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Old 05-07-2015, 10:30 AM   #1
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Default Myths and Misperceptions About Ingredients Used in Commercial Pet Foods

***Spoiler Alert*** Could cause food fight! I plan to stay out of the Kibble Wars on this post

In the interest of fair disclosure, the authors of this paper work for Nestle Purina. However, it was peer-reviewed and appeared in a major research journal.

Myths and Misperceptions About Ingredients Used in Commercial Pet Foods

Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice
Volume 44, Issue 4, July 2014, Pages 689–698


Dottie Laflamme, DVM, PhDa, , ,
Oscar Izquierdo, PhDb,
Laura Eirmann, DVMc,
Stephen Binder, PhDb
Key points

•Ingredients used in pet food can be cause for concern among pet owners and veterinarians, in part, due to lack of knowledge about these ingredients.
•Ingredients used in pet food are selected primarily for their nutrient content, as well as their impact on palatability, digestibility, and consumer preferences.
•The finished product quality depends on selection of ingredients that provide the desired features, as well as the appropriateness of the processing and cooking processes.
•If veterinarians have questions about the quality of a food, they should contact the manufacturer and inquire about the nutrient profile and the digestibility of the product, which are good markers of the quality of the food.
•Veterinarians also should consider the history of the company, their pattern of investment into research, and their safety record when considering whether or not to recommend a product.



Ingredients used in pet food can be cause for concern among both pet owners and veterinarians, in part, due to lack of knowledge about these ingredients. Pet owners may not understand why “chemicals” are included in the food, when, in fact, those chemicals are actually essential vitamins or minerals. They may not be aware that “meat by-products” include most of the organs and other highly nutritious parts of the animal. Some of the concern is triggered by information and misinformation widely available through various sources including the Internet, popular publications, other pet owners, and even veterinarians. This article provides the facts regarding several commonly expressed concerns or myths regarding ingredients used in commercial pet foods beginning with definitions of some frequently misunderstood terms (Box 1).


Box 1. Explanation of commonly used ingredient terms

AAFCO: The Association of American Feed Control Officials (The Association of American Feed Control Officials > Home) is a voluntary membership association of local, state, and federal agencies charged by law to regulate the sale and distribution of animal feeds and animal drug remedies. Among their functions, they establish guidelines for pet foods in terms of nutritional guidelines and testing required to substantiate nutritional claims, and they define acceptable ingredients for use in animal feeds. Enforcement of these guidelines is done on a state by state level.

Animal or poultry digest: a highly palatable protein source that is made by chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis (digestion) of meat or poultry meat or by-products.

Beef tallow: fat derived from cattle.

BHA: butylated hydroxyanisole, an antioxidant used to protect dietary fats from becoming rancid.

Brewer rice: broken or small grains of white rice, they have the same nutritional value as intact white rice.

Corn gluten meal: a concentrated protein source derived from corn after removal of most of the starch, fiber, and oils. Although highly digestible, it requires a complementary source of lysine for optimum protein quality.

Flour: ingredient made from finely ground grains, which may or may not include the whole grain.

“Human grade”: this term has no legal definition but implies that a food is suitable for human consumption. When one or more human edible ingredients are mixed with one or more nonhuman edible ingredients, the edible ingredients become nonhuman edible. According to AAFCO (The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) > Labeling & Labeling Requirements), “human grade” claims should only be made if all ingredients, processing, and handling are such that the finished product is suitable for consumption by humans. If the finished product is not suitable for human consumption, then any claims related to “human grade” are considered misleading.

Meat by-products: a protein source consisting of organ meats, scrap meat, bone, blood, and fatty tissue from mammals, such as cattle or hogs. By-products do not include hair/hide, horns, hoofs or teeth, or intestinal contents.

Meat by-product meal: a concentrated protein source made by renderinga and drying meat by-products.

Menadione sodium bisulfite complex: provides a stable dietary source of Vitamin K.

Mixed tocopherols: natural source of Vitamin E and related compounds, used as an antioxidant to protect dietary fats from becoming rancid.

Natural: as defined by AAFCO, any feed or ingredient derived solely from plant, animal, or mineral sources can be labeled as natural. Any item synthesized chemically cannot be considered natural.

Organic: a food or ingredient that has been produced and handled in compliance with the requirements of the USDA National Organic Program. For example, organic grains are grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers and do not use genetic engineering. For more information, the reader is referred to the USDA website: Agricultural Marketing Service - National Organic Program

Poultry by-products: a protein source consisting of the cleaned parts of slaughtered poultry to include the organs, heads, and feet. Poultry predominantly includes chickens and turkeys, but may include other birds raised for food.

Poultry by-product meal: a concentrated protein source made by renderinga and drying poultry by-products.

Soybean meal: a protein source derived from soybeans after removal of most of the starch, fiber, and oils. Although highly digestible, it requires a complementary source of methionine for optimum protein quality.

TBHQ: tertiary butyl hydroquinone, an antioxidant used to protect dietary fats from becoming rancid.

Wheat gluten: a concentrated protein source derived from wheat after removal of most of the starch, fiber, and oils. Used not only as a protein source but also for structural benefits, it is often added to baked goods (eg, breads and cakes) and other processed foods.

Whole grain: any grain that is included in its entirety, including the bran, germ, and endosperm. Ground, cracked, rolled, or otherwise processed whole grains may be called “whole grain” or “ground whole grains”.

a See text for explanation of rendering.
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Old 05-07-2015, 10:33 AM   #2
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Grains in pet foods

Concerns about grains in pet foods seem to center on 3 points: (1) they are often called “fillers” or are said to have little nutritional value; (2) there are questions about the quality of grains used in pet food; and (3) they are reported to cause allergies.


Grains used in food include the true grains, derived from agricultural grasses, such as wheat, corn, rice, barley, rye, and oats, as well as the pseudograins such as quinoa, sorghum, millet, and others. The grain seed or kernel consists of the outer bran layer, endosperm, and germ. Whole grains, whether they are intact, cracked, rolled, or extruded contain the entire kernel. They are used in human and pet food for the nutritional value that they bring. Whole grains are not only a rich source of carbohydrates, which is the primary contribution, but also contain essential fatty acids, protein and essential amino acids, dietary fiber, and vitamins. Whole corn, for example, contains approximately 75% starch and other digestible carbohydrates, 6% to 10% protein, 4% to 5% fat, and 7% total dietary fiber.1 Refining or processing grains can generate several coproducts that may concentrate on certain nutrients, such as protein, fiber, starch, or oils, and as processed and cooked such as in the making of pet foods, the carbohydrates, protein, and fat in grains are typically highly digestible.2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 Although there is no legal definition of “fillers”, because the term is usually used to refer to feed ingredients with little or no nutritional value, grains should not be considered “fillers”.


The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) determines the quality criteria for whole grains. Administered by the USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA; http://www.gipsa.usda.gov/fgismain.html), the Official US Standards for Grain provide criteria for determining the kind, class, and condition and quality of grains and oilseeds. Grains such as corn and wheat are graded according to a 5-point grading system, with Grades 1 and 2 being the higher quality corn. Grades 3 to 5 contain more moisture and can include more damaged kernels, which would make these grades more susceptible to mold or damage during storage. Grades 1 and 2, corn and wheat, are the predominant grades used in pet foods and in most processed foods for human consumption.


USDA standards define quality and set grade limits. Makers of high-quality pet foods, however, often use commercial specifications that are even more rigorous than the US Grain Standards when testing for evidence of damage or contamination, as well as nutritional standards. Although the details are proprietary and can vary among companies, sampling, grading, and testing occur even before the grains are unloaded at the facilities, and quality control measures continue throughout the storage, handling, and manufacturing processes, based on the company’s standards.


Allergies and Grains

Food allergies or sensitivities are abnormal reactions to a normal food or ingredient. Although the true incidence of food allergies is unknown, they are considered to be uncommon, accounting for 1% of skin disease or less than 10% of allergic skin disease in dogs.7 Food sensitivities can manifest with gastrointestinal signs, dermatologic signs, or both. The vast majority of allergens are proteins or glycoproteins. Because allergies are abnormal or inappropriate reactions of the immune system against a normal protein, they can form to any protein or protein-containing food or ingredient. The most commonly identified food allergens in dogs and cats are listed in Table 1.7 Generally, the list reflects commonly fed ingredients.


Table 1. Most commonly identified food allergens among dogs and cats with food hypersensitivities

Dogs (N = 198) Cats (N = 89) Beef (36%)aBeef (20%) Dairy (28%) Dairy (14.6%) Wheat (15%) Fish (13%) Egg (10%) Lamb (6.7%) Chicken (9.6%) Poultry (4.5%) Lamb/mutton (6.6%) Barley/wheat (4.5%) Soy (6%)
aPercentage refers to the percentage of total reported cases that were sensitive to the ingredient. Some patients were sensitive to more than one ingredient.

From Verlinden A, Hesta M, Millet S, et al. Food allergy in dogs and cats: a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2006;46:268; with permission.

Grains do contain protein, so allergies to grains can occur. Wheat, a commonly fed grain, is on the list of frequently identified allergens, accounting for 15% of the identified cases of food hypersensitivity in dogs and (in combination with barley) in about 5% in cats. Reactions to other grains and carbohydrate sources, such as rice, corn, and potato have been reported, but appear to be much less common. But because grains are very commonly fed and allergies to these are relatively uncommon, that is, less than 1.5% of pet allergies (based on the numbers cited earlier), there appears to be nothing inherently hyperallergenic in grains.

Celiac disease in humans is a heritable autoimmune disease associated with hypersensitivity to gluten proteins in wheat and related grains. Many celiac patients will also have an adverse reaction to barley and rye, as these grains are closely related. Corn gluten and rice gluten, on the other hand, are quite different from wheat gluten and can be consumed by most celiac patients without concern. A similar, heritable celiac-like disease has been observed in a small number of dogs, including some Irish Setters.8 However, as previously noted, allergies to wheat and other grains are not common in dogs or cats.7

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Old 05-07-2015, 10:36 AM   #3
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Carbohydrates in Pet Foods

Another commonly voiced concern about grains is that the carbohydrates they provide are not needed by dogs or, especially, cats. Some pet owners perceive that carbohydrates from grains and other sources are not digestible by dogs or cats. However, some pet owners will seek out foods with low or no grains, assuming this equates to low or no carbohydrate. In this section, the authors address the nutritional requirement, digestion, and metabolic use of dietary carbohydrates in cats and dogs and also discuss other nongrain sources of dietary carbohydrates used in pet foods.


There is no evidence that adult, nonreproducing cats or dogs have a dietary requirement for carbohydrates, but this is true for most mammalian species, including humans.9 and 10 Like other mammals, cats and dogs have a metabolic need for carbohydrates in the form of glucose, which is required by the brain and nervous tissues, red blood cells, renal medulla, and testes; the mammary gland during lactation; and the pregnant uterus.11 When dietary carbohydrates are not provided, de novo gluconeogenesis, primarily from amino acids but also from the glycerol backbone of triglycerides, provides the required glucose. Because the physiologic requirement for carbohydrates can be met by dietary carbohydrates or via gluconeogenesis, dietary carbohydrate is considered a dispensable, or nonessential, nutrient for adults. An analogy to this would be the nonessential amino acids. These amino acids are just as important to the body for normal endogenous protein synthesis as the 10 essential amino acids but, unlike those, the body is able to make the nonessential amino acids via transamination providing that sufficient substrates are included in the diet.


Cats are carnivores and evolved consuming low carbohydrate diets, so some question if they are able to digest or metabolize dietary carbohydrates. Cats and dogs both lack salivary amylase, the enzyme that can begin the process of digesting carbohydrates. However, both species have sufficient pancreatic amylase as well as intestinal disaccharidases, which allow them to efficiently digest properly processed carbohydrates.3, 5, 6, 12 and 13


There are different forms of dietary carbohydrates, including simple sugars, rapidly digested and slowly digested starches (complex carbohydrates), dietary fibers, and others. Proper processing or cooking is necessary to make starches digestible to mammals, including cats and dogs. In many species, poorly digestible carbohydrates or an overload of simple sugars may induce adverse changes in intestinal metabolism.14 This also is true for cats given high quantities (25%–40% of the diet) of sugars or raw (indigestible) starch.15 However, when properly processed complex carbohydrates are provided as a major component of balanced diets (eg, 25%–50% of the diet being dry matter), cats are easily able to digest and use the carbohydrates. In fact, both cats and dogs can digest properly cooked carbohydrates, such as those from grains, with greater than 90% efficiency.5, 6 and 13


Post-absorption, both cats and dogs will use the glucose from dietary carbohydrates to help meet their physiologic demand. Studies have shown that cats will increase carbohydrate metabolism, or oxidation, when carbohydrate intake increases and will likewise increase or decrease protein oxidation when intake of that nutrient changes.16, 17 and 18 However, having more or less carbohydrate in the diet does not significantly affect gluconeogenesis or blood glucose concentrations in normally fed cats.19 and 20


Grain-free diets are not necessarily low in dietary carbohydrates. Although grains are a common source of dietary carbohydrates, other sources of carbohydrates can include potatoes, beans, tapioca, peas, and other vegetables and fruits. Many grain-free pet foods contain these alternate sources of dietary carbohydrates and may contain at least as much carbohydrate as traditional grain-containing diets. For pet foods that truly are low in carbohydrate, that component of the diet is often replaced with increased dietary fat, which can increase the risk for undesirable weight gain.21 and 22
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Old 05-07-2015, 10:38 AM   #4
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Meat or poultry by-products and meals

Some clients are concerned about the meaning, content, and source of “by-products” from meats or poultry. The lack of understanding may confuse pet owners and lead them to perceive these as poor-quality ingredients.


Meat by-products consist of edible parts and organs such as heart, lungs, stomach, or liver; meat trimmings; bone; and other tissues from mammals, such as cattle or hogs.23 As defined by AAFCO, by-products do not include hair or hide, horns or hooves, intestinal contents, or feathers from poultry.23 Compared with skeletal meat alone, by-products actually provide more essential nutrients. For example, meat is lacking in calcium and vitamin A, which are provided in by-products from the bones and liver. Although the components of by-products are not widely consumed by people in the United States, many are considered delicacies for human consumption in other cultures. These also are the same tissues consumed first by animals in the wild.


The “meals” of meat or poultry by-products are created by rendering. Rendering is a cooking process similar to what happens when you boil chicken to separate the broth, fat, and meat for chicken soup. In commercial rendering, fat is separated (and becomes animal fat), and the “soup” is dried to remove the water. The dried product is then ground into a protein-rich powder or meal.24 Meat meals and poultry meals can provide excellent sources of protein and essential amino acids and can be highly digestible.25, 26, 27 and 28 Rendering conditions, as well as the source and handling of raw materials used, can greatly influence the quality of the protein meals produced.26, 27 and 28 These variables can affect the protein digestibility of the finished pet food, so pet food companies may contract with specific suppliers to assure the consistent quality of their ingredients. Although detailed information about ingredients may be proprietary, veterinarians can contact the manufacturer to ask about the digestibility of protein in specific pet foods.


Renderers affiliated with USDA-inspected meat or poultry plants will receive animal products only from those facilities, so pet food manufacturers that work exclusively with these renderers will have greater control about the specific content and quality of the by-products that they use. One of the prevailing Internet myths about commercial pet foods states that they may contain rendered remains of pets. It is because of the ability to work with USDA-affiliated renderers that pet food companies can have confidence that their products do not contain dog or cat remains, as has been attested to by members of the Pet Food Institute and confirmed by testing conducted by the USDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.29

Animal Versus Vegetable Source Proteins: Determinants of Protein Quality

The quality of dietary protein is determined by the amino acid composition of the protein, its digestibility, and its ability to meet an animal’s amino acid requirements, rather than whether it comes from animal or vegetable sources. Common measures of protein quality are typically conducted on individual sources of protein (ingredients), and use laboratory assays, rodent feeding trials, or both. The associated score generally reflects the amino acid most deficient in that protein, called the “limiting amino acid”. For example, soy protein provides at least 100% of most essential amino acids, but it is deficient in methionine and thus receives a lower score based on its methionine content. Used alone, proteins with low scores would provide lower-quality nutrition. Fortunately, the limiting amino acids of different proteins often differ. Complementary proteins are those that provide excess of each other’s limiting amino acids so that the combination of ingredients provides all of the necessary amino acids.


By mixing complementary proteins in a diet, the finished product can provide excellent protein quality even though the individual components each have limitations. So although most vegetable source proteins, for example, soy protein, corn gluten meal, or wheat gluten, are incomplete proteins if used alone due to their limiting amino acids, they are highly digestible. When incorporated into a properly cooked diet with complementary proteins, they can contribute to a diet that provides complete, high-quality protein, easily digested by both dogs and cats.

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Old 05-07-2015, 10:39 AM   #5
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This would be another excellent article to add the library!
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Old 05-07-2015, 10:39 AM   #6
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Effect of cooking on quality and digestibility of nutrients

Proponents of feeding raw food diets suggest that cooking decreases the nutritional value of meats by decreasing protein digestibility and by destroying enzymes naturally present in foods.


Natural enzymes present in ingredients are proteins and thus cooking temperatures will indeed change their physical properties and deactivate them. However, enzymes in food add very little, if any, value to the digestion processes of dogs and cats. Enzymes in meat and other food ingredients are not specialized digestive enzymes and will not participate in the digestion or assimilation of proteins. Some raw foods contain enzymes that actually serve to inhibit digestion or destroy essential nutrients, such as avidin in raw eggs, thiaminase in fish, and trypsin inhibitory factors in various raw foods. In this case, cooking greatly enhances the nutritional value of the ingredients.30 and 31


Grains and other plant-based ingredients benefit significantly from cooking. Cooking increased the digestibility of the starch from grains between 14% and 208% in multiple studies.32 Although overcooking can decrease protein digestibility, proper cooking can increase the digestibility of protein from both animal and vegetable sources.30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 This is thought to occur due to the physical restructuring or unfolding of proteins during the cooking process, providing more binding sites and making them more susceptible to digestive enzymes and reducing the energy required for digestion.32 and 34 Gentle cooking in a microwave did not compromise the digestibility of a raw feline diet and may provide a way to sterilize raw food diets for pets.35

About Extrusion Cooking

The effects of cooking on nutrient quality and digestibility can vary with type of cooking method, temperature, time, and amount of moisture.30, 34, 36 and 37 The vast majority of dry foods are cooked using an extrusion process. Extrusion uses a combination of moisture (25%–35%), temperature (100°–150°C), pressure (20–30 bars), and mechanical shear (0.5–5 minutes) to quickly cook the product.38 Correct extrusion conditions favor higher retention of amino acids, high protein and starch digestibility, decreased lipid oxidation, and higher retention of vitamins.36 In addition, the extrusion process denatures undesirable enzymes such as antinutritional factors (trypsin inhibitors, haemagglutinins, tannins, and phytates) and sterilizes the finished product.36 Although overcooking using any method, including extrusion, can decrease the nutritional quality of foods, the relatively high moisture content, moderate temperatures, and short cooking duration help to maintain the nutritional quality of extruded foods.38

Additives and preservatives

Pet owners may be concerned about the list of chemical-sounding names in the ingredient list of pet foods or may have read about “unnecessary additives or preservatives”. For these clients, it will be important to help them understand the meaning and use of the “chemicals”. It may help to observe a quote from Dr Nathan Myhrvold, shared during televised interview on PBS: “Lots of folks think of this as, ‘Oh, my god, there's chemicals in my food!’ Well, I'm here to tell you that food is made of chemicals; those chemicals are made of elements; and that's the way it is here on planet Earth. Everything actually is a chemical.”39
Many of the ingredients listed on pet food labels are vitamins and minerals. Pet owners may not recognize “pyridoxine hydrochloride” as Vitamin B6, “menadione sodium bisulfite complex” as Vitamin K, or “copper proteinate” as a source of essential dietary copper, for example. These are among the 40+ essential nutrients that dogs and cats require and are critical to assure a nutritionally complete and balanced diet.


Other additives may include natural (eg, mixed tocopherols or vitamin E) or synthetic (eg, BHA, TBHQ, ethoxyquin) antioxidant preservatives that function to keep dietary fats and other nutrients stable during storage. Without these antioxidants, the essential fatty acids could become oxidized or rancid and their nutritional value destroyed. Concerns have been raised about the use of chemical or synthetic antioxidants, suggesting that they can be toxic or carcinogenic. Toxicity, for all compounds, is related to dose as well as to route in exposure. For BHA and butylated hydroxytoluene, for example, an extremely high dose can induce adverse effects but the data show they are safe and even suggest they may be anticarcinogenic at lower levels of use.40, 41 and 42 As used in pet foods, these antioxidants are safe and are critical to maintain the nutritional value of foods.
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Old 05-07-2015, 10:41 AM   #7
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Summary

Ingredients are included in diets primarily as a source of nutrients. Animals require specific nutrients, not specific ingredients. Nutritionists and pet food manufacturers formulate diets to provide complete and balanced diets for cats and dogs in various life stages or with different life styles. Ingredients are selected for their nutrient content, as well as their impact on palatability, digestibility, and consumer preferences. The quality of ingredients used is dictated by individual companies working with their suppliers. Unfortunately, indicators of ingredient quality cannot be included on labels, according to regulatory guidelines. The finished product quality depends on selection of ingredients that provide the desired features, as well as the appropriateness of the processing and cooking processes. If veterinarians have questions about the quality of a food, they should contact the manufacturer and inquire about the nutrient profile and the digestibility of the product, which are good markers of the quality of the food. Veterinarians also should consider the history of the company, their pattern of investment into research, and their safety record when considering whether or not to recommend a product.
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Old 05-07-2015, 10:49 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by Nancy1999 View Post
This would be another excellent article to add the library!
It's an informative article. Parts of it are controversial--that's why I gave a spoiler alert. If it goes in the library (and I'm not sure that it should), it will have to have the spoiler alert that it is written by Nestle Purina scientists. Also, nothing in this article should be used to bash home cooked or raw foods.
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Old 05-07-2015, 11:22 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by pstinard View Post
It's an informative article. Parts of it are controversial--that's why I gave a spoiler alert. If it goes in the library (and I'm not sure that it should), it will have to have the spoiler alert that it is written by Nestle Purina scientists. Also, nothing in this article should be used to bash home cooked or raw foods.
Yes, I think it's important to list the author. I do enjoy reading text books that give both sides of an augment and I believe that if an article is written by a food manufacture, they may leave out certain things that might put their product in a bad light. For example, I would have like for them to explain the controversy over Menadione sodium bisulfite complex. However, I have never studied any subject where there was nothing controversial and all the "experts" agreed on everything. Nutrition is still in it's infancy as far as knowledge goes.
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Old 05-07-2015, 11:29 AM   #10
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Really enjoyed this article, thanks for posting it.

Darn, I wish they'd gone into more detail about Menadione (Vit K supp), which is a very controversial ingredient that isn't really considered needed to be supplemented.
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Old 05-07-2015, 11:38 AM   #11
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Really enjoyed this article, thanks for posting it.

Darn, I wish they'd gone into more detail about Menadione (Vit K supp), which is a very controversial ingredient that isn't really considered needed to be supplemented.
I haven't done research lately, but it seems to me they don't really use it for the vitamin properties, they use it because it can be a perseverative, and it's cheaper than other preservatives that aren't considered as controversial. I know when I first heard about it, it sounded like a good idea on the surface, but as I did research on it I had my doubts.
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Old 05-08-2015, 09:53 AM   #12
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I just wanted to add a little more information to the term, poultry by products. Your article states,"Poultry by-products: a protein source consisting of the cleaned parts of slaughtered poultry to include the organs, heads, and feet. Poultry predominantly includes chickens and turkeys, but may include other birds raised for food." This is true, but I think it leaves out some important facts. Poultry by-products do not have to contain any one of those things and it also doesn't have to have any one of those things in any special combination or percentage. For example, a batch may contain mostly heads and feet and while the label would show crude protein, it doesn't mean that this is easily digestible protein. I have no problems with by-products being added to a food, they can be healthy, but if it's the primary source of protein, it might be difficult for your dog to digest and get all the necessary amino acids.
Quote:
"Aside from a properly balanced amino acid content, the digestibility of the protein sources is also very important. In fact, it is more important than the actual protein content of the product because the amount of digestible protein is what counts for proper nutrition, not the amount of "crude" protein.. What would you rather feed, a food with a protein content of 30% that is 60% digestible, or one with a protein content of 22% that is 95% digestible?" The Dog Food Project - Nutrients: Proteins
By the way, manufactures are lobbying the AFFCO to see if the word, "by" can be taken out of the word, by-products. I see it as another attempt to mislead consumers. Hope the AFFCO stands firm on this.
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Old 05-08-2015, 10:50 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by Nancy1999 View Post
I just wanted to add a little more information to the term, poultry by products. Your article states,"Poultry by-products: a protein source consisting of the cleaned parts of slaughtered poultry to include the organs, heads, and feet. Poultry predominantly includes chickens and turkeys, but may include other birds raised for food." This is true, but I think it leaves out some important facts. Poultry by-products do not have to contain any one of those things and it also doesn't have to have any one of those things in any special combination or percentage. For example, a batch may contain mostly heads and feet and while the label would show crude protein, it doesn't mean that this is easily digestible protein. I have no problems with by-products being added to a food, they can be healthy, but if it's the primary source of protein, it might be difficult for your dog to digest and get all the necessary amino acids.


By the way, manufactures are lobbying the AFFCO to see if the word, "by" can be taken out of the word, by-products. I see it as another attempt to mislead consumers. Hope the AFFCO stands firm on this.
Good point. Here is the definition of poultry by-products from the AAFCO website (http://www.aafco.org/Consumers/What-is-in-Pet-Food).

“Poultry By-Products must consist of non-rendered clean parts of carcasses of slaughtered poultry such as heads, feet, viscera, free from fecal content and foreign matter except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice. If the product bears a name descriptive of its kind, it must correspond thereto.”

Similar to "meat by-products," it is most of the parts of the bird that would not be part of a raw, dressed whole carcass. That may include the giblets (heart, gizzard and liver) but also other internal organs, heads and feet.
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