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.