PET Food Processing - December 2018 - 42

INGREDIENTS

Biotech dog treat
start-up Wild Earth
doesn't believe vegan
or vegetarian properly
describes its new protein ingredient made
from koji, a member of
the fungi kingdom.
Wild Earth

friendly option to pet owners," says Jennifer Adolphe,
Ph.D., nutrition manager, Petcurean, Chilliwack, British
Columbia. "Within the plant-based category, some pet
foods are strictly vegan - containing no animal-based
ingredients - while others are vegetarian and contain
mostly plant-based ingredients."
Compared to human food, pet food is unique because
it is designed to be "complete and balanced." This means
all the nutrition a cat or dog requires is included in the
food. "People consume a highly varied diet from day
to day, which masks imbalances in nutrient availability
and nutritional quality of a given meal," Davenport says.
"Dogs and cats, on the other hand, are generally fed the
same food each day."
If a pet's food is not nutritionally complete, balanced
and digestible, there may be serious health and wellness
consequences. "Keep in mind that each nutrient in cat
and dog food has a purpose," says Patrick Luchsinger,
marketing manager of nutrition and pet food, Ingredion
Inc., Westchester, Illinois. "Without adequate nutrition,
our pets would not be able to maintain muscle tone,
build and repair muscles, teeth and bone, digest food
properly, and fight off pathogens, which could lead to
sickness." As a result, pet foods tend to have a lengthy
ingredient statement. This is true for animal- and plantbased formulations.
Although Tampa, Florida-based Halo Purely For Pets
uses whole meat, poultry and fish rather than "meat
meal" in most of its pet foods, the company believes
there are benefits to incorporating vegan dog food into
their weekly diets. "None of the essential nutrients required by dogs are found exclusively in animal tissues. In
animal nutrition, we really prefer to talk about nutrient
requirements, as opposed to ingredient requirements,"
says Dr. Sarah Dodd, a veterinarian with an advanced
degree in plant-based nutrition who works with Halo.

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"As far as we know, dogs have no requirement for meat
per se, instead, they have a requirement for nutrients
that may be obtained from meat, or from other sources."
"Many dog parents feed their dogs vegan either because they wish to extend their own vegan lifestyle to
that of their companion animal, or because their dogs
are experiencing allergic reactions to common meatbased dog food recipes," she says.

Prioritizing protein
The movement toward using plant-based ingredients in
pet food is mostly about using protein ingredients that
are as sustainable as possible to meet the nutrient requirements of cats and dogs. Finding sustainable animal
protein sources has become increasingly challenging
because not only are humans competing for protein
around the world, but now the pet food industry is competing as well.
Years ago, plant proteins were viewed as an inexpensive way to extend protein in both human and pet foods.
Today, this could not be farther from the marketplace situation. "While they may be less expensive than meat, they
are definitely not cheap," Adolphe says. "From a formulator's perspective, plant proteins have the advantage of being quite consistent in their nutrient content. Conversely,
some animal protein ingredients, especially fresh meats
and meat meals, can be highly variable in nutrient levels,
particularly for fat, protein and minerals."
This often makes plant proteins easier to work with.
In addition, most pet foods are already supplemented
with vitamins and minerals, so fortification is already
part of the development process. With fortification, pet
owners can be assured of consistent nutrient delivery to
their companions.
"Protein is a predominant focus in human nutrition
for muscle development and satiety, and this is being

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PET Food Processing - December 2018

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