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Digest - What is it?
( and what's it doing in my pet's food?)

 

Here's an interesting product - Digest (chicken, lamb or whatever...).

You see it sometimes on ingredient declarations as 'animal digest', 'chicken digest', lamb digest' etc. I say 'sometimes' because there's a fair chance it is in 90% of all pet foods, just not always openly declared because it doesn't fit the 'natural' image of the product. Sometimes you'll see 'chicken liver' as an ingredient, or 'chicken gravy' but chances are that what they really mean is 'chicken digest' which doesn't have the same image!

 

So what is digest?

Well, if we turn to AAFCO in the US we find this definition:

'Animal digest - A material which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and undecomposed animal tissue. The animal tissues used shall be exclusive of hair, horns, teeth, hooves and feathers, except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice and shall be suitable for animal feed. If it bears a name descriptive of its kind or flavor, it must correspond thereto.'

What is it used for?

Quite simply, most dried pet foods would have a low palatability without the use of flavourings - that is, your pet wouldn't eat them quite as enthusiastically. Digest is a flavouring or palatability enhancer which is often sprayed onto the kibble in small amounts to make the food more appetizing. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with it as an ingredient, and as long as the rest of the ingredients together make a complete and nutritious food then it can be thought of as spraying on a little bit of gravy.

The only arguement, from the standpoint of feeding a natural diet is whether the manufacturing process to create the digest (chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis) can be considered 'natural'... and if a manufacturer is wary of including digest in their ingredient declaration, even though they use it (Burns is a case in point), what does that say about their confidence in answering this question?

According to Iams -

What is digest?
Digest is made from high-quality protein and fat material derived from animal tissues. Through an enzymatic process, the large protein pieces in the tissues are reduced to smaller peptides and amino acids. Likewise the fat particles are broken into smaller lipids and fatty acids.

As the enzymatic reaction progresses, tissues liquefy. This liquid digest is then sprayed evenly on the outside of the dry-food kibbles. This is called "enrobing."

Why is digest used in pet food?
DieDigest is a common pet food ingredient because it provides natural flavor. This natural palatability ensures that dogs and cats will find the diet appealing day after day and eat appropriate amounts of food to receive essential nutrients.

Digest is especially important in therapeutic diets where special ingredients required for the health of the animal may be less appealing to dogs or cats.

Digest also is a source of valuable proteins and fats and essential amino and fatty acids.

Are digests different for dogs and cats?
Yes. While amino acids in the digest stimulate taste receptors in both animals, dogs and cats have different taste preferences and, therefore, different digest preferences. Dogs respond to sweet tastes from fatty acids or the fat component, as well as amino acids. Cats prefer acidic foods; thus, the acid that is used to help preserve digest also enhances the palatability of the product.

 

From a consumer's point of view, if you are unsure whether your regular pet food contains digest, and it worries you, then ask them the question.

 

 

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