Ingredients to Avoid

Many of the common ailments pets experience dry skin, dull coats, allergies, gassy stomachs are related to substandard food and inconsistent formulas with too many fillers and low-quality ingredients. From the start, GoFetch! has offered a range of reasonably priced, high-quality foods with a variety of protein, grain, vegetable and formula options. When searching for quality foods for your pet, do what we do and avoid the following ingredients: Ingredient Nameless Meats
Examples: meat meal meat by-product animal fat

What it is
Defined by AAFCO as either "derived from slaughtered mammals" or "poultry."

Why it's used

Generic meats are cheap sources of poor quality protein and fat and a way for businesses to dispose of unwanted animal parts. By-products are what's left of a slaughtered animal after the parts appropriate for human consumption have been collected. Manufacturers use byproducts because they are a cheap meat source.

Why you should avoid it

"Rendering plants work with slaughterhouses, butcher shops, supermarkets, restaurants, fast-food chains, farms, feed lots, and animal 1 shelters..." This means the source of "animal fat" could be restaurant grease. By-products are a very broad term. Some by-products, like liver, tripe, and heart, are highly biologically available, provide vital nutrients and are important additions to dog and cat diets. Heart is naturally high in taurine, an essential amino acid for cats. Dogs' ancestor, the wolf, will eat its prey's organs before consuming its prey's muscle meat. However, use of this broad term makes knowing the real quality of ingredients used very hard to decipher.

What to use instead

Feel confident when feeding your furry friend by knowing exactly what's in that bag of food. Choose foods that list quality ingredients from named sources like "Chicken Fat, Lamb meal, Bison...etc"

By-Products

Poultry by-products are, defined by AAFCO as: "the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice." Animal and Meat by-products are defined as:"the non rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals. It includes, but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low-temperature fatty tissue and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth and hooves."

Instead of guessing, look for foods that list both muscle meats and organs in the ingredient panel. Organ meats should identify the type of organ and the animal it was derived from. For Example: Beef Tripe, Chicken liver, Duck heart etc...

Corn, Wheat, and Soy

Corn- Grain Wheat- Grain Soy- Legume

Corn, Wheat, and Soy are commonly used in lower quality foods as binders and cheaper sources of protein.

Vegetable proteins are incomplete sources of protein (meaning they are deficient in one or more essential amino acid) and fall lower on the Biological Value scale (a scale that ranks how much protein is actually utilized by the body) than animal proteins. All three are considered common allergens for pets with food allergies.

Choose foods that use grains for fiber and energy, not as primary sources of protein. Instead, look for animal-sourced proteins, which are complete proteins and have higher biological values. To do this, look for quality meats to be listed before grains and carbs in the ingredient panel. Also, seek foods like Nature's Variety Instinct which boast the percentage of animal-sourced ingredients right on the bag.

W.H. Prokop, Section on rendering plants, in Chapter 13, "Food And Agriculture Industry", Air Pollution Engineering Manual, Van Nostrand Reinhold Press, 1992.

Ingredients to Avoid
Many of the common ailments pets experience dry skin, dull coats, allergies, gassy stomachs are related to substandard food and inconsistent formulas with too many fillers and low-quality ingredients. From the start, GoFetch! has offered a range of reasonably priced, high-quality foods with a variety of protein, grain, vegetable and formula options. When searching for quality foods for your pet, do what we do and avoid the following ingredients: Ingredient Powdered Cellulose

What it is
Define by AAFCO as the "purified, mechanically disintegrated cellulose prepared by processing alpha cellulose obtained as a pulp from fibrous plant materials." It is also known as "Powdered Paper." Dyes used in foods such as Red #40, Yellow #5, and Yellow #6

Why it's used

Used mostly in "diet" foods as a source of insoluble fiber with the intent of "filling pets up" to curb appetite. Used in highly processed foods to replicate a more "meaty" look.

Why you should avoid it

Kibble, because of the amount of plant matter it contains, should already contain the necessary amount of fiber needed for healthy digestion. In most cases, powdered cellulose is simply a filler. Besides being nutritionally unnecessary, artificial colors have been linked to a number of health concerns in animals: from allergies to Cancer. All three are possible carcinogens (cancer causing). Ethoxyquin has also been linked to major organ failure. BHT has been banned in baby food in the U.S and both BHT and BHA have been banned in many countries. It's a controversial chemical that may be toxic when used in large amounts, has been linked to digestive issues, and has been banned by the FDA in cat food for causing Heinz Body Anemia. Sugar is high on the glycemic index, meaning the readily metabolized carbohydrate rapidly spikes blood pressure and increases fat storage and appetite. Sugar can lead to weight gain, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

What to feed instead

High protein diets naturally help curb appetites. Help your pet lose weight by cutting calories, not nutrition. Choose a lower calorie food that is lower in carbs as well or simply feed less of your current food. Don't forget exercise! Avoiding this controversial ingredient is easy. Look for foods that do not contain Artificial Colors.

Artificial Colors

BHA, BHT, and Ethoxyquin

Antioxidants

Used to extend the shelf life of pet foods and treats by keeping fats from becoming rancid.

Look for foods preserved safely and naturally with tocopherals (chemical compounds of which many have vitamin E activity.)

Propylene Glycol

An Organic compound. Propylene Glycol is a colorless, nearly odorless, clear, viscous liquid with a faintly sweet taste.

Used in semi-moist foods to retain moisture and give them their unique texture and taste. Used as an energy source, preservative, and to sweeten pet foods to make them more appealing.

Avoiding this controversial ingredient is easy. Look for foods that do not contain it.

Sugar
Examples: Table sugar (Sucrose) Corn Syrup Beet Pulp Sugar

A broad term for simple sugars.

Look for foods that use protein, complex carbohydrates (whole grains and vegetables), and fats for energy. Pets accustomed to foods with sugar are hard to wean to higher quality foods; pick something savory to win them over like foods with higher meat contents or try adding a spoonful of canned or freeze dried food as a topping.