Although the ingredient lists have been shown to be one of the most common ways that owners decide on their pets’ food, we are also enduring a cost-of-living crisis in the UK and pet owners are feeling the pinch. The ingredient list is one of the hardest ways to know if pet food is actually better food, and the price of cat food also is not necessarily a great indicator of being ‘better’ either!

There are thousands of pet food companies selling in the UK, and the price range is vast. There are low, medium and high brackets for feeding animals. But I would not say that price is the best indicator for a better quality, or nutritionally complete, diet.

So, if price is not necessarily a great indicator of being a ‘better’ food, then how do we pick?

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Are by-products cheap and unhealthy?

Many people really dislike “by-products” or “meat and animal derivatives” being on their pets’ ingredients list, thinking them to be poor quality and cheap.

Animal by-products or “meat and animal derivatives” are ingredients which are surplus to the human food chain; pet food which is made up from material of animal origin can be used by the pet food industry. It is made up of parts of animals which are surplus to human consumption needs or are not normally consumed by people in the UK. By-products are sustainable and healthy for animals to consume and don’t make a diet worse than others. These by-products, which do not include hair, horns, teeth or intestinal contents, can be very good-quality sources of nutrients that pets enjoy. Material of animal origin has to come from animals which are inspected and passed as fit for human consumption prior to slaughter. The material must be free of transmissible disease, which therefore excludes material from dying, diseased or disabled animals.

Given that some companies, often those that market as using ‘human grade’ meat and come with a boutique price, like to dismiss and discredit byproducts; it’s easy to understand why “animal by products” or “animal derivatives” on a label may seem unappealing. However, for the companies that do it right, who do analysis on their food and complete feeding trials, using these surplus parts of the animal is a great way to ensure that we use as much of the animal as we can; and avoid waste. These are not low-quality ingredients; on the contrary, these ingredients have a high nutritional value, providing high amounts of protein (among other things) that pets can enjoy. So, there are many good reasons to use them.

Appealing ingredients

An appealing ingredient list isn’t synonymous with good quality. I’ve seen expensive diets add negligible amounts of buzzwordy and exciting ingredients to draw in owners like adding small amounts of blueberries, goji berries and other ‘antioxidant’ ingredients; when the reality is that they are added in such small quantities they will likely do nothing. 

Some pet food manufacturers take great pains to make sure that their ingredient list is appealing to pet owners. However, an ingredient list aesthetically pleasing to owners, with the added price tag, isn’t always synonymous with a “better” diet.

One article concluded:

‘In summary, while we may feel better about feeding a diet full of great-sounding ingredients, these diets are usually similar or even potentially less nutritious than diets containing less appealing (to people) ingredients. There is no way to determine diet quality from the label or the ingredient list.’ 

As we know that owners often judge their pet’s diet off an ingredients list, pet food manufacturers know that many pet owners are looking for meat as the first ingredient; some manufacturers may add ingredients to diets solely for marketing purposes, to increase the appeal of the diet to consumers. These ingredients may have unproven benefits.

Well, if I can’t use an ingredients list or cost, how can I pick?

If you are trying to source a diet that fits within your budget, while still being good quality and nutritionally complete then you might now be baffled that you can’t always look at an ingredients list to find out the quality! 

Quality and nutritional expertise will likely create better food. But the ingredients list might look very confusing and not “aesthetically pleasing” to you and me. 

There are more important things to look at:

  • Does the company have a PhD in animal nutrition or board-certification on board? 
  • Do they have good control over their quality control?
  • Have they completed accredited feeding trials e.g. with the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO)? 
  • Does the company need to partake in negative marketing against other brands to ‘big up’ their food? 
  • Will they provide you with more in-depth nutritional analysis if you ask for it? 
  • Do they engage in and conduct research on their food? 

As you can see, there can be lots of confusion between cost and if this equates to a ‘better’ diet.  But given the information we have it is important to dive a little deeper to assess if expensive diets actually equal a great diet.

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