KarynK
Well-Known Member
In light of all the posts on Dog food varieties I thought that this would be helpful.
With meat as a rule the more simple the name the higher the meat content:
A label like Lamb dog food must contain 70 + % of actual lamb.
But something like Beef platter with vegetables requires 10% minimum.
Anything saying with lamb requires a 4% minimum and
Lamb flavour can contain none at all!
If in doubt check the label good quality foods will have meat listed as the first ingredient as they are listed in descending order by weight . It should also specify from what animal.
Definitions
Meat = clean flesh, skin, fat, organs and sinews.
By-products = anything else other than meat as above so includes feathers, beaks hooves, hair, horns, teeth, bones, feet, even unborn foetuses, etc.
Meal = rendered meat, basically all the leftovers are put into a vat, boiled, then dried out and ground into a fine powder. This process will destroy everything good and bad, bacteria, parasites and other possible pathogens but also nutritional elements which are artificially replaced afterwards. In the US this can contain traces of barbiturates used to euthanize the animals used to make it, including pets.
Digest = clean and undecomposed animal tissue which is broken down by enzymes or chemicals into a water substance and used as a flavour enhancer which is often sprayed onto the kibble in small amounts to make it appetizing. This is often referred to as gravy or not listed at all.
Cereal by-products = cheap source of carbohydrate and vegetable protein, not suitable for human consumption, it can be mixed or poor quality lower grade cereals.
There are only 2 standards of pet nutrition recognised by the pet food inspectors, growth stage (which includes gestation and lactation) and adult. So labels stating designed for something like senior are usually just marketing apart from small amounts of glucosamine or similar to assist with joint pain but usually in a quantity too small to assist. Sometimes you can find references to feeding trials; this indicates that the manufacturer has tested the product in accordance to strict guidelines.
Pet foods for meat eaters containing vegetable proteins, cellulose, wheat barley and maize are indicators of poorer quality foods.
Additives: antioxidants/preservatives have to be added to allow the kibble to last for around 12 Months, otherwise the fats would become rancid. Some of the common addatives are:
BHA (used to stop the fats going rancid) is suspected to cause stomach cancer, behavioural changes, hyperactivity, liver damage and fetal abnormalities and metabolic stress.
BHT (used to stop the fats going rancid) is suspected to cause liver issues, thyroid and bladder cancer and metabolic stress.
Ethoxyquin (synthetic antioxidant, also used as a pesticide) is suspected to cause cancer, kidney related problems and numerous other health issues
Propylene glycol (a water attracter that keeps food moist, also used as antifreeze) is suspected to cause the destruction of red blood cells.
Artificial Colours Red #2 and #40, Violet #1, Blue #2, Yellow No 5 and 6 are suspected to be linked to cancer, birth defects and skin lesions
More natural additives for stopping food going rancid are tocopherols and rosemary oil but they are not as effective and the shlf life is shorter.
ANY ingredients even natural ones that are pre treated with chemicals BEFORE being delivered to the manufacturer of a feed DO NOT need to be declared on the label. In fact some companies will do all in their power to not declare certain ingredients!
Basically if the label looks too short and simple it is probably far from complete, if you want to know how good your feed is ask questions of you manufacturer if you don't like or believe the replies vote with your feet.
This is a good guide to choosing the better food for your pets
http://www.pet-food-choice.co.uk/pet_food_ingredients.htm
The example table half way down this page shows how Burns compares quite badly in their labelling compared to Pets at Home!!!!! Bit of an eye opener
http://www.pet-food-choice.co.uk/pet_food_labels.htm
With meat as a rule the more simple the name the higher the meat content:
A label like Lamb dog food must contain 70 + % of actual lamb.
But something like Beef platter with vegetables requires 10% minimum.
Anything saying with lamb requires a 4% minimum and
Lamb flavour can contain none at all!
If in doubt check the label good quality foods will have meat listed as the first ingredient as they are listed in descending order by weight . It should also specify from what animal.
Definitions
Meat = clean flesh, skin, fat, organs and sinews.
By-products = anything else other than meat as above so includes feathers, beaks hooves, hair, horns, teeth, bones, feet, even unborn foetuses, etc.
Meal = rendered meat, basically all the leftovers are put into a vat, boiled, then dried out and ground into a fine powder. This process will destroy everything good and bad, bacteria, parasites and other possible pathogens but also nutritional elements which are artificially replaced afterwards. In the US this can contain traces of barbiturates used to euthanize the animals used to make it, including pets.
Digest = clean and undecomposed animal tissue which is broken down by enzymes or chemicals into a water substance and used as a flavour enhancer which is often sprayed onto the kibble in small amounts to make it appetizing. This is often referred to as gravy or not listed at all.
Cereal by-products = cheap source of carbohydrate and vegetable protein, not suitable for human consumption, it can be mixed or poor quality lower grade cereals.
There are only 2 standards of pet nutrition recognised by the pet food inspectors, growth stage (which includes gestation and lactation) and adult. So labels stating designed for something like senior are usually just marketing apart from small amounts of glucosamine or similar to assist with joint pain but usually in a quantity too small to assist. Sometimes you can find references to feeding trials; this indicates that the manufacturer has tested the product in accordance to strict guidelines.
Pet foods for meat eaters containing vegetable proteins, cellulose, wheat barley and maize are indicators of poorer quality foods.
Additives: antioxidants/preservatives have to be added to allow the kibble to last for around 12 Months, otherwise the fats would become rancid. Some of the common addatives are:
BHA (used to stop the fats going rancid) is suspected to cause stomach cancer, behavioural changes, hyperactivity, liver damage and fetal abnormalities and metabolic stress.
BHT (used to stop the fats going rancid) is suspected to cause liver issues, thyroid and bladder cancer and metabolic stress.
Ethoxyquin (synthetic antioxidant, also used as a pesticide) is suspected to cause cancer, kidney related problems and numerous other health issues
Propylene glycol (a water attracter that keeps food moist, also used as antifreeze) is suspected to cause the destruction of red blood cells.
Artificial Colours Red #2 and #40, Violet #1, Blue #2, Yellow No 5 and 6 are suspected to be linked to cancer, birth defects and skin lesions
More natural additives for stopping food going rancid are tocopherols and rosemary oil but they are not as effective and the shlf life is shorter.
ANY ingredients even natural ones that are pre treated with chemicals BEFORE being delivered to the manufacturer of a feed DO NOT need to be declared on the label. In fact some companies will do all in their power to not declare certain ingredients!
Basically if the label looks too short and simple it is probably far from complete, if you want to know how good your feed is ask questions of you manufacturer if you don't like or believe the replies vote with your feet.
This is a good guide to choosing the better food for your pets
http://www.pet-food-choice.co.uk/pet_food_ingredients.htm
The example table half way down this page shows how Burns compares quite badly in their labelling compared to Pets at Home!!!!! Bit of an eye opener
http://www.pet-food-choice.co.uk/pet_food_labels.htm
