Dog, Cat Food Ingredient Research: PetfoodIndustry

The GRAS process for petfood ingredients

How to submit a notification to FDA to ensure you’re covering your GRAS

November 12, 2010

The implementation of a “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) notification process for animal feed ingredients has been eagerly awaited for years. It is not surprising, then, that the announcement by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) of its intent to start accepting notifications this past summer was met with great enthusiasm by the petfood industry.

Why is rye rarely used in petfood?

There are no substantial technical, nutritional or performance issues associated with rye that would limit its use for pets

November 5, 2010

Greg Aldrich, Ph.D.

Rye is a fairly common ingredient in human foods and beverages. The most prevalent occurrence is in crackers and breads. Be it a light American rye, a dark German rye, heavy whole-grain pumpernickel rye or a slightly bitter rye with caraway, rye gets its share of notoriety in baked goods.

Calcium carbonate: safe, effective, economical for pet diets

This is the ingredient most often used for vital calcium fortification.

October 11, 2010

Greg Aldrich, Ph.D.

Calcium is a vital nutrient for growth and sustained pet health. It is a principal structural component of bone and teeth, facilitates blood clotting binding-proteins, serves as a key conductor of nerve signals, initiates muscle contractions, activates select physiological enzymes and buffers pH changes.

Is L-carnitine beneficial in ‘diet’ petfoods?

Home feeding studies would help determine if this ingredient is a practical tool for combating pet obesity

September 9, 2010

Greg Aldrich, Ph.D.

L-carnitine is a supplemental amino acid (ingredient) commonly found in low-fat, “light” or so-called diet foods for both dogs and cats. For the most part, the body produces an adequate amount of carnitine (L-isomer metabolite) to fulfill its role in the conversion of fatty acids into usable energy.

Rosemary extract acts as natural antioxidant

This common ingredient is most effective in dry petfoods that use high levels of polyunsaturated fats and marine oils.

August 9, 2010

Greg Aldrich, Ph.D.

Rosemary extract is a common ingredient found on dry petfood labels, typically at or near the bottom of the ingredient listing. While rosemary extract is generally viewed with favor by pet owners, it doesn’t provide nutritional fortification, it doesn’t provide medicinal support for any specific ailment, nor does it enhance the taste appeal of the food (for pets).

Bringing sustainable ingredients to petfood

Companies like The Honest Kitchen, Pulse Canada and Mars Petcare are making "green" ingredients a top priority

August 9, 2010

Jessica Taylor

For the environmentally conscious consumers who have done it all, from greening their homes to decarbonizing their travel, there’s a new frontier: greening their pets. In June, Petfood Industry conducted a survey of our petfood professional readers and asked them about their thoughts on sustainability and the pet market.

Citric acid suffers from misperceptions and misplaced blame

Internet claims have led some pet owners to doubt the safety and utility of this natural functional ingredient

July 12, 2010

Greg Aldrich, Ph.D.

In petfood, citric acid is a common additive used mostly in the fat preservative (antioxidant) system. Food and nutrition experts consider this ingredient a natural functional compound, which, at its worst, is benign to pet health and wellness. However, increasingly pervasive internet claims have led some pet owners to doubt its safety and utility.

FAO recognized primary pulses

These pulse crops are recognized by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

July 12, 2010

These pulse crops are recognized by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Vitamin A – a balancing act

Supplementation of this essential vitamin requires ensuring enough, but not too much, is in the diet the day it is eaten

July 12, 2010

Greg Aldrich, Ph.D.

In an age of extremes and absolutes, vitamin A serves as a potent example of the necessity of balance in diet and nutrition. This is an important vitamin that has a direct effect on vision, the endocrine system in many ways and gene expression modulation.

Protein from potatoes?

Potato protein has features that make it a viable candidate for petfood applications

July 12, 2010

Greg Aldrich, Ph.D.

The terms potato and protein don't often come up in the same sentence--probably because we think of potatoes solely as a starch source. But in our ever-expanding search for useful ingredients in the petfood industry, potato protein, a concentrated extract from the potato tuber, has turned up in several specialty petfoods in the last couple of years.