Greg Aldrich, Ph.D.Dr. Aldrich is president of Pet Food & Ingredient Technology Inc. He is also the author of Petfood Industry magazine's monthly column, "Ingredient Issues."From the Author - Page 15NutraceuticalsDoes MOS work for petfoods?Mannan oligosaccharide - also called mannans or, more commonly, MOS - is a naturally occurring component of yeast cell walls. MOS has been researched extensively for use in livestock nutrition and more recently for humans and pets, mainly in Europe and Asia. While most of the nutrition-related discovery has occurred in the past few years, references on mannans appear in literature dating back a half century.PreservativesDoes adding enzymes to petfoods help digestion?Adding enzymes to the diet to aid digestion has been a source of intrigue for the petfood industry for a number of years. Enzymes (for example, digests and hydrolyzed proteins) are common in petfood production but are seldom found as ingredients in the diet.Fibers and LegumesRice bran: filler or functional fiber?A common claim in marketing petfoods has been the statement "no fillers." The connotation of the filler has been that of chaff and other inert fractions that occur during the milling process; fractions such as bran, middlings and hulls were figuratively and often literally swept up into one bucket. The challenge, as we learn more about the beneficial effects of various fiber fractions, is that some of these so-called fillers may actually be positive additions to pet diets.MineralsSalt: what is wrong with it?For years, salt had been one of those ingredients in petfood that was so innocuous it had become almost invisible. Recently, though, consumers have been expressing concerns about it. This new attention to salt indicates it has become one of those ingredients with an issue.NutritionHelp for food sensitivities?Adverse food reactions and food intolerances, hypersensitivities and allergies are popular topics of discussion among pet owners. The problems may be linked by a common thread: the overreaction of the immune system to a dietary component, most probably a protein. The ultimate solution may depend on hydrolysis of proteins to render them hypoallergenic.Amino AcidsDL-methionine: several vital functionsMethionine is one of the 10-plus essential amino acids that are required by both the cat and dogProteinsWhey your protein optionsIt is becoming increasingly common to find petfoods that contain whey, a milk protein, as a prominent ingredient on their labelsPet Food IngredientsIngredients as nutrient delivery devicesCompanion animal researchers and industry professionals gathered recently at the annual American Society of Animal Science meeting in San Antonio, Texas, USA, for research presentations/posters and a companion animal symposium entitled "Ingredients as nutrient delivery devices." Here are highlights from the symposium.VitaminsVitamin K3: is it unnecessary and toxic?There are no reports of nutritional toxicity of any vitamin K sources in dogs or cats readily available in the literatureProteinsWheat glutenThe contamination and mislabeling of this ingredient has affected almost every corner of the petfood industryFats and OilsSunflower oil: flower power in a jugFrom a petfood perspective, the palatability of diets containing sunflower oil is well liked by dogs, but not as well received by catsProteinsChicken first: marketing ploy or quality enhancement?Chicken as the first ingredient on the ingredient panel of a dry extruded kibble has become more commonplace in the past several yearsPrevious PagePage 15 of 18Next Page