Nutrition and Ingredients

Comment

Comment by Amy Fiumarelli on February 11, 2010 at 10:12am

Can anyone tell me what Hydrochloric acid and Propolyene Glycol is used for in pet foods?

Comment by Joyce Neth on February 4, 2010 at 5:31pm

Did you know that February is National Cat Health Month? 9Lives (DelMonte) released results of a survey conducted among cat owners. http://bit.ly/9vOffh According to the results, cat owners have a lot to learn about proper feline nutrition. "Among the findings: 75 percent believe that the more nutritious the cat food, the more expensive it is; only 30 percent know that milk is unhealthy, a surprising statistic considering most cats are lactose intolerant; and 70 percent think it’s beneficial to keep their cats on a dry food-only diet, while others (23%) think a purely vegetarian diet is a wholesome choice. Both can be harmful."

Comment by Zachary Heskett on October 29, 2009 at 3:54pm

What is your single largest challenge when:
A.) Sourcing ingredients for a new project?
...and/or
B.) Diversifying your supply chain for ingredients that you currently purchase?

Comment by Amy Fiumarelli on October 28, 2009 at 12:02pm

Rosemary and Vitman E make great preservatives in baked goods for pets. Flaxseed does not Vitamin C also does not. Been there done that!!

Comment by Jeffrey Michael Bond on October 15, 2009 at 8:30am

Vitamin E is a natural antioxidant and I might think that it would be better than vitamin C as a preservative. Whole flax seed would do little and in fact if you are using ground flax seed it will contribute to rancidity as the oil is highly unsaturated and therefore becomes rancid much quicker. Hadn't heard of vinegar although I guess since it is acidic that it would help to drop the pH and preserve the product but not sure how well it will work after the product has been cooked. All of this said, you might want to specify the problem a little bit more. Do your products have a short shelf life or do you feel the need to put something on the label?

Comment by A.M. Weiting on October 14, 2009 at 4:47pm

Comment by A.M. Weiting 11 minutes ago Delete Comment I started a pet bakery a year and a half ago. I am still changing different recipes for my treats. What I am looking for is a source in or close to Wisconsin for something to use as a natural perservative. I been told to use flax seed, vitamin C, concentrated vinegar, and vitamin E. Help!

Comment by Jeffrey Michael Bond on October 14, 2009 at 4:26pm

Is there not an external auditing system in place with respect to labelling? Sounds like the jurisdiction of the FDA or AAFCO.

Comment by Jana Connell RVT, CVT on October 14, 2009 at 4:22pm

I did a lot of research on it yesterday and it appears that while it is almost always included in foods, it is sometimes not included because the body does make it. It is not tied to taurine, which I first suspected, but it has been implicated (wrongly so according to further research) in creating oxalate crystals in humans and dogs.
It is non-essential because the body makes it. Essential amino acids are ones we have to get from our foods and we cannot make but need to live. Melody explained it all quite nicely down below. Now why it isn't always labeled is another bugaboo just like the Vit K issue Danielle brought up. If we want these things to change, then we need to put these manufacturers to task to do so. I am a loud squeaky wheel when I need to be!!

Comment by Dan Hughes on October 14, 2009 at 4:01pm

Jana,

Any thoughts on the glycine question?

Dan

Comment by Jana Connell RVT, CVT on October 14, 2009 at 3:57pm

Jeffrey,
You bring up an interesting point about excesses. The problem with many foods on the market is just that-there are excesses in the food to start, so when you overfeed, which most owners seem to do, you do create a very unbalanced diet. Most food is too low in essential nutrients and too high in others so that the dog or cat must eat more and more just to try and meet its energy needs or RER. This is a major cause of obesity in pets. I call it my ounce of protein from a pound saltine cracker syndrome. You feed a poor quality food and your pet has to make up for the lack by eating more and more costing the owner more and more. It's like trying to get an ounce of steak protein from a box of saltine crackers. It's not going to happen.

If the percentages of Ca/Phos are high in a normal 8 oz of food, then you can bet it will the cause of nutrient-related excesses later on due to overfeeding. That includes, fat, protein, cal/phos etc.

The problem, as most of you know, with a high phosphorus/ca level in growing puppies of large breeds is the over-production of growth plate and bone which can be a cause of hip and elbow problems before the age of 1 yr. The high ratio later on with other pets is a kidney/organ issue.

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