A Holistic Vet’s Guide to Pet Food, Part IV – "Complete and Balanced" – What Does That Really Mean?
Posted in Wellness Dog Food Articles on 09/17/2009 02:20 pm by adminOn most PET food labels, it is a statement that the food is "complete and balanced" for a particular phase of life of the animal (there are only two: growth / reproduction and adults).
A pet food to be as "complete and balanced" means, if it meets AAFCO standards. There are two methods to achieve this objective: (1) meeting published standards for the content, or (2) feeding trials. If a food is not enough according to which these standards, it will be labeled"only for intermittent and supplemental feeding." Such foods are treated, or for a short time in order, but should not be fed as sole diet. Also note that the standards as they are only set "minimum" and "Maxima", not "Optima". Commercial pet foods are designed to be sufficient for the average pet, but perhaps not suitable for variable needs of an individual animal.
(1) nutrient profiles. These standards define the required amounts of protein, fat, vitamins,Minerals, and so on. When it was adopted in 1989, they were the best available information on the nutritional needs of canines. New research was published in 2003, up-to-date information, but also new standards are still in the process of AAFCO and / or the States, and which are not currently accepting compliance of pet food manufacturers.
In addition, each manufacturer can synthesize a food with sufficient quantities of the individual components, according to the nutrient profilesDogs can not go well on it, because the standards do not address the issues of "bioavailability" of nutrients in the animal. Certain forms of vitamins and minerals, for example, are poorly from the gastrointestinal tract absorption. Maintains a well-known veterinary nutrition textbook that can be a food of old leather boots, wood chips are produced, and the crankcase oil, which cover the technical requirements of protein, carbohydrates and fats, but would be totally indigestible. Unfortunately,given the ingredients of some manufacturers, Old Boat "is closer to the truth than admit they are used!
(2) feeding trials. These are considered "gold standard" of pet food formulation. However, if you look at the actual AAFCO protocols for an adult maintenance diet, a manufacturer needs to feed exclusively examining food for six months, only six animals. (Eight animals are used from the outset, but may be deleted two of them from the study ofNon-diet-reasons.) Food for growth and reproduction is to be tested only for 10 weeks.
Most of the large, reputable pet food manufacturers such as Iams, Hills, Purina and Waltham to keep large colonies of dogs and cats, and test their food to hundreds of animals over several years or even generations. Other manufacturers rely on facilities that keep animals, to do for the purpose of the study for them.
It is easy to see how a poor diet could be fedbe seen only for six months without being labeled a negative impact on the health and law as meeting AAFCO standards. In fact, studies have confirmed that even happen that food feeding trials can still woefully inadequate for long-term maintenance.
Even worse is AAFCO's "family" rule, which was strongly promoted by the pet food industry. This rule says that the food "diet similar to" a food that has passed an actual feeding test, this statement can also be worn.The "similarity" requires only that the foods have a similar calorie content. This is the "feeding test" label as a completely unreliable indicator of the quality of food, and its status as the "gold standard" in serious doubt.
Life Stages. As already mentioned, there are only 2 stages from AAFCO standards recognized: adult maintenance and growth / reproduction, puppies and kittens as well as pregnant and nursing covers (nursing) mothers. Foods claiming adequacyfor "All Life Stages" meet the nutritional requirements of higher growth / reproduction.
This means that it does not develop separate standards, and therefore no rules, food for "senior" or "mature" pet foods for "Yorkshire Terrier" or "Persian Cats" or foods for "high performance" or " indoor "animals. These names are pure marketing hype. Yes, the ingredients a little different, or the protein or fiber content may have been tampered with, but every singleAmerican food also needs to be one of the same basic requirements. A claim of "light" or "reduced calorie" necessarily be so, a certain percentage less calories than the food is comparable to, but whether such foods actually help pets lose weight in a healthy manner is highly controversial.
In the next article: Natural and organic pet foods
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