With the improvement of the world’s economic level, scientific and technological level, and health awareness, “green” and “natural” foods have emerged as the times require, and have been recognized and accepted by the public. The pet industry is booming and growing, and pet lovers regard pets as one of the family members. Terms such as “natural”, “green”, “original” and “organic” have become the weather vane for people to choose pet products. People are more concerned about pet health than pet product prices. However, most consumers are not clear about the quality and characteristics of “natural” pet food. This article briefly summarizes its meaning and characteristics.
1.The international meaning of “natural” pet food
”Natural” is a word that often appears on the packaging bags of international pet food. There are many interpretations of this word, and the domestic literal translation is “natural”. “Natural” is generally considered to mean fresh, unprocessed, free from added preservatives, additives and synthetic ingredients. The American Association for Feed Control (AAFCO) allows pet food to be labeled as “natural” if it is derived only from plants, animals or minerals, does not contain any additives, and has not undergone chemical synthesis processing. AAFCO’s definition goes further and states that “natural foods” are foods that have not been processed or processed by “physical processing, heating, extraction, purification, concentration, dehydration, enzymatic hydrolysis, or fermentation.” Therefore, if chemically synthesized vitamins, minerals or trace elements are added, the food can still be called “natural pet food”, such as “natural pet food with added vitamins and minerals”. It is worth noting that AAFCO’s definition of “natural” only specifies the production process and has no reference to the freshness and quality of pet food. Poor quality poultry, poultry not qualified for human consumption, and the worst grades of poultry meal still meet the AAFCO criteria for “natural food.” Rancid fats still meet AAFCO criteria for “natural pet food,” as are grains that contain mold and mycotoxins.
2.Regulations on “natural” claims in the “Pet Feed Labeling Regulations”
“Pet Feed Labeling Regulations” requires: For example, all feed raw materials and feed additives used in pet feed products are from unprocessed, non-chemical process processing or only through physical processing, thermal processing, extraction, purification, hydrolysis, enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation Or the plant, animal or mineral trace elements processed by smoking and other processes can make a characteristic claim on the product, claiming that “natural”, “natural grain” or similar words should be used. For example, if the vitamins, amino acids, and mineral trace elements added in pet feed products are chemically synthesized, the product can also be claimed as “natural” or “natural food”, but the vitamins, amino acids, and minerals used should be reviewed at the same time. Trace elements are labeled, claiming that the words “natural grains, added with XX” should be used; if two (classes) or more than two (classes) of chemically synthesized vitamins, amino acids, and mineral trace elements are added, feed can be used in the claim. The class name of the additive. For example: “natural grains, with added vitamins”, “natural grains, with added vitamins and amino acids”, “natural colors”, “natural preservatives”.
3.Preservatives in “natural pet food”
The real difference between “natural pet food” and other pet foods is in the type of preservatives they contain.
1)Vitamin E complex
“Vitamin E complex” is a mixture of beta-vitamin E, gamma-vitamin E, and delta-vitamin E used to preserve pet food. It is not synthetic, it is a natural preservative, and it is derived from natural substances. The extract can be obtained in various ways: alcohol extraction, washing and distillation, saponification or liquid-liquid extraction. Therefore, vitamin E complex can be classified into the category of natural preservatives, but there is no guarantee that it is derived from natural raw materials. Vitamin E complex can only be used for preservation and has no biological activity in dogs, but a-vitamin has no preservative effect and only has biological activity in the body. Therefore, AAFCO refers to a-vitamin E as a vitamin and classifies vitamins other than a-vitamin E as chemical preservatives.
2)Antioxidants
In order to avoid confusion of concepts, the concept of “antioxidant” was derived. Vitamin E and preservatives are now collectively referred to as antioxidants, a class of products that slow or prevent oxidation. Active vitamin E (a-vitamin E) acts as an antioxidant inside the body, preventing oxidation of cells and tissues, while a natural preservative (vitamin E complex) acts as an antioxidant in pet food, preventing oxidative damage to pet food ingredients. Synthetic antioxidants are generally believed to be more effective in maintaining pet food stability. You need to add 2 times the amount of natural antioxidants to get the same effect as synthetic antioxidants. Therefore, synthetic antioxidants have better antioxidant functions. Regarding safety, it is reported that both natural antioxidants and synthetic antioxidants have certain adverse reactions, but relevant research reports are all conclusions drawn by feeding a large number of experimental animals. There have been no reports that consuming too much natural or synthetic antioxidants has a greater adverse effect on the health of dogs. The same is true for calcium, salt, vitamin A, zinc, and other nutrients. Excessive consumption is harmful to health, and even excess water consumption is harmful to the body. Very importantly, the role of antioxidants is to prevent fat from going rancid, and while the safety of antioxidants is controversial, there is no dispute that the peroxides present in rancid fats are harmful to health. Peroxides in rancid fat also damage fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Adverse reactions to rancid foods are far more common in dogs than natural or synthetic antioxidants.
Post time: Feb-21-2022