What are you feeding your companion?
So when you see the latest pet food advert of your furry friend springing about, is it because of what you are feeding them, of course it has a lot to do with it but, do you really know what goes into their food? Is it? ‘Plump whole chickens, choice cuts of beef, fresh grains, and all the wholesome nutrition your dog or cat will ever need.’
So what is the basis for pet food? Well if you didn’t know it is the by-product of animals, food that is not suitable for the human food chain but, is still useable in other ways. As with any description it is open to interpretation as the term ‘unfit for human consumption’ which is on all natural dog food products has been used to include ‘This waste includes intestines, udders, esophagi, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal parts.’ Reports the Animal Protection Institute http://www.api4animals.com. Although this is a report based upon the USA pet food markets some of the brands they refer to are in fact sold here in the UK, So do you really know what goes in to your furry friends’ food?
Protein debate
Most people are aware that the level of protein in pet food can have an effect on behaviour as well as growth. Nowadays some pet foods use soya as a protein source in greater quantities rather than meat this can sometimes lead to your pet having gas! However with around half of the animal not making it in to the food chain, there is a concern about what makes up the protein in pet food. Food for thought!
The report goes on to say that ‘Meat and poultry meals, by-product meals, and meat-and-bone meal are common ingredients in pet foods. The term "meal" means that these materials are not used fresh, but have been rendered. What is rendering? Rendering, as defined by Webster's Dictionary, is "to process as for industrial use: to render livestock carcasses and to extract oil from fat, blubber, etc., by melting." Home-made chicken soup, with its thick layer of fat that forms over the top when the soup is cooled, is a sort of mini-rendering process...Meat and poultry by-products, while not rendered, vary widely in composition and quality.’ Moreover ‘baking -- does not necessarily destroy the hormones used to fatten livestock or increase milk production, or drugs such as antibiotics or the barbiturates used to euthanize animals.’ Therefore the hormones may be fed to your pets.
The report goes on to highlight other concerns about the content of pet food and what source they are derived from, which for me is alarming so the ‘unique, pungent odour when you open a new bag of pet food -- what is the source of that delightful smell? It is most often rendered animal fat, restaurant grease, or other oils too rancid or deemed inedible for humans.
Apparently this fat will be in the pet food to entice your pet to eat the food, and what has this fat been exposed to? I will let you read the report in full should you really wish to know (According to the Animal Protection Institute http://www.api4animals.com)
Look out for terms such as ‘vomitoxin, aflatoxin or "mycotoxin," and be aware of what effect they can have can have on your pet, if you are feeding dried pet food and this is without the additives or preservatives section!
Additives and preservatives
Are another added extra in pet food, added to keep the fat from going rancid! Another tactic is food colourings to make the food more appealing. If in a natural form of herbs and report raises the conundrum that natural and synthetic preservatives are added but with no real research into what constitutes safe levels ‘Potentially cancer-causing agents such as BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin are permitted at relatively low levels. The use of these chemicals in pet foods has not been thoroughly studied, and long term build-up of these agents may ultimately be harmful... While some pet food critics and veterinarians believe that ethoxyquin is a major cause of disease, skin problems, and infertility in dogs, others claim it is the safest, strongest, most stable preservative available for pet food.’ To date more pet food manufacturers are adding oils and herbs as the consumer becomes more aware and tries to source higher quality foods
The cooking process for dried food
‘Most dry food is made with a machine called an expander or extruder. First, raw materials are blended, sometimes by hand, other times by computer, in accordance with a recipe developed by animal nutritionists. This mixture is fed into an expander and steam or hot water is added. The mixture is subjected to steam, pressure, and high heat as it is extruded through dies that determine the shape of the final product and puffed like popcorn. The food is allowed to dry, and then is usually sprayed with fat, digests, or other compounds to make it more palatable. Although the cooking process may kill bacteria in pet food, the final product can lose its sterility during the subsequent drying, fat coating, and packaging process. A few foods are baked at high temperatures rather than extruded. This produces a dense, crunchy kibble that is palatable without the addition of sprayed on palatability enhancers. Animals can be fed about 25% less of a baked food, by volume (but not by weight), than an extruded food.’
During this cooking process it must be hoped that all bacteria is eliminated but is it because the report highlights ‘highly contaminated with bacteria because their source is not always slaughtered animals. Animals that have died because of disease, injury, or natural causes are a source of meat for meat meal. The dead animal might not be rendered until days after its death. Therefore the carcass is often contaminated with bacteria such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli. Dangerous E. Coli bacteria are estimated to contaminate more than 50% of meat meals. While the cooking process may kill bacteria, it does not eliminate the endotoxins some bacteria produce during their growth and are released when they die. These toxins can cause sickness and disease. Pet food manufacturers do not test their products for endotoxins.’ Would any one knowingly feed their furry friend this type of product? More worrying when you get the food home and wet the food, as instructed, and leave it sitting at room temperature, what do you think happens?
It catalogues a list of illnesses from urinary tract problems, obesity, heart problems, blindness due to lack of taurine, thyroid problems due to lack of iodine, as for the unsuspecting large breed puppy it can bring rapid growth which can impact on joints and bones and compounded if the puppy is overfed by its owner.
‘The bottom line is that diets composed primarily of low quality cereals and rendered meat meals are not as nutritious or safe as you should expect for your cat or dog.’
