Nutrition Fact #4

Are by-products bad? Not really. They may actually be the best thing to feed pets because of the nutrition they contain and because they use parts of animals that would otherwise be thrown away when producing human food. By-products include vegetable oils, chicken fat and pork, chicken, and beef liver-the internal organs of animals used for human consumption that would otherwise be trashed.

Nutrition Fact #3

So what is organic? Foods that are labeled "organic" must be certified as organic in accordance with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and AAFCO regulations. In order for a product to carry the USDA organic seal, at least 95% of its content must be organic by weight. To be organic, the components of a product must be grown with only animal or vegetable fertilzers, such as manure, bone meal, compost etc.

Nutrition Fact #2

We hear the word "natural" all the time. When it refers to pet food what does that mean? According to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) the term "natural" requires a pet food to consist only of natural ingredients that have not been subjected to chemical synthesis. (My note: that would include most pet foods whether they are labeled "natural" or not). Natural does not mean that the food is also organic.

Nutrition Fact 1

Does your pet's food boast the label "holistic"? Don't believe it. There is no legal definition of the term under pet food laws. Anyone can claim that their food is "holistic".

New Year's Resolution

I resolve to blog more in 2012. The past few months have been extremely busy, not just with patients but we are in the process of computerizing the practice. We also started a facebook page and a website. The website for now is just a "canned one" that we'll be personalizing as we have time (www.southviewanimalclinic.com).

I'm going to start a series of blogs on 9 nutrition facts that appeared in an Article in "Trends" a publication for veterinarians published by the American Animal Hospital Association taken from the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Some of these surprised me.