The Meat In Pet Food: What's Your Dog Really Eating?
Rendered meat (meat meal)
As an ingredient, rendered meat or meat meal, is a widely encompassing term. According to the AAFCO, meat meal is, “The rendered product from mammal tissues, exclusive of any added blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices.” They go on to explain that this ingredient may be from any number of animals other than cattle, pigs, sheep, or goats, without further description on a pet food label. It’s this wide-ranging definition of meat meal that prompted Slate to investigate the question, “Does your pet’s food contain dead pets?” The answer was, “Maybe.” Since euthanized dogs and other animals can be sent to rendering plants and pet food manufacturers don’t need to specify the type of animal in their “meat meal” it’s a possibility. The presence of euthanasia drug pentobarbital in pet food also raises a red flag for what meat makes its way into the mix. Pentobarbital was the number one cause of pet food recalls in 2017 (and the first large-scale recall of 2018). While in all cases the FDA stated the amount of pentobarbital present was not lethal, they reinforce that it should never be present at any level. An investigation is ongoing into the current recall, and you can see details (including which brands are affected) on the FDA’s website.
How often are meats mislabeled?
If “meat meal” includes meat from many different species, you’re likely wondering what other terms are used by pet food companies to clarify the type of meat used in their product. There are a total of nine terms used as ingredient classifications for meat in pet food according to the AAFCO. We were surprised to find that out of these nine, three do not require the species to be identified.
What about human-grade pet food?
Because of the potential for mystery meat to make its way into pet food, some pet parents are looking for “human-grade” pet food. Currently, “human-grade” is not an officially recognized term by the AAFCO. However, it is something on their mind. According to the 2017 annual meeting notes from the AAFCO Pet Food Committee, substantiating human-grade claims in pet food was a topic of discussion.They asked, “Do we need more ingredients to talk about the source of the meat ingredients?” One suggestion, from David Meeker of the National Renderers Association, was to add ingredient definitions in the animal protein products section to clarify some “premium” or “pet food grade” ingredients. No conclusion has been reached yet, so consumer (and FDA) investigations continue to determine what’s really making its way into pet food. You can always call or write to your pet food manufacturer to ask where they’re sourcing meat ingredients from, and check the label to know which “meat” ingredients require the type of animal to be specified.
Category_Dog Blog
Ingredients
