Dog food
The east wind of reform is blowing everywhere, pet food is really up to date!
The "natural grain" that is still flourishing has not had time to verify its true identity, and the "grain-free" Datang Taiping has ushered in. I have to admire that development, change, and innovation will become the main theme of pet food in the future.
Grain-Free Food, I checked the information on hand and could not find a thorough explanation and definition of grain-free (there are so few books that I will buy when I need them!), but I browsed I collected some introductions to pet diet products in the United States and Canada and found that many products are printed with "grain-free" labels. I randomly compiled and counted 6 grain-free dog foods and 4 grain-free cat foods: as follows: < br> 1. *** Grain-Free Chicken Recipe Dog Food clearly indicates its "grain-free" status. The top 10 ingredients in the "Main Ingredients" column are: boneless chicken, Chicken meal, peas, potatoes, pea starch, chicken fat (mixed with tocopherol and citric acid to preserve), turkey meal, pea fiber, tomato pulp, flaxseed;
2. ***Grain Free Original Recipe Dog Food, in The top 10 ingredients in the "Important Ingredients" column are: boneless turkey, turkey meal, chicken meal, peas, potatoes, ground potatoes, chicken fat, tomato pulp, chicken liver, natural chicken spices , flaxseed, salmon oil;
3. *** Grain Free Easy-to-Digest Dry Dog Food, the top 10 ingredients in the "Main Ingredients" column are: salmon, sweet potatoes, potatoes , pea protein, salmon, waterfowl fat, apple, pumpkin, chicken extract, tomato residue;
4. ***Grain-Free Chicken & Potato Formula Dog Food, ranked in the top 10 in the "Main Ingredients" column The ingredients are: chicken, chicken meal, peas, potato starch, flaxseed meal, beet pulp, chicken fat, natural flavors, potatoes, calcium hydrogen phosphate;
5. ***Grain Free Adult Formula , the top 10 ingredients in the "Main Ingredients" column are: chicken, pea starch, pea flour, herring meal, beet pulp, pea fiber, driedSaccharomyces cerevisiae, salt, DL-methionine, L-lysine;
6. ***Grain Free Turkey Bliss Dog Treats, the top 10 ingredients in the "Important Ingredients" column are: novelty Turkey, vegetable glycerin, potatoes, yellow peas, turkey liver, animal blood, whey protein, honey, pumpkin, carrageenan, lecithin.
7. ***Grain Free Indoor Cat Food, the top 10 ingredients in the "Important Ingredients" column are: boneless chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, potato starch, peas, fish meal , chicken fat, fiber, natural chicken spices, potatoes;
8. ***Grain Free Adult Chicken & Potato Dinner, the top 10 ingredients in the "Main Ingredients" column are: chicken , Pea protein concentrate, potato starch, egg products, chicken fat, potatoes, chicken meal, meat separation protein, dried beet pulp, cellulose powder, flaxseed;
9. *** Grain Free Duck Cats Food , the top 10 ingredients in the "important ingredients" column are: boneless duck meat, chicken meal, turkey meal, potato starch, fish meal, chicken fat, peas, whole potatoes, flax seeds, natural chicken Spices;
10. ***Grain Free Kitten Food, the top 10 ingredients in the "Main Ingredients" column are: boneless chicken, chicken meal, turkey, potato starch, fish meal, fish oil , potatoes, peas, chicken fat, flax seeds.
From the above grain-free "main raw materials", we can easily see that "corn" and "wheat", which are commonly used as staple food for common pets, are missing, as well as "rice", "soybean meal", etc. Conventional raw materials are replaced by some vegetables, such as "potatoes", "peas", "apples", "pumpkins" and some "novel meats". From the cost, it can be seen that some low-priced raw materials It is no longer used, and the basis used is relatively expensive raw materials. Looking at the main characteristics and product characteristics of the above "grain-free" products, it can be concluded that grain-free means "does not contain corn, wheat and other grains", rather than "does not contain starch" or "does not contain grains". "Carbohydrate", unanimously exceeds "low carbohydrate", "easy to digest", emphasizes "low allergy", "easy to absorb", and "free from any incompatibility caused by grains and grain husks".
Next, in order to give us a more comprehensive understanding of "what is grain-free and what nutritional value does grain-free contain", let's take a look at the "Nutritional Composite Protection Value" of these 10 products:
1. ***Grain-Free Chicken Recipe Dog Food, crude protein (minimum) 24.0%, crude fat (minimum) 14.0%, crude fiber (maximum) 7.0%, moisture (maximum) 10.0%, calcium (minimum) 1.0%, phosphorus (minimum) 0.9%, omega-3 fatty acids* (minimum) 0.3%, omega-6 fatty acids* ( 2. *** Grain Free Original Recipe Dog Food, crude protein (minimum) 34.0%, crude fat (minimum) 16.0%, crude fiber (maximum) 4.0%, moisture (maximum) 10.0 %, Calcium (maximum) 2.0%, Phosphorus (maximum) 1.4%, Vitamin E (minimum) 200 IU/kg, Omega 6 fatty acids* (minimum) 3.25%, Omega 3 fatty acids (minimum) 0.5%;
3. *** Grain Free Easy-to-Digest Dry Dog Food, crude protein (minimum) 27.0%, crude fat (minimum) 12.0%, crude fiber (maximum) 4.00%, moisture (maximum) 10.0%, Calcium (maximum) 1.80%, phosphorus (maximum) 1.50%; 4. ***Grain-Free Chicken & Potato Formula Dog Food, crude protein (minimum) 26.0%, crude fat (minimum) 14.0%, Crude fiber (maximum) 4.5%, moisture (maximum) 10.0%, calcium (minimum) 1.1%, phosphorus (minimum) 1.0%, zinc (minimum) 175mg/kg, selenium (minimum) 0.15mg/kg;
5 , ***Grain Free Adult Formula, crude protein ≥ 30.0%, crude fat ≥ 15.0%, crude fiber ≤ 5.0%, moisture ≤ 10.0%, arginine ≥ 1.10%; leucine ≥ 1.30%, lysine ≥1.25%, methionine ≥0.55%; 6. ***Grain Free Adult Formula, crude protein ≥30.0%, crude fat ≥15.0%, crude fiber ≤5.0%, moisture ≤10.0%, arginine ≥1.10%; leucine ≥1.30%, lysine ≥1.25%, methionine ≥0.55%; 7. ***Grain Free Indoor Cat Food, crude protein (minimum) 38.0%, crude fat (minimum) 16.0%, crude fiber (maximum) 5.0%, moisture (maximum) 10.0%, magnesium (minimum) 0.1%, taurine (minimum) 0.2%, omega-3 fatty acids (minimum) 0.5%, omega-6 fatty acids (minimum) ) 3.0%; 8. ***Grain Free Adult Chicken & Potato Dinner, protein 34.0%, fat 23.1%, carbohydrate (NFE) 33.8%, calcium 1.00%, phosphorus 0.83%, sodium 0.49%, potassium 0.69%, magnesium 0.091%, taurine 0.50%; 9. *** Grain Free Duck Cats Food, crude protein 40.0% or more, More than 18.0% crude fat, less than 3.5% crude fiber, less than 10.0% moisture, more than 0.08% magnesium, more than 0.15% taurine, more than 0.8% omega 3 fatty acids, more than 3.5% omega 6 fatty acids;
10.* **Grain Free Kitten Food, more than 40.0% crude protein, more than 20.0% crude fat, 3.5% maximum crude fiber, less than 10.0% moisture, minimum magnesium 0.08%, more than 1.0% calcium, more than 0.9% phosphorus, 0.15 taurine % minimum, DHA above 0.2%, Omega 3 fatty acids above 0.5%, Omega 6 fatty acids above 3.5%.
From the above values, and by comparing them with conventional pet diets, we can see that in addition to the rich nutritional content of grain-free grains, comprehensive and complete nutritional prices, the protein content and fat content of each product Higher (especially cat food), the other nutritional value is not much different than that of traditional food. In other words, compared with traditional food, there is not much difference in the nutritional value of grain-free food. However, there may be big differences in the selection of raw materials, such as fresh meat, fresh fruits and vegetables, etc., which have better digestion and absorption rates (of course, more in-depth feeding studies are needed to make this conclusion, and here we only make superficial inferences based on the numerical values) and synthesis), in short, the nutritional value of grain-free grains is not necessarily higher than that of traditional diets, but the nutritional value (regarding the use of nutrients) is higher than that of traditional diets.
In summary, we can basically conclude:
"Grain-free food is a type of pet diet that does not contain corn, wheat, wheat bran, cereal husks and other grains that are prone to allergies and are difficult to digest. , and the pet-specific formula full-price nutritional diet made of low-carbohydrate raw materials such as vegetables and fruits is used as a substitute. It has high protein, low carbohydrate (controversial), hypoallergenic, and easy to use. It has the characteristics of digestion, high absorption rate, safety and hygiene."
It is worth noting that we have found "chicken meal" and raw materials like "potassium sorbate" in the "ingredients". Therefore, grain-free is not "all fresh meat", or "nothing" Additives" and "does not contain all preservatives" and other concepts (this goes back to the old question about food additives, so I won’t go into details. You may wish to refer to my other article "N Misunderstandings in Choosing Pet Food-- "Additives and Preservatives").
Regarding the low-carbohydrate issue of "grain-free", a more objective view should be that grain-free grains indeed contain low-carbohydrate raw materials, and carbohydrates can also be included in the design of grain-free formulas. The design is relatively low, but it cannot be said that grain-free food has lower carbohydrates than "grain-containing" food.Potatoes often used in grain-free recipes are low in carbohydrates (the carbohydrate content of fresh potatoes is 16.5%, the carbohydrate content of fresh corn is 22.8%, and the carbohydrate content of steamed rice is 25.6%). However, whether it is grain-free or not? We also need to look at the formula and nutritional analysis to find out that the complete carbohydrates of a "traditional grain-free diet" are lower than that of a "traditional grain-free diet". That is to say, we cannot simply equate "grain-free" and "low carbohydrate". .
Regarding the issue of "low allergy" to grain-free, what needs to be compensated is whether grain-free is really "low allergy", or whether there are several cases of "low allergy", or more are needed. Surveys and animal experiments have been conducted to prove it, but in the limited Chinese home breeding that I know of, there is indeed an information response to hypoallergy. However, it is also inaccurate to simply think that the "grain-free and corn-free" in "grain-free" is an important factor in the "low allergy". There is an animal experiment that shows: "Traditional grain-free" "Corn" is essentially the least likely cause of food allergy, Carlotti DN, Remy I, Prost C. Food allergy in dogs and cats. A review and report of 43 cases. Vet Dermatol 1990;1:55-62., Close An analysis of food allergy factors in 278 dogs found that beef was the most common allergen, with 95 cases of allergy reports, 55 cases of dairy products, and only 7 cases of corn being confirmed to cause allergies. Regarding pet cats, the situation is similar. Among 56 cats, 45 are allergic to beef, followed by dairy products and fish, and only 4 cases are allergic to corn.
Although this article is discussing "what is grain-free", it does not tend to recommend and guide "good or bad grain-free". The product values used in it are from some pet-free products in the United States and Canada. Cereal grain labels and introductions, and related websites. We understand that it is irresponsible to give an accurate definition of the concept and advantages and disadvantages of "grain-free" based on the above labels alone. Therefore, this article only serves as a reference for defining the concept and definition of "grain-free". One of the essence. Perhaps there are still some imperfections and inaccuracies in data collection, analysis and analysis. We welcome criticism and correction during observation and communication.
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