1. What pet food is best for my pet?
Pet food should be produced by a reputable company, suitable for a particular species and a particular stage of life, with a well-rounded and balanced diet (providing all essential nutrients in the right amounts and proportions). Other factors that may influence dietary choices are body size, sterilization status and health. The best person to ask about the best diet is your pet’s veterinarian.
2. How can you tell if pet food is nutritious enough?
It depends on where you live, as pet food laws vary from country to country. In the United States, pet food sold across state lines has labels, including AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officers) statements. This statement will indicate whether the diet is complete and balanced (for a particular species and stage of life) or only used for intermittent feeding. It will also indicate how nutritional adequacy is achieved: through feeding trials or following tables.
In Europe, there is a statement about whether the food is whole (specific species and stage of life) or complementary (therapeutic). The expertise, personnel and quality control measures of the pet food manufacturing company are also evaluated in more detail.
3. Can you judge the quality of pet food by looking at the ingredients list?
In general, ingredient names do not give details of nutritional quality, digestibility, or bioavailability of nutrients. Most importantly, the final product (formulated by experts) is tested to ensure it meets your pet’s nutritional needs.
Ingredient lists may be helpful in choosing pet foods for dogs and cats with food allergies and intolerances, but keep in mind that during normal manufacturing, cross-contamination of foods and ingredients not reported on the label may occur.
4. Are cereal “additives” that aren’t good for pets?
Nothing in pet food is really an “additive.” Every ingredient in pet food must have a nutritional purpose.
Grains are the main energy component (in the form of starch), but they also provide essential nutrients such as essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. In addition, many grains provide fiber, which is good for things like the gut.
Dogs and cats can digest cereals if they are properly cooked and as long as the overall diet is complete and balanced, and there is no evidence that they are harmful to pets.
5. What are the by-products? Is it bad for pets?
By-product is a simple term for an ingredient produced in parallel with another ingredient. Wheat bran, for example, is a by-product of flour production for the baking industry. Because wheat bran is not the main constituent target of the process, it is called a by-product, but this has no effect on its quality or nutritional value.
Animal by-products, whether derived from a single species, such as chicken or beef, or combinations of poultry (chicken, Turkey and duck) or meat (beef, pork, lamb and goat), are the edible parts of animals other than muscle meat, which is the main product of the food-animal industry.
This includes things like livers and kidneys, which are extremely nutritious but not often eaten in some human cultures.
Items that are specifically excluded from pet food as by-products are inedible items such as hooves and feathers.
The byproduct is exactly the same as any other ingredient, in the sense that its name does not reflect its nutritional quality. As a result, they can be an excellent ingredient in pet food, and their use reduces the waste of nutrient-rich foods that for various reasons go uneaten.
Post time: Mar-08-2022