(T3) Lecture 10b - Ingredients in pet foods Flashcards
What do dogs and cats have a demonstrated requirement for?
Dogs and cats have a demonstrated requirement for specific nutrients but NOT a requirement for specific feedstuffs to be included in their diet.
Why is this statement important?
- We use ingredients to provide nutrients
What might be an important reason to investigate the ingredient composition of pet food?
Ingredients can also supply functionality to the kibble, such as taste, colour, gut heath
*way less important relative to human nutrition
What are 5 ingredient characteristics?
- Nutrient characteristics
- total content known
- bioavailability generally poorly described (no facilities to look at ileal cannulation of dogs/cats) - Functional characteristics
- hard to define in pet models
- anything you can do on the outside is not too difficult (ex. hair coat, ultrasound, cat scan)
- the moment it becomes invasive the fxnl characteristics that could be explored often aren’t for cats and dogs - Feed processing characteristics
- ingredients impact extrusion and shape of dry food - Taste characteristics
- Colour characteristics
- owner preferences
Importance of Food Quality Evaluation: Input, Output, Pet
Input:
- ingredients
- intake
Output:
- feces; stool Q
- companionship
Pet:
- Growth: animal health and welfare
What are overall concerns for animal origin ingredients?
FOOD SAFETY!
- Animals carry a lot of material around in the GI tract and we want to ensure food safety with ingredients coming from slaughter plant
- Need to get rid of pathogenic bacteria, using high temp but concern about bioavailability
There is large range in ‘quality’ among animal origin feedstuffs, why?
- Ranging from meat (high price and value) to co-products from slaughter plants (low price and value)
- Off grade for humans (such as organs) can be perfectly valid and safe pet food
What ingredients do we expect to see more in dog than cat diets?
Plant origin ingredients
- But surprisingly, cats can tolerate important quantities of plant products
What are overall concerns for plant origin ingredients?
Antinutritional factors
- ex. legume bean have ANF to protect themselves but can also affect animals ingesting them
What is Brewer’s Rice?
Dried extracted co-product of rice from the manufacture of wort or beer; may contain pulverized dried spent hops
- Brewers rice is a mixture of broken rice, rice bran and rice germ
What does the nutritional composition of brewer’s rice depend on?
Source and processing
DM: brewers grain > broken rice
CP: brewers grain > broken rice
Fat: brewers grain > broken rice
Starch: broken rice> brewers grain
ADF: brewers grain > broken rice
CF: brewers grain> broken rice
Lys brewers grain > broken rice
What is a concern for brewer’s rice? Why pick rice?
- Fiber
- Anytime you do a process on an ingredient with variability of a nutrient profile, variability of the nutrient profile transfer s to the coproduce
- Also need to be mindful of mycotoxins in these ingredients that survive and end up in coproducts
What are concerns for poultry by-product meal?
- Food safety
- Variability
- have a system set up for rapid ingredient evaluation to characterize the batch of ingredients and readjust the diet formulation if needed
How are lysine digestibility and availability related?
Lysine digestibility does not equal lysine availability!
- As lysine is heat treated, availability decreases but still appears to be digestible for a high percentage = heat treated lysine can be digested but is not absorbed in the form the animal can use (therefore availability is low)
What are unique about pulse ingredients (such as lentils)? What is a concern for this feedstuff?
Unique: high in starch and protein
- becoming a popular ingredient due to being able to mkt it as “grain free”
Concern: ANF
What is a concern for fish meal as an ingredient despite being a high quality protein?
It’s a non-sustainable way of sourcing ingredients
What are characteristics of powdered egg albumin?
- Egg waste comes from egg processing facilities
- Egg white is >90% water; its sticky and acts as a binding agent in pet food
- Very high quality protein source
- No fat
- Lactose-free
- BUT may contain dangerous pathogens like Salmonella
What are characteristics of Brewer’s Yeast?
- By-product of brewing beer; inactivated, non-living, dried yeast
- Protein source
- B-vitamin source
- Help fight bacteria that cause infections in the intestine
- Help relieve diarrhea
- Can be used to increase palatability
What are 3 factors of starch to consider
- Starch Origin
- Grain, Pulse, Tuber
- Amylose vs. Amylopectin
- Protein starch matrix - Resistant starch
- Processing
- High moisture and temp disrupt crystalline structure
- Gelatinization and retrogradation
- Influence RS formation
What is the difference btw amylose vs. amylopectin?
Amylose = slowly digestible starch
Amylopectin = rapidly digestible starch
What does starch that is not digested act like?
Fiber
Kinetics of Starch Digestion
By changing the starch source we can change starch digestion
- rapid (100% amylopectin)
- moderate rapid
- moderate slow
- slow
By changing the starch source we can change the glycemic index
What 5 ingredients are included for nutritional value?
- mineral and vitamin supplements
- chondroprotective agents, antioxidants
- probiotics, enzymes
- herbs and botanicals
- prebiotics
What 4 ingredient categories are included for technical or non-nutritive effects?
- preservatives
- flavors and extracts
- colors
- others
Where is dicalcium phosphate obtained from?
Degreased bones which are demineralized by hydrochloric acid treatment and precipitated by a saturated lime solution
Why is dicalcium phosphate included in a diet?
To provide minerals (Ca, P)
- vital for building and maintaining strong bones and teeth
- Ca regulates heartbeat and other muscle contractions and is necessary for proper blood clotting
- P plays an important part in the body’s energy production
To much Ca
- inhibit absorption of other nutrients
- may lead to kidney stones
Elimination of CNS is critical
What is a concern for dicalcium phosphate?
Variability due to processing BUT we need processing to ensure that there is no pathogenic material.
What is salt (sodium chloride) important for in a diet?
For both maintenance and to support normal growth and development
What can too much sodium in a dog’s diet lead to?
- increased thirst
- can also cause swelling throughout the body; this puts a strain on the circulatory system and the kidneys as the body tries to rid itself of the excess fluid
- vomiting, diarrhea and seizures may indicate sodium ion poisoning
What can too little salt lead to in a dog’s diet?
Can cause dehydration, which can be life-threatening
What is taurine?
Sometimes called an AA, and indeed is an acid containing an amino group, it is not an AA in the usual biochemical meaning of the term
Where is Taurine exclusively found? What is it absent in? What is it essential for?
- Exclusively found in animal-based proteins, muscle meat
- Absent in cereal grains
- Essential for cat
What are the fundamental biological roles of taurine?
- conjugation of bile acids
- antioxidation
- osmoregulation
- membrane stabilization
- modulation of calcium signaling
What is taurine critical for?
Normal vision, normal digestion, normal heart muscle fxn, to maintain normal pregnancy and fetal development, and to maintain a healthy immune system
Why were premixes developed?
Helps with uniform mixing
What is an important characteristic in formulating high quality diets?
BIOAVAILABILITY = how much of a nutrient can be used by the animal to support metabolic fxns
- Bioavailability data sorely lacking for companion animals
- Swine data base is much better
- For example, minerals: oxide (poorly available) vs sulfate (better available)
What is the difference in bioavailability of oxides and sulfates?
Oxides: poorly available; could still be used but would need more
Sulfate: better available; might be more $
What is phytate? What does it do?
Complex compound that binds P, other minerals, and even starch
- P digestibility is low in plant products; nutritionists disregard minerals coming from plant sources bc they assume they aren’t available, will depend on adding the premix instead
Chondroprotective Agents
- Retard degradation of cartilage
- Promote chondrocyte metabolism in the treatment of osteoarthritis in dogs and cats
- Widespread inclusion for healthy pets may not be warranted
- Glucosamine: can add to diet to help with cartilage protection for animals who exercise a lot
Antioxidants
- Reduce oxidative damage, free radical formation; cats appear more prone to oxidative injury
- Vitamin E: protects lipid-rich cell membrane; cannot be synthesized in body, essential
- Vitamin C: non-essential
- Mineral-dependent antioxidants; trace minerals, by incorporation into antioxidant enzymes
- B-carotene and other carotenoids; precursor for Vit. A in dogs but not cats
Probiotics and Enzymes
Probiotics
- Direct-fed microbial; influence gut flora
- Promoting Intestinal Health
- Dogs and cats prone to digestive sensitivity like soft stool or diarrhea may benefit from a food containing prebiotics and probiotics
Enzymes
- Supplemental enzymes are rarely used in pet foods
- Phytases etc.
- Sensitive to loss due to processing and storage
Herbs and Botanicals
- Whole form, provide macronutrients MINOR
- Provide flavor etc., MAJOR
- Pharmacologic rather than nutritional function
- Potential safety concern (ex. garlic and onion cause oxidative damage)
L-carnitine
Transports long-chain acyl groups from fatty acids into the mitochondrial matrix, so they can be broken down through B-oxidation to acetyl CoA to obtain usable energy via the CAC
Prebiotics
- Fructooligosaccharides (FOS)
- Resistant starch
- Basically, any CHO that is not digested but fermented
- Among these, a wide range of fermentation characteristics exist; potentially, aim for increased fermentation in upper or lower digestive tract
3 examples of preservatives
- Ethoxyquin
- antioxidant, reduce degradation of FA and fat-soluble vitamins
- fish meal, vitamin premixes - Propylene Glycol
- hygroscopic (binds water), useful for semimoist food to prevent microbial growth
- may cause oxidative damage
- prohibited from use in manufacture of cat foods - Others
- Not formally approved, but listed as acceptable by AAFCO: BHA, BHT, TBHQ
- Tocopherols, from plants, ‘natural’ preservative
Flavors and extracts
- Digests; hydrolyses of animal tissue and “natural flavor”
- Other natural flavors: extracted from other animal and plant material; dairy, eggs, herbs, spices
- Artificial flavors; various synthetic compounds, mainly in treats
Colors
- Non-certified
- From natural sources: spices, fruits, vegetables, caramel etc.
- Can be synthetically derived: iron oxide and titanium dioxide
Other additives
- Facilitate manufacturing processes and affect stability or form of food: dust control agents, lubricants, emulsifiers, gums etc.
- Sequestrants, such as sodium hexametaphosphate; used to form chelate complexes and prevent mineralization of dental plaque
