Hidden Ingredients: More Harmful Than what You Are Avoiding?

Concerned pet parents are frequently asking us if Nature’s Logic diets include a list of various ingredients, such as chicken, beef, cheese, fish etc. Usually these requests come after a visit to the vet where allergy testing has been done. The results of most allergy testing are an endless list of foods and other things, which their pet should avoid.

What is often then recommended is an expensive so called hypoallergenic clinical or prescription diet made from low quality ingredients that can only be bought from the vet. Though it can sometimes sounds like the only option, is it really the best for the pet?

Weighing the Difference: Protein Slurry vs. Protein Meal

Dry kibble pet food labels can be confusing to interpret because some of the main ingredients are not what they appear. Ingredients in pet food are listed in descending order by their weight. This predominance by weight includes the water weight when the product is mixed and not the actual weight after the product has been extruded, baked or dried. For example, a dry kibble which uses an ingredient such as “beef” as the first ingredient, which is actually an emulsified slurry, will contain anywhere from 55% to 65% water pre-extrusion and drying. So if the recipe is 70% beef and 30% potato, this company could legally market its diet as containing 70% meat and 30% potato.