texture analyses showed that hardness, adhesiveness, springiness, resilience, and firmness/toughness of canned foods containing GBF were similar to at least one of the commercial diets tested (P >0.05). Using CIE L*a*b* for color parameter, lightness was variable among commercial diets (L* ranged from 24.55 to 36.75) and canned food containing GBF (35.60 to 63.41) (P < 0.05). Redness and yellowness of experimental diets were similar to those of commercial food (P >0.05), with a* ranging from 4.67 to 11.29 and b* from 13.58 to 24.26. Overall, GBF has potential to be a functional ingredient for pet food due to its high resistant starch and low free sugar content, and the resulting product is similar in texture and color to commercial wet pet foods.
