In continuation with our previous blog we will be getting a little more in depth with pet foods and how to make sure you are feeding a good quality one to your fur baby. Today we will be talking about the dreaded “by-product.”
Society has trained us that seeing and hearing that your pet food having “by-products” in it is a horrible thing. TV commercials and marketing for some pet food companies have done a great job making us scared to feed by-products to our pet citing them as inferior sources of nutrition when in fact the opposite is true.
What exactly is a by-product? Internal organs like the liver, kidneys, lungs and spleen are all considered by-products. Things that are not a by-product are feathers, hair, hide, hooves, intestinal contents. By-products in pet foods that meet Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) guidelines come from clean animals parts other than meat, such as the liver, kidneys and other organs.*
The fact is, by-products are a great source of protein and other nutrients. By-products can be more nutritious than meat alone. Muscle meat is deficient in many nutrients, including calcium and other minerals and vitamins. Guess what has these things in abundance? By-Products! They are also an excellent source of protein and amino acids. Poultry and by-product meal contains 60%-70% protein and is highly digestible.
If you have more questions on by-products please feel free to contact us by phone ( 410-848-3100 ) or email (info@carrollcovet.com ).
*Wortinger A Nutritional myths. J Amer Anim Hosp Accos. 2005;41(4): 274-276.
Some of the information in this blog is from the Purina by-products informational paper.
