The facts about the meat contents of pet food.

The meat content in pet food is increasing by the day but the facts about this increasing trend is shocking. Pet food manufacturers are finding it difficult to produce dry pet food with high meat content which is in high demand as 95 percent of dry pet diets are manufactured using the extrusion process. The process of extrusion is tedious and comes with a lot of disadvantages on the quality of the food. The various ingredients for dog and cat food are sheared,and mixed heated under high pressure then passed to the extrusion machine. This extrusion method used to make kibble is suitable for lesser ingredients and not chunks of beef that are used for the food. Extrusion denatures protein thus changing structure and also reducing the nutrient value of the protein. Vitamins are also destroyed during this process of extrusion and also there is starch gelatinization in all pet dry foods. When starch is exposed to high temperature during extrusion it melts and this helps to bind the kibble and also promotes expansion of the product. Its important to note that starch is essential in the production of kibble as its the binder,the source of starch in the food also pose different levels of risk. A study showed that using cereals in dog foods is detrimental to health because of anti-nutritional factors .The research according to Animal Nutrition Group at Wageningen University in the Netherlands also shows that extrusion conditions and the type of starch used can affect glucose and insulin response in dogs after a meal of dry food. The additives used in preparation of kibble has also been linked to carcinogenic effect in pets.

Rogers flour sold by Costco in Canada linked to new outbreak.

Rogers flour sold by Costco in Canada linked to new outbreak. Another E. coli O121 outbreak traced to flour, this time Rogers brand, has sickened at least six people in British Columbia where public health officials are urging consumers to check their homes for the implicated flour. Rogers flour Canada CostcoAs of Friday evening neither the company, Rogers Foods Ltd. of Armstrong, British Columbia, nor the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) had posted a recall of the flour. The six people became sick from February through April. “A sample of flour from one of the ill people was tested by the (British Columbia Center for Disease Control) BCCDC Public Health Laboratory. The flour was positive for the same strain of E. coli O121 as seen in all the illnesses,” according to the public warning from the BCCDC. more

BrightFarms recalls leafy greens, herbs because of metal pieces.

BrightFarms recalls leafy greens, herbs because of metal pieces. Urban greenhouse grower BrightFarms Inc. of New York City is recalling an undisclosed volume of packaged salad greens and herbs because they may be contaminated with pieces of metal “as a result of construction.” The recall covers only leafy greens and herbs grown at BrightFarms’ greenhouse farm in Elkwood, VA, according to the recall notice posted on the Food and Drug Administration’s website. more

Why should you cook for your pets?

The health of your pets is basically in your hands and like they say food is medicine. Nutrition is vital to growth and development of your pets and also nutrition plays a vital role in health and wellness of your pets,so with this back drop you must ensure you feed your pets properly. Pet nutrition was mostly left to commercial players,in the pet food industry before of the surge pet food recalls when many discovered that whats on the label is not healthy causing deaths or the food was contaminated at the source e.t.c Read about pet food recalls here, The recent surge in pet food recalls has encouraged more pet owners to try home cooking for their pets to help them stay healthy and live longer. Why should you cook for your pets? 1) To be sure of the content you are providing as many brands have a flavor with recall issues. Home cooking ensures you know the source of ingredients,the quality( fresh,human grade or discarded) and the proportion of the ingredients. A recent survey showed that cats on dry food had a risk of diabetes,as the kibble is loaded with more carbohydrates than needed. 2) home cooking helps to monitor of certain health conditions in pets. Commercial products especially grain-based pose a risk of aflatoxicosis,thus you preparing your pets food with high grade ingredients can remove risk. Allergies are another reason to do home cooking,many products have unnamed ingredients or masked contents which stimulate allergic reactions in the pet. 3)Home cooking also comes in handy when you are managing certain conditions in your pets such as obesity, arthritis, kidney disease ,diabetes etc. Home cooking will allow you use appropriate nutrients at right weight and combination. 4) Home cooking ensures your pets have access to wholesome nutritious food without any food additives or coloring. A recent study showed that there is an increase in cases of chronic diseases linked to food additives in pet foods,so if you want to feed your pets truly natural foods go with home cooking. see

Australian cat food pulled after illness and deaths.

Australian cat food pulled after illness and deaths. In Australia, every can of Best Feline Friend cat food has been pulled from pet food retailers Petbarn and City Farmers, reported the Herald Sun. The removal of food was prompted when reports of alleged deaths and illness in cats filtered in. more

Nutrish faces lawsuit over natural dog food label.

Nutrish faces lawsuit over natural dog food label,because of noncompliance to guidelines on feed control . The term natural is defined in the pet industry and will allow addition of vitamins,minerals and trace elements,but with the disclaimer that with added vitamins,minerals and trace elements prominent on the product. Nutrish is alleged to have misleading labels on their wet and dry dog food packaging.They used deceptive marketing by prominently labeling the products as natural, despite containing “chemicals and artificial and/or synthetic ingredients, which are well-known unnatural, artificial additives and preservatives. The company used the following phrases made with simple, natural ingredients" ,"No artificial flavors or artificial preservatives," ,"Natural Food for Dogs with Added Vitamins and Minerals" while the food actually contained ,L-ascorbyl-2- polyphosphate, Menadione sodium bisulfite complex, Thiamine mononitrate, "natural flavors," and a variety of caramel color. source

Clean label rating site misleading pet food consumers.

A clean label rating site is misleading pet food consumers by wrong endorsements and reviews. Pet owners want to know whats in the food and the benefits to pets,so when a site claims a particular brand is good many rush over boosting sale of brand ,but not necessarily the health of pets. The clean label mode of operation,or what they actually do , or claimed to do, was to test more than 900 cat and dog food products for 130 potentially toxic chemicals, including the heavy metals arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, and adulterants such as melamine, and rank the products, apparently based on the levels of those substances. This does not have anything to do with the products’ labels? absolutely nothing,because many of the substances they supposedly tested for naturally occur in soil and may show up in minute amounts in anything grown in soil, as the clean label company are not providing any data as to the level of these substances in the food. more