Products

Some manufacturers of dog food like to make a big deal out of the fact that they can list "meat" as the number one product in their dog food. The theory being that this makes for more nutritional food because the item listed first on any dog food label is required to be the highest single volume item. While this statement is factual, it is also fatally flawed because it fails to address the more important issue which is the quality of the "meat". Even if a manufacture claims to use no ingredients designated as "meal" quality (by definition, unfit for human consumption) and no rendered meat, it is still likely that the ingredients are of poor quality. For example, "chicken" listed as the first ingredient will almost always be taken from the scraps left over after the chicken has been stripped of every otherwise usable part. The only way to really know that you are feeding your dog the very best, most digestible food is to buy a brand that promises to start with USDA certified meats and fresh vegetables that were intended for the human food market.

Modern slaughterhouses create a massive volume of inedible, unwanted waste that is unfit for human consumption such as hair, hoof, beak, neck, bone, blood, eyeballs, entire carcasses from diseased and disabled animals, etc. Rendering is the process of boiling these ingredients, as well as restaurant and grocery store waste and even road kill into a mixture that is then sold to manufacturers for final use in, among other things, animal feed including pet food. It should also be noted that many reliable sources believe that euthanized pet dogs and cats are also used in the production of commercial dog and cat food.

This recycled “meat” and bone is used as a source of “protein” in dog food. This protein can be labeled as “meat meal”, “meat by products”, “fish oil”, “beef fat”, “chicken fat”, “fish meal” and “tallow” among many others.

We never use rendered meats, of any kind, in any way. You should never feed your dog any food containing rendered meat. Look for the word “meal” on labels and if you see it in almost any form, “meat meal”, “beef meal”, “lamb meal”, “poultry meal”, etc., it is likely a product of rendered material. The simplest way to determine this is to ask if the meat used to make the food is USDA Certified for human consumption. If the label and marketing does not feature USDA certification it is unlikely that the contents are certified as such.

Let’s look at just one “meal” ingredient example, in detail. If you see “fish meal” on a label it almost certainly contains Ethoxyquin, and here’s why. The US Coast Guard requires that all fish meal not destined for human consumption be conserved with Ethoxyquin. This is a preservative that has been banned from use in foods for human consumption. Ethoxyquin was originally developed by Monsanto as a stabilizer for rubber. It was also used as a pesticide and later for animal feed. It has been linked to thyroid, kidney, reproductive and immune related illnesses as well as cancer. Monsanto conducted research years ago but due to unprofessional conduct on the part of Monsanto, the FDA demanded another study. Until the study has been completed, dog food manufacturers are allowed to use Ethoxyquin. The reason you are not likely to see Ethoxyquin appear on a dog food label with fish meal is simple, if the dog food manufacturer did not add Ethoxyquin themselves, they are not required to list it in dog food ingredients even if it is present in the fish meal they have purchased for inclusion in their dog food.

To further complicate matters, a dog food manufacturer may read the above and state that the information is incorrect, that Ethoxyquin has not been entirely banned from human consumption. Strictly speaking, that would be true, Ethoxyquin is used in minute quantities to preserve the color of cayenne pepper. But for all practical purposes, no human could eat enough cayenne pepper for the Ethoxyquin to become toxic. (That is not necessarily the case for fish meal.)

"Meal" is a highly processed, rendered material that is ground, boiled and dried. It generally contains the left over parts such as bone, blood, hair, etc. Whether it is lamb meal, beef meal, chicken meal, fish meal, etc. There is no such thing as a "meal" ingredient that is 'human grade' or 'human quality' and no facility making food for humans could even have such ingredients present in the facility. JustFoodForDogs never uses any meal of any kind in any of our products.

Since dog food manufacturers are not required to list preservatives they themselves did not add, lots of dog food brands make claims such as “preservative free” and still fall within the rules. However, if they are using “meal” quality ingredients or rendered meats to begin with, the preservatives are already there.

Most artificial flavoring is not recognized by a dog digestive system as food and therefore is not metabolized. Artificial flavoring is generally used because it is much cheaper than natural flavoring but the real story here lies in the reason any flavoring is added at all. Because almost all dog food is mass produced and heated at extreme temperatures in a way which renders the material (dry or canned) flavorless, the artificial flavoring must be added (usually sprayed on) or dogs simply wouldn’t eat it.