Pet
Food
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Pet Food ingredients

(Concentrating on dog and cat food which seem most contentious!)

or

William Burkholder, D.V.M., Ph.D who is the pet food specialist for the US FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, and knows a thing or two about the subject recommends looking not only at the list of ingredients on a pet food label, but also the contact telephone number of the manufacturer. Why? So that you can give them a ring and query anything you are not sure about.

The ingredients list on the label is where the pet owner makes up his or her mind about whether they like what they read. Those who do or do not want to feed a certain ingredient can look to make sure it is included or excluded.

See also - pet food scares

Yes or No?

Some prefer to say no to animal by-products, which may contain heads, feet, viscera and other animal parts not particularly appetizing, and from various species. But protein quality of by-products can actually be quite good, so that may not necessarily be the main bone of contention.

Meat and animal derivatives - sounds tasty, doesn't it? This tends to be seen as an ingredient at the cheaper end of the pet food market, and as a source of protein. Meat and animal derivatives are legally defined in the Feeding Stuffs Regulations 2005. They are sourced from animals which have been inspected and passed as fit for human consumption and are the parts of the animal which are surplus to the requirements of the human food industry in the UK eg. heart, lung, or muscle meat, which may not be traditionally eaten by people in this country.

Cereal by-products - Headlines such as 'May 4, 2007 -- Cereal Byproducts Company is announcing today that the FDA has determined that there are melamine and/or melamine derivatives in the rice protein concentrate produced by a single source Chinese supplier' do nothing to give confidence to consumers!

Cereal by-products, a cheap source of carbohydrate and vegetable protein by their name and definition are 'by-products' of the human food industry, not usable for human food and could come via bakery/breakfast cereal or similar production. They will possibly be mixed sources of cereal, and may be lower grade than the straight cereals used in premium brands.

Meat Meal is another ingredient that some pet owners don't like the sound of. By-products of the human food chain (carcases with some meat protein remaining) are rendered (heat processed), which removes the fat and water from the product. Meat or poultry meal can contain parts of animals not normally eaten by people.

The rendering process in it's simplest form is shown on the left - you probably don't want a detailed description (if you do try this one at Wikipedia!)

Suffice to say, this is a huge business converting waste animal tissue into stable, value-added materials for several industries as well as for pet food.

The article from Wikipedia interestingly points out that rendering is one of the oldest stablished recycling processes - taking what would otherwise be waste materials and makes useful products such as fuels, soaps, rubber, plastics, etc. At the same time, rendering solves what would otherwise be a major disposal problem. As an example, the US recycles more than 21 million metric tons annually of highly perishable and noxious organic matter. In 2004, the U.S. industry produced over 8 million metric tons of products, of which 1.6 million metric tons were exported.... food for thought, perhaps!

The UK Pet Food Manufacturers Association (PFMA) states that it uses those parts of the carcass which are either surplus to human requirements or which are not normally consumed by people in the UK. Companies which are members of the PFMA operate their own quality assurance policies including strict specifications for material supplies, routine testing of all incoming materials and the use of vendor assurance schemes (and audits) to monitor their suppliers. The British pet food industry also uses sources of meat and meal from the UK, USA Canada, Australasia and various European countries. All materials imported must comply with the strict British legislation.

UK manufacturers only use materials from animals which are generally accepted in the human food chain. They do not use horsemeat, whales or other sea mammals, kangaroos or a number of other species not eaten by humans. It does use beef, lamb, poultry, pork, fish, shellfish, rabbit and game. The PFMA practice of only using materials derived from animals passed as fit for human consumption is now incorporated into the Animal By-Products Order and PFMA member companies using animal material derived from the UK are recommended to only buy from and sell to companies registered under the Animal By-Products Order.

Some consumers try to avoid pet foods with synthetic preservatives, such asbutylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and ethoxyquin. Ethoxyquin, in particular, has been hotly debated. Current scientific data suggest that ethoxyquin is safe, but some pet owners avoid this additive because of a suspected link to liver damage and other health problems in dogs.

The Natural Alternative

Many products today are preserved with naturally occurring compounds, such as tocopherols (vitamin E) or vitamin C. However, these products generally have a shorter shelf life than those with synthetic preservatives, especially once a bag of food is opened.

Comparing foods with different ingredients is difficult. Take protein content for example. Let's say we have two foods which have the same percentages of protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber and moisture.

Food A contains 25% protein that is 60% digestible and food B contains 25% protein that is 85% digestible. That means of food A the body is able to utilize 15% of the protein content, but of food B 21.25%. Logically, to meet the body's requirement of protein, you'd have to feed more of food A than of food B, and the body of the dog eating food B will have to work less to utilize it.

Meats such as poultry, fish and pork all have a high digestibility, as do cereals such as rice and corn. Wheat, soya and oats are less digestible and logically therefore you would have to feed more to get the same nutritional benefits.

Although manufactuers are happy to tell you that the meat they use is human grade and comes from the human food chain, let's be clear that this is not the best fillet steak or free range chicken breast. Meat producers make as much as possible producing for the human market, because it is more profitable- what is left is what you would probably not want to buy if it was put for sale in the butchers or supermarket!

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