advice
- Thread starter d123squirt
- Start date
From a great website about food: http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/index.php?page=main
And of course, I picked that website up here (Thanks Mordy!!!)
Byproducts of any type are only acceptable if they do not make up the main source of animal protein and if the name of the species used is also defined in some manner (such as "poultry byproduct meal (chicken and turkey organ meats only)"). Byproducts consist of anything but the quality cuts of meat used for human consumption. What this means (on a market with high demand for human snacks like "buffalo wings" and cheaper pet foods requiring flavoring agents like beef or chicken liver digest to make otherwise uninteresting food more attractive), I leave to your imagination.
Contrary to what many people believe, meat sources in "meal" form (as long as they are from a specified type of animal) are not inferior to whole, fresh meats. Meals consist of meat and skin, with or without the bones, but exclusive of feathers/hair, heads, feet, horns, entrails etc. and have the proper calcium/phosphorus ratio required for a balanced diet. They have had most of the moisture removed, but meats in their original, "wet" form still contain about 75% water. Once the food reaches its final moisture content, the meat will have shrunk to 1/4 of the original amount, while the the meal form remains the same and you get more concentrated protein per pound of finished product.
And of course, I picked that website up here (Thanks Mordy!!!)
Byproducts of any type are only acceptable if they do not make up the main source of animal protein and if the name of the species used is also defined in some manner (such as "poultry byproduct meal (chicken and turkey organ meats only)"). Byproducts consist of anything but the quality cuts of meat used for human consumption. What this means (on a market with high demand for human snacks like "buffalo wings" and cheaper pet foods requiring flavoring agents like beef or chicken liver digest to make otherwise uninteresting food more attractive), I leave to your imagination.
Contrary to what many people believe, meat sources in "meal" form (as long as they are from a specified type of animal) are not inferior to whole, fresh meats. Meals consist of meat and skin, with or without the bones, but exclusive of feathers/hair, heads, feet, horns, entrails etc. and have the proper calcium/phosphorus ratio required for a balanced diet. They have had most of the moisture removed, but meats in their original, "wet" form still contain about 75% water. Once the food reaches its final moisture content, the meat will have shrunk to 1/4 of the original amount, while the the meal form remains the same and you get more concentrated protein per pound of finished product.
barb saved me some typing there already. 
meat "meals" are the rendered, dehydrated form in which animal protein is often used in pet foods. if you have a form that doesn't say "byproduct" and distinctly defines the species it comes from (good examples: chicken meal, turkey meal, salmon meal - bad examples: fish meal, poultry meal, meat meal) it is actually not a bad ingredient at all.
meat "meals" are the rendered, dehydrated form in which animal protein is often used in pet foods. if you have a form that doesn't say "byproduct" and distinctly defines the species it comes from (good examples: chicken meal, turkey meal, salmon meal - bad examples: fish meal, poultry meal, meat meal) it is actually not a bad ingredient at all.