Find the latest dog, cat and companion animal health scientific research and news from the editors of Petfood Industry magazine to help pet food manufacturers improve pet health through pet food ingredient, vitamin and mineral analysis as well as information focusing on pet diseases and palatability issues. Register for free to access premium content.
Researchers at Massey University observed distinct differences among cats’ preference for various raw organ meats and co-products from cows and lambs. Likewise, raw ingredients from lamb and beef had different palatability.
The event was a forum where scientists with research into DCM could share information, collaborate, and discuss many different – and even conflicting – theories on the condition.
Officials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine released several documents and statements about the agency’s investigation into correlations between specific dog foods and cases of canine dilated cardiomyopathy.
As consumer interest in pets’ gut microbiomes increases, pet food companies can gain insight into their products by monitoring the microbiome in feeding trial.
For both Purina and Blue Buffalo, the majority of ratings on all four e-commerce sites, Amazon, Chewy, Petco.com and Walmart.com, were five stars, meaning positive.
Purina and Blue Buffalo’s marketing strategies seem to have succeeded in communicating brand value to customers, but one scientist found differences in pet owner reviews of the brands.
Pet nutritionists use what's known as the modified Atwater equation to predict the energy density of food, she said, rather than running feeding trials in every situation.
Feeding trials provide the “gold standard” for determining the energy content of pet food, but trials using live animals may be too expensive or otherwise unavailable when pet food formulators test products.
Scientists identified nine chemical compounds found in palatability enhancers that contributed positively to dogs’ partiality for particular food aromas.
While the pandemic caused unprecedented suffering worldwide in 2020, the disruptions to dogs, cats and other pets adoption numbers may normalize in 2021.