There has been much talk recently about the substandard ingredients found in many pet food products being sold on the market right now. This is something we’ve been aware of for a while, so we’re pleased it has finally been given the spot light and that the industry is now waking up to what is a major problem.
It’s important to consider what nutrition a dog or cat needs, and this is very straightforward. The eating anatomy of a dog or cat is no different to their cousins in the wild, and so their food and nutrition requirement are also the same.
As we are all pet lovers, it’s right to be interested in what we are feeding them.
Many well-known pet food products only contain around a 4% meat content. This is staggering when you consider what we’ve already said about their diet mirroring that of an animal in the wild. Put simply your dog or cat is adapted to eat a diet that is rich in meat and protein, which is exactly what we have in ORIJEN and ACANA. For example, ORIJEN is packed with 85% meat, fish and egg ingredients in nourishing whole prey ratios, which are all carefully balanced to keep them in peak in health no matter what age or lifestyle.
The pet foods that contain such low meat content instead bulk out their foods with carbohydrate rich cereals to act as a filler. Yet for a dog or cat carbohydrates are ’empty calories’ that provide little or no nutritional value and are actually recognised as a leading cause of health problems such as diabetes. ORIJEN and ACANA instead use fresh fruit and vegetables which do not spike blood sugar levels and act as a tonic to strengthen the body and help eliminate toxins and waste.
Furthermore, these cereal bulking agents are categorised as high-glycaemic carbohydrates, known to be a leading cause of pet obesity. The good news for pets who are fed ORIJEN and ACANA is that because there is such a high protein content in the food, there is less room other bulking ingredients. Both brands only use low-glycaemic carbohydrates like lentils and chickpeas which enter the blood stream slowly, promoting stable blood sugar levels and reduce the potential for fat storage and known health issues.
If you would like to find out more about why ORIJEN and ACANA only use the very freshest ingredients, click here to read more about our story.
