Terms That Are Not Regulated
Natural, All-Natural, or 100% Natural
The label claim of natural has a loose definition.
Natural dog or cat food ingredients must be of plant, animal, or mined sources, which most ingredients are, and can undergo any manufacturing process except a chemically synthetic process.
Chemically synthesized ingredients include many vitamins and minerals, preservatives, and flavor and/or color additives.
All-natural or 100% natural means that every ingredient used complies with this, or the label can specify certain ingredients as natural .
If a product is all-natural or 100% natural, it is not likely to be complete and balanced, because most vitamins and minerals that are added to pet foods are synthetic. Therefore, supplementation would likely be necessary to meet your pets specific nutrient requirements.1
Holistic or Wholesome
The terms holistic and wholesome are used to imply whole-body health, but they do not tell you anything about what ingredients are included, how or where the ingredients were sourced, or how the product was manufactured or handled.
Raw
Most manufactured retail pet foods are not truly raw, as heat processes are often used to prevent bacterial growth.
If a food is labeled as raw and is not misbranded, its important to follow sanitary handling practices for raw meat to minimize bacterial cross-contamination.
Benefits Of Corn Gluten Meal In Dog Food
Corn gluten meal carries a bad reputation as people assume to have gluten. But now you know that reality is different. Even the advantages of CGM are lesser-known, like the following:
Thus, there are abundant reasons and benefits to add corn gluten meal in dog foods.
What Are The Supplements That Could Enhance Bone And Joint Health
Arthritis and mobility issues can have many causes. They should be diagnosed by a vet who can also advise on the best dog food and what to look for on the labels. Listed below are some of the supplements for bone and joint health.
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- Duralactin
- Creatine
Glucosamine, Chondroitin, and creatine are commonly found in prescription and non-prescription dog food for joints and mobility.
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Hills Science Diet Dry Dog Food For Small Breed Dogs
Hills Science Diet Dry Dog Food is a veterinarian-recommended option. It helps with easy digestion. It is made with a balanced blend of omega-6 fatty acids and vitamin E. It is available in two flavors: Lamb and Rice and Chicken. As it contains a minimal amount of corn gluten meal, your dog will gain all the necessary benefits without suffering from any side effects.
You can also read about chicken meal in dog food here. And see, how it is useful for your dog.
The Worst Dog Food Ingredients
These ingredients are the worst offenders – the cheapest, least nutritional and often unregulated. Pet food brands that primarily use these products care much more about margins than your pups health.
1. Animal digestAnimal digest is cooked-down broth made from unspecified parts of unspecified animals. Any kind of animal can be used , and the animals can come from any source. There is no control over quality or contamination.
2. By-products i.e. chicken by-products, beef by-productsWhen animals are slaughtered for food production, the best cuts of meat are used for human consumption. The rest of the animal carcass is often used in pet food and known in the industry as meat by-products or meal. According to PetMD, this includes, but is not limited to lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, blood, bone, fatty tissue and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. This is a cheap way for pet food companies to keep the protein levels “high” while keeping food production costs low.
3. Added colors & dyesArtificial, humanly-contrived additives used to enhance the appearance of dog food and appeal to humans. Artificial colors and dyes add no nutritional value and instead are viewed as potentially harmful chemicals to both humans and animals.
4. BHA/BHTBHA and BHT are dangerous. They stand for butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene, respectively, and are chemical preservatives that have been linked to cancer, asthma and other ailments.
Additional resources
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Cats Dont Digest Corn Very Well
Although cats can eat corn, they get very little nutritional value from it. Even though corn gluten meal does have protein, its not the kind of protein that cats can digest very well. Cats have to eat twice as much corn to get the same amount of protein that they would from meat or egg protein.
Even if your cat eats enough corn gluten meal to get the protein she needs, she probably wont be able to use very much of it. Corn takes several hours to digest, even for people. But cats have a shorter digestive track typical of carnivores, so food has to be broken down quickly before its gone. Unfortunately, your feline friend will spend a lot of energy trying to digest the corn before she leaves it for you in the litter box.
Aside from being a poorer-quality protein source, corn gluten meal poses some health risks for your cat. In the wild, a cats diet would only be 1 or 2 percent carbohydrates. Dry food containing corn gluten meal ranges from 35 to 50 percent carbohydrates. Since cats cant really break down carbohydrates or use them for energy the same way people do, excess carbohydrates can lead to obesity and diabetes.
Corn As Carbs And Protein
Carbohydrates aren’t all bad and are a good source of energy for dogs. Corn is a valid source for Max’s carbs, and it’s okay if he has it in small amounts. Some pet food manufacturers turn to corn as a primary protein source, which is cheaper than using animal-based proteins. If corn germ meal is on the food label, you’re getting corn germ and other parts of the corn kernel. It’s a cheap by-product from human food processing that’s high in protein and used as a booster in lower quality foods. It’s not harmful, but it shouldn’t be high in the list of ingredients in a high quality food. The same is true of corn gluten meal, which mainly acts as a food binder. If you can afford it, avoid foods that rely on corn meal as the main source of protein.
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Contacting The Pet Food Manufacturer
If you ever have a question about the ingredients in cat food or dog food, do not hesitate to do a little homework.
Some pet food manufacturers have very descriptive websites with lists of commonly used ingredients and descriptions, but if you cannot find the information there, contact the manufacturer.
A responsible pet food manufacturer should provide you with the ingredient information, including the source and why it is included in their formulation.
Avoid Too Much Corn And Rice
Corn and rice are often used as a filler in dog food. According to PetMD, however, your carnivorous pet should not have a carbohydrate-rich diet, as dog food low in protein has been linked to dogs becoming obese. Foods with high levels of either of rice or corn can also cause chronic conditions in your dog like gas, bloating, and diarrhea.
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Problems With Corn Meal
Compared to other carbohydrate sources, corn meal has a high glycemic index, which can lead to an unhealthy rise in Max’s blood sugar. If you’re looking to get a greater nutritional bang for your buck in Max’s food, look at other veggies or grains corn has a low nutritional value, compared to other options such as peas, sweet potatoes and oats. Though corn itself isn’t a significant culprit when it comes to allergens for dogs, it often contains undetected contaminants that cause food-related allergies.
How Can You Tell If Its Meat Meal
Dog food brands that use meat meal are now aware of the unwanted reputation its established. To counter this, theyre carefully modifying packaging and labelling. On the high street shelves, or online, you may come across a number of products that refer to their food as Beef Meal or Chicken Meal a simple reshuffle to obscure whats really inside.
This is also the case when dog food is marketed as dried chicken or dried meat. If you see this, its likely to be meat meal. If youre against the thought of meat meal, its always a good idea to scan these products when you come across them.
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Wellness Core Original Formula
First 5 Ingredients : Deboned Turkey, Deboned Chicken, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Peas
The Wellness pet food company follows a holistic approach to pet nutrition, designing their recipes in a way that nourishes your dogs body from the inside out.
Every formula is made with your dogs best interest in mind, using only the freshest, natural ingredients to ensure complete and balanced nutrition.
Wellness has been around for over 80 years and has grown and changed with the pet food industry, always seeking to be the best of the best.
From a single recipe of oven-baked dog biscuits, Wellness has grown into one of the top brands of natural pet food, offering four different product lines.
The Complete Health line of products features life stages and breed-size formulas while the CORE lineup includes a variety of grain-free options. The Simple line features Limited Ingredient Diets and TruFood offers baked dog foods made with fresh ingredients.
When it comes to grain-free and corn-free dog foods, this Wellness CORE recipe offers protein-rich nutrition and an abundance of natural flavor. This formula is designed to support your dogs optimal health through the use of fresh meats, healthy fats, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
It features deboned turkey, turkey meal, and chicken meal as the top three ingredients, supplemented with potatoes and peas for carbohydrate energy.
Maize Gluten In Dog Food
Maize gluten is a by-product of maize processing and can be used to top-up the protein levels of dog foods, usually as an alternative to more expensive meat-proteins. Unfortunately, maize gluten protein is not as easy for dogs to deal with as protein from meat sources and as a result it can lead to health issues like skin problems and hyperactivity. For this reason, we would recommend steering clear of maize gluten, especially with sensitive dogs.
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Corn Gluten Meal It Dont Get No Respect
One of the most misunderstood ingredients in dog and cat food is corn gluten meal.
The main concern I hear people mention is that its used as an herbicide. My response to that is that I use something far more destructive as an herbicide: a mix of salt & vinegar. Since itâs toxic to some plants, does that mean itâs toxic for me? Luckily, no. Salt & vinegar are much more aggressive herbicides than corn gluten meal, because they destroy all vegetation they touch. Corn gluten meal is much friendlier because it affects only the cell walls on young seedlings of only certain types of vegetation. So, corn gluten meal is not at all dangerous in pet food or in people food.
Another misunderstanding about corn gluten meal is that itâs only used as a filler ingredient and it has no nutritional value. Au contraire, my friends. Corn gluten meal actually has very valuable nutrients. In fact, its most often used as a protein source. For animals whose veterinarians recommend diets low in meat proteins, corn glutens are the most used non-meat protein option. Corn gluten meal is basically corn protein with corn starch and corn fat removed.
Given the above, itâs clear that corn gluten meal is not an evil ingredient and theres no need to avoid it in cat and dog food. That said, there are a few details that might be worth thinking about.
Plant materials is less digestible than other protein sources for cats, whose bodies are designed to get all of their nutritional needs from meats.
What Is Beef Meal
Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle, particularly cows and heifers. Basically, it is a skeletal muscle that is being used for consumption for a long period.
Beef meal is rendered cattle meat that has been dried and ground up, and includes clean flesh, skin, and/or accompanying bone. Cattle meat is ground down, melted, and cooked for hours to finally create a powder. Beef meal is safe and nutritious for your dog!
Beef is also included in dog food in the form of beef meal. It is obtained through the process of rendering. After raw beef is rendered, all the excess moisture and unwanted fat are removed. This results in getting an end-product that is abundant in protein. Such a highly concentrated protein powder is known as a beef meal.
Beef meal is often added as an important ingredient to dog foods.
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Should Dog Food Contain Corn Gluten Meal
Now that we have discussed both- the merits and demerits of corn gluten meal, it is time to answer the main question.
Should corn glute meal be included as an ingredient or component in dog food?
Well, yes. Dog food containing corn gluten meal should be given to dogs, but only in the right proportion.
Many pet parents assume CGM to function as a filler to increase the protein content. As it is a source of plant-based protein, it is generally added to enhance the protein quotient. This led to many pet parents assuming that CGM functions as a filler. Nobody can deny the fact that plant-based protein is unable to fulfill the complete nutritional requirement. Hence, as long as the corn gluten meal is not trying to replace the meat-based protein, it is good to go for your dog.
Feeding CGM-laded dog food can also cause allergies over an extended period. Thus, it is also advisable to consult your vet about the necessary proportion.
Researchers Tested Soy Flakes Peanut Flour Soybean Meal And Corn Gluten Meal For The Digestibility Of The Amino Acids Contained In The Byproducts
Competing pet food trends create a paradox for protein byproducts from oil seeds and cereal grains. Dog and cat owners want brands to reduce resource use and environmental impacts. Yet at the same time, pet owners want human-grade ingredients for their animals, which often entails rejecting all byproducts.
Byproducts from soy, corn and peanuts have traditionally been used in pet foods as sustainable, inexpensive and protein-rich ingredients, wrote a team of researchers in the journal Translational Animal Science. Scientists have documented the nutritional value of these plant-based byproducts in pet food formulations.
However, the on-going demonization of soy- and corn-based ingredients continue to hinder their use in pet food and treat formulations, the scientists wrote. Ideally, the further demonstration of their protein quality and nutrient composition may encourage their favorable return as acceptable ingredients in pet foods and treats.
Building on an existing body of evidence, the researchers tested soy flakes, peanut flour, soybean meal and corn gluten meal for the digestibility of the amino acids contained in the byproducts. All of the pet food ingredients contained a profile of indispensable amino acids. The scientists used the precision-fed cecectomized rooster assay. This surgical procedure, similar to a human appendectomy, turns roosters into an effective, efficient model for dogs and cats digestive systems.
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