commercial pet foods Flashcards

1
Q

pet food labels

A
  • proper formulation & legal labels are company’s responsibility
    • also their responsibility to formulate a diet that is nutritious & appropriate
  • label is a legal document
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2
Q

role of FDA

A
  • regulated at national level
  • some labeling rules but mostly laws ensure safety
  • produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances, & truthfully labeled
  • sterility of canned foods
  • no health claims (not allowed to make drug claims e.g. treats/cure disease)
    • companies use softer language (e.g. supports healthy skin rather than treats allergies)
  • can request or enforce recalls
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3
Q

association of animal feed control officials (AAFCO)

A
  • advisory body at the state level (not a regulatory body)
  • develops model feed laws adopted by states
  • compliance is monitored & enforced by state feed control officials
    • in Ca: CDFA
  • model feed laws include:
    • ingredient definitions
    • protocols for establishing nutritional adequacy
    • digestibility
    • energy content
    • label requirements
  • manufactures have the responsibility to comply & produce nutritionally adequate, properly labeled, & wholesome products
  • does not monitor, approve, or certify pet foods
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4
Q

marketing terms w/out regulatory definitions

A
  • aka romance claims by AAFCO → meant to woo the customer
  • premium
  • super premium
  • holistic
  • gourmet
  • artisan
  • intended uses such as senior, active, performance → nutritional profiles & how they might differ from regular adult food dependent on companies philosophies
  • no meaning
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5
Q

“natural”

A
  • no part of diet can be produced via synthetic chemical processes
  • related to process only, not nutritional value, quality, or safety
  • many essential nutrients are purified using chemical means to stabilize & ensure bioavailability
    • unfamiliar names e.g. ”ferrous sulfate” or “pyridoxine hydrochloride”
    • natural forms are typically more expensive, may be less stable, less available, or more dangerous
    • chemical preservatives more efficient than natural preservatives
    • vit & mineral commonly synthesized or undergo some kind of unnatural process in order to stabilize ∴ not natural, “added”
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6
Q

“human grade”

A
  • relates to process, not quality or nutritional value
  • every part of the diet and finished product has to be handled, processed, & stored in compliance w/ rules for human foods
  • used as marketing term to imply superiority
  • sustainability & critical role of byproducts (often eaten by humans)
    • livestock are not raised to feed pets, we just divert some of the nutritious fractions that people cant or wont eat to pet food → ethical, sustainable, & healthy
  • parts of animal carcasses that people refuse to eat that have nutrients being wasted due to icky perception (byproducts)
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7
Q

required items for pet food labels

A
  1. brand & product name → if ingredient is in name, specific percentage of diet must include that ingredient
  2. species designation
  3. guaranteed analysis
  4. ingredient list
  5. nutritional adequacy statement → tells you diet is balanced
  6. feeding guidelines
  7. manufacturer or distributor info → who to call if you have questions or problems
  8. calorie content
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8
Q

new AAFCO guidance (2024)

A
  • trying to make closer to human nutritional labels
  • standard measuring cup
  • calories per cup
  • calories from protein, fat, & carbs
  • nutritional adequacy statement in specific location under guaranteed analysis
  • guaranteed analysis
    • can be calculated or analyzed
    • moisture, CP, EE, CF
      • total carbs (including dietary fiber) → will make it easier to compare diets to each other
    • can include starch & sugars (if they don’t include just subtract dietary fiber from carbs)
    • additional nutrient claims are optional
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9
Q

ingredient list

A
  • specific legal definitions for ingredients → standardization across diff companies
    • e.g. “chicken” = flesh & skin +/- bone
      • ∴ can be main source of diet in Ca & fat and not protein
    • big disconnect between consumers’ expectation of what an ingredient is & what the official definition says
  • listen in decreasing order by weight
    • cannot tell which ingredient is providing which % of nutrient
    • no info about quality or digestibility of ingredients → not allowed to put quality designators
  • subject to marketing (e.g. blueberries are “superfood”)
    • include ingredient names w/ health payload in amounts that are insignificant but consumers don’t know → have implied nutritional benefits
  • not possible to determine which ingredients provide proportions of nutrients → cannot estimate quality or meat content from labels
    • not that important or informational
    • animals need nutrients, not ingredients
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10
Q

L-carnitine

A

shuttle that lives in mitochondrial membrane that helps bring fatty acids into mitochondria to be turned into energy → helps improve fat utilization for energy

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11
Q

byproducts in the pet food industry

A
  • fear-mongering, misinformation, & lying about byproducts
  • byproduct = derivative made from another product
    • meat byproduct = “non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered animals…includes lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, liver….does not include horns, teeth, & hoofs”
  • often presented as unappealing & harmful = propaganda
  • provide valuable vit, minerals, & other nutrients e.g. taurine
  • envir-friendly
  • “food” & “not food” are socially, culturally, & generationally specific & not. based on nutritional value or safety
  • easier to balance diet
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12
Q

nutritional adequacy statement (”AAFCO statement”)

A
  • AAFCO requires “statement of validation of nutritional adequacy” for appropriate life stages
  • most informative part of the label
  • tells you 3 things:
    1. does the diet carry a complete & balanced claim/diet
    2. which species & life stage is supported
    3. how the complete & balanced claim is substantiated
  • requires trust that companies know what they’re doing & are being truthful in relaying info
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13
Q

marketing is directed to specific consumers

A
  • focus on pet-owner bond
    • e.g. hills science pets always have a collar
  • promotion of dogs & cats as wild animals
    • terms like “wild, wilderness, instinct, prey” reinforce idea that pets are hunters
  • imagery & terms evoke clinical or scientific ideas
  • veterinarian promoted as expert
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14
Q

best diet is diff for everyone

A
  • select a diet made by a company that employs qualified veterinary nutritionists
    • must meet the needs of the specific animal (life stage, species, etc.)
  • select a company that invests in research
  • select a larger, experienced company
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15
Q

people foods to avoid

A
  • chocolate
  • coffee/caffeinated drinks
  • grapes/raisins
  • garlic/onion
  • alcohol
  • dairy
  • raw bread dough
  • xylitol (found in gum/candy, toothpaste, some peanut butter)
  • sugar (cats)
  • macadamia nuts (dogs)
  • jerkey treats
    • linked to kidney damage in dogs
    • cause is being investigated
  • raw animal products
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16
Q

raw animal products

A
  • uncooked meat, eggs, milk contain harmful bacteria that cause food poisening (pathogenic, zoonotic, abx-resistant)
  • claimed benefits:
    • more natural & healthy (myth)
      • Clean teeth (but not better oral health- likely cosmetic impact only)
      • Smaller feces, etc. (but is this healthier??)
      • more wholesome & less processed
        • “No preservatives”
        • “Many commercial diets contain undesirable ingredients”
17
Q

documented concern w/ raw pet foods

A
  • unbalanced diets → lacking fiber
  • bacteria found are pathogenic, zoonotic, abx-resistant
  • contamination of grocery (human grade) meat
  • contamination of commercial raw diets
  • shedding of pathogenic zoonotic bacteria in feces of raw-fed pets
  • illness in pets fed raw diet
  • illness/death in people in contact w/ raw diets or raw-fed pets