cybercat wrote:
"Rhonda" wrote

What AAFCO doesn't mention is that meat byproducts may also legally
contain: "4D animals (dead, dying, diseased, down), road kill, euthanized
cats and dogs, including their collars. These source products are
rendered, the fat is siphoned off to be used as "animal fat," and the
remaining material is extruded to form "meat by-product meal."


I note that although the author puts this section in quotes, she does not
name her source. I looked but can't find a way to email her from the site.
It may be true, but it sure doesn't ring true to me.


Okay, I read a few more sites. Below is part of an interesting one. I
think from now on I'm just going to feed our cats mice. -Rhonda

Animal Protein

Dogs and cats are carnivores, and do best on a meat-based diet. The
protein used in pet food comes from a variety of sources. When cattle,
swine, chickens, lambs, or other animals are slaughtered, lean muscle
tissue is trimmed away from the carcass for human consumption, along
with the few organs that people like to eat, such as tongues and tripe.

However, about 50% of every food animal does not get used in human
foods. Whatever remains of the carcass — heads, feet, bones, blood,
intestines, lungs, spleens, livers, ligaments, fat trimmings, unborn
babies, and other parts not generally consumed by humans — is used in
pet food, animal feed, fertilizer, industrial lubricants, soap, rubber,
and other products. These “other parts” are known as “by-products.”
By-products are used in feed for poultry and livestock as well as in pet
food.

The nutritional quality of by-products, meals, and digests can vary from
batch to batch. James Morris and Quinton Rogers, of the University of
California at Davis Veterinary School, assert that, “[pet food]
ingredients are generally by-products of the meat, poultry and fishing
industries, with the potential for a wide variation in nutrient
composition. Claims of nutritional adequacy of pet foods based on the
current Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutrient
allowances (‘profiles’) do not give assurances of nutritional adequacy
and will not until ingredients are analyzed and bioavailability values
are incorporated.”3

Meat or poultry “by-products” are very common in wet pet foods. Remember
that “meat” refers to only cows, swine, sheep, and goats. Since sheep
and goats are rare compared to the 37 million cows and 100 million hogs
slaughtered for food every year, nearly all meat by-products come from
cattle and pigs.

The better brands of pet food, such as many “super-premium,” “natural,”
and “organic” varieties, do not use by-products. On the label, you’ll
see one or more named meats among the first few ingredients, such as
“turkey” or “lamb.” These meats are still mainly leftover scraps; in the
case of poultry, bones are allowed, so “chicken” consists mainly of
backs and frames—the spine and ribs, minus their expensive breast meat.
The small amount of meat left on the bones is the meat in the pet food.
Even with this less-attractive source, pet food marketers are very
tricky when talking about meat, so this is explained further in the
section on “Marketing Magic” below.

Meat meals, poultry meals, by-product meals, and meat-and-bone meal are
common ingredients in dry pet foods. The term “meal” means that these
materials are not used fresh, but have been rendered. While there are
chicken, turkey, and poultry by-product meals there is no equivalent
term for mammal “meat by-product meal” — it is called
“meat-and-bone-meal.” It may also be referred to by species, such as
“beef-and-bone-meal” or “pork-and-bone-meal.”

What is rendering? As defined by Webster’s Dictionary, to render is “to
process as for industrial use: to render livestock carcasses and to
extract oil from fat, blubber, etc., by melting.” In other words, raw
materials are dumped into large vat and boiled for several hours.
Rendering separates fat, removes water, and kills bacteria, viruses,
parasites, and other organisms. However, the high temperatures used
(270°F/130°C) can alter or destroy natural enzymes and proteins found in
the raw ingredients.

Because of persistent rumors that rendered by-products contain dead dogs
and cats, the FDA conducted a study looking for pentobarbital, the most
common euthanasia drug, in pet foods. They found it. Ingredients that
were most commonly associated with the presence of pentobarbital were
meat-and-bone-meal and animal fat. However, they also used very
sensitive tests to look for canine and feline DNA, which were not found.
Industry insiders admit that rendered pets and roadkill were used in pet
food some years ago. Although there are still no laws or regulations
against it, the practice is uncommon today, and pet food companies
universally deny that their products contain any such materials.
However, so-called “4D” animals (dead, dying, diseased, disabled) were
only recently banned for human consumption and are still legitimate
ingredients for pet food.

http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&more=1