So far in our series on pet foods we have discussed the types and the major ingredients. But what about all those other ingredients on the list? How much is there and what are they?
Pet food 101 and 102 lay the foundations.
The order of ingredients can give you an idea of how much is in the food. The first factor that defines relative quantity (major versus minor ingredient) will be “Natural Flavor”. Natural flavors are either dry or liquid meat/vegetable digests that are added to the food to ensure consistent flavour. A simplified example would be the drippings from fresh meat that is absorbed by the pad under a piece of packaged meat. When dried or concentrated into a syrupy liquid it can add an appealing consistent taste factor.
Flavours are typically added at 2%. That means that anything below natural flavour is in the food at below 2%.
Salt is usually added at 2 to 5 kilograms per 1000 so anything listed between flavour and salt is between 20 (2.0%) and 5 kilograms (0.5%).
We are now getting down to small additions. A good ingredient as our next marker is the vitamin Choline, listed as Choline Chloride. In most pet foods it will be added at 1 to 2 kg. You can therefore assume that any ingredient below Choline is in at less than 1 kg. (0.1%). If you look at your pet’s food you will see a pile of ingredients in this category.
Label Dressings
You will see fruits and vegetables often listed here. Fruits, vegetables and spices are often added as what the industry calls “label dressing.” They are adding very little nutritional value but the idea of your pet eating blueberries, carrots and green tea extract makes you feel good. These ingredients may have some non-nutritional properties (i.e.: antioxidant) but the add rate is very low.
Probiotics and prebiotics that help maintain your pet’s intestinal health are added at similarly low levels. Natural antioxidants or preservatives such as Rosemary oil also are included in this range.
Next there will be a long list of vitamins and minerals that reads like a bottle of one a day vitamins. These ingredients are added at very low levels due to their high potency. Some essential nutrients like Vitamin A may only be added at 50 grams per tonne (0.005%). ensuring that a small quantity like this is evenly distributed in 1000 kgs of pet food shows how technically advanced the industry operates.
Three columns later I hope I have given you some insight into the world of pet food. Do not be swayed by expensive advertising. Buy the best food your budget allows and ensure that you feed to the printed directions.
J.A. (Jake) Davidson is an Animal Nutritionist
