|
Today’s
competitive pet food market offers the pet owner a wide variety of
commercial feeds from which to choose. This large selection of
commercial foods, combined with the pet owners increased awareness of
their pet’s health, has resulted in a greater demand for high-quality
food ingredients for the pet food market. The demand for high quality
ingredients along with the increased cost of ingredients and
manufacturing has led some companies to search for lower priced
products.
While
these ingredients might keep cost lower, the quality control standards
from which these ingredients come might not be up to the standards that
pet owners would like to see. While the FDA continues to investigate the
exact cause of recent problems with several commercial pet foods, one
possible cause continues to be associated with an ingredient that was
used in the formulation of the pet foods.
While
this is an isolated case, it does make pet owners more aware of
nutritional needs of their companion pet. A nutritional background will
assist the pet owner to better understand their pet’s requirements as
well as problems that might be encountered from commercially produced
feeds. Estimations of nutritional requirements of dogs and cats are
complicated by the wide variation in individual pets. Hard and fast
rules are impossible to make; feeding is an individual matter and
requirements serve only as guidelines. With that in mind, let’s look
at some nutritional considerations when selecting a pet food.
One
of the first considerations when selecting a pet food is protein. Does
the protein source of the feed provide all 10 of the essential amino
acids needed for peek performance? Milk, eggs, meat and soybeans are
protein sources that provide these building blocks to protein, while
gelatin, wheat and flour do not.
Another
factor when looking at proteins is digestibility. Beef products, cheese
meal, fishmeal, soybean meal and dried skim milk are highly digestible
protein sources while gelatin, collagen, low quality meat scraps and
cereal waste are less digestible. Also remember that cats have a
substantially higher protein requirement than dogs. Pets use protein for
growth, reproduction, tissue repair and tissue growth.
Another
consideration is the fat level. Fats and oils have an important effect
on palatability. Fats and oils also supply essential fatty acids.
Essential fatty acids should make up at least 1% of the diet dry matter.
Inadequate fat in the diet, in addition to causing a fatty acid
deficiency, may result in an energy deficiency resulting in poor growth,
poor physical performance, poor reproduction and weight loss. An
essential fatty acid deficiency also causes a dry lusterless hair coat,
scaly skin, predisposes skin infection and impairs wound healing.
Also
the absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K is associated with the
absorption of fats making them even more important in your pet foods.
Most fats present in pet foods are greater than 90% digestible and are
frequently the most digestible nutrient in the diet.
Another
nutrient consideration is carbohydrates. A large part of most commercial
pet foods is carbohydrates. This usually supplies the least expensive
source of energy. High levels of starch can lead to diarrhea. While
carbohydrates are not essential for the cat, they provide a cheaper
source of calories than other foods and are often added to pet diets.
Wheat gluten, which seems to be at the center of the recent pet food
recall, is a source of carbohydrates and protein.
After
protein and energy, another consideration in a quality pet food is
minerals and vitamins. The essential minerals for pets are calcium,
phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, sodium, chloride, potassium and iron.
Essential trace minerals are copper, manganese, iodine, zinc and cobalt.
These elements are used by the animal for growth, reproduction, bone
development, immunity and cell well-being. A quality commercial feed
will provide these minerals in the proper ratios and in a useable form
for utilization.
A
complete pet food should also include both your fat and water-soluble
vitamins. Vitamins are essential for mineral utilization, immunity,
organ health and reproduction. As a pet owner, you should only consider
a pet food that supplies vitamins A, D, E and K along with the B
Vitamins that are thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, biotin,
folic acid and vitamin B12.
The
last consideration for selecting a quality pet food is fiber. Fiber has
several functions in the digestive tract. Most fiber absorbs water and
helps produce a more voluminous stool than non-fibrous diet. Fiber also
aids in the prevention of constipation and other intestinal problems.
Also fiber can be used as a way to lower the quality of the pet food.
The higher the level of fiber in the food, the lower the quality of the
pet food. Always look for a pet food that is no more than 5% fiber to
assure a high quality food that will meet the needs of your pet.
Understanding
nutritional needs of pets will help you to detect problems that might
lead to organ system failure or premature aging. For a normal aged dog,
you should select a feed that is at least 20% protein, 10% fat and less
than 4% fiber. For cats, your feed should be at least 25% protein, 15 %
fat and less than 4% fiber.
The
recent recall for a large amount of pet foods has made pet owners more
aware of what they are feeding their pet. While quality should always be
the first decision when selecting ingredients, some companies find it
difficult to turn down a lower cost ingredient. This will probably be
the reason for the inclusion of the wheat gluten as an ingredient in the
recalled pet foods.
While
no company can guarantee that their feed will never have a quality
issue, I can assure you that the pet food manufactures that produce pet
feed for your local Co-op store will always strive to only use those
products that have been tested for any foreign substance that could lead
to a nutritional problem in your pet.
If
you have any questions concerning pet nutrition or the quality of the
feed that is being offered from your local Co-op, please feel free to
contact me at 256-947-7886 or email at jimmyh@alafarm.com.
We will continue to discuss other issues concerning pet nutrition in
upcoming issues and I would be happy to answer any questions that you
might have.
Jimmy
Hughes is AFC’s animal nutritionist.
|
