Dog, Cat Food Ingredient Analysis | PetfoodIndustry

Research notes: Small pet trends and nutrition

From determining consumer trends to nutrition composition and quality, take a look at the latest in “other” pet research.

October 1, 2021

Lindsay Beaton

Learn about some of the latest research in the small animal pet space, including studies on pet reptiles, rabbits and birds.

Calcium in pet foods: How to manage excess in modern formulas

Calcium is a challenge to control in high-protein formulas.

September 1, 2021

Greg Aldrich, Ph.D.

The nature of higher-protein diets with a large quantity of rendered protein meals can be difficult to manage at the upper limits of calcium concentration and require several ingredient and formulation strategies to effectively control.

Phosphorus in pet diets: How do we manage it?

Controlling phosphorus in pet foods is an issue that needs a strategy.

June 11, 2021

Greg Aldrich, Ph.D.

Source inconsistencies, differences in bioavailability and complex physiological controls make balancing dietary phosphorus a challenging process.

Pet food label modernization still a work in progress

As work continues on creating a new nutrition label that focuses on simplifying information for consumers, challenges remain.

April 7, 2021

Lindsay Beaton

As work continues on creating a new pet food nutrition label that focuses on simplifying information for consumers, challenges remain.

An apple a day keeps the vet away … are apples safe for pets?

Including apples or apple pomace in a pet’s diet could be beneficial to pet health.

October 1, 2020

Greg Aldrich, Ph.D.

Including apples or apple pomace in a pet’s diet could be beneficial to pet health, but more research is needed to claim so confidently.

Genetic testing boosts pet food ingredient traceability

Genetic testing of pet foods may affirm marketing claims, while defending dog, cat and other pet food companies from lawsuits and scandals.

November 11, 2019

Tim Wall

During the past few years, several lawsuits and other negative issues arose because of unwanted species being present or labeled ingredients being absent.

‘Healthy grains’ dog foods appear in the wake of DCM

Dog food formulators reacted to the FDA announcement and resultant consumer fears in a variety of ways, despite the lack of proven causality between DCM and specific dog diets.

November 6, 2019

Tim Wall

Dog food formulators have done that by bringing grains back, adding taurine and dropping legumes and potatoes from recipes

7 pet food solutions for companion animal health

September 12, 2019

Tim Wall

Beyond providing nutritionally balanced formulations, pet food manufacturers can help the health of dogs, cats and other pets.

Unlabeled horse, other animals found in European pet food

In their conclusions, the researchers noted that producing uncontaminated pet foods is possible, since ten products did contain only the animals listed on the label.

October 2, 2018

Tim Wall

Dog and cat foods on the European market may contain animals not listed on the ingredient panels, which could cause problems for pets with allergies.

5 usage rates of dog food ingredients in FDA DCM warning

Dog foods formulated with high percentages of these ingredients may correlate to increased risk of a certain heart disease.

September 17, 2018

Tim Wall

FDA notified the public that some canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) cases correlated to dogs eating diets containing large amounts of potatoes and legume seeds.