Animal digest is the lowest form of ingredients which is used to flavor meat or foods. Anything labeled beef flavored or flavored with beef may be considered truth in labeling once it has hopefully not undergone decomposition. It is not supposed to include hair, teeth, feathers or other inedible body parts. Yet, it is understood that during processing many of these prohibited ingredients do become a part of digest.
When you see the ingredients “animal meat”, “bonemeal” or “animal byproducts” you can assume that they include tissue from the animal species in question. Animal or meat without specifying the source. What animal is “animal meat”? And what part of the animal does it come from? “Animal meat” can come from euthanized shelter animals, feces and filth that was on the animal at time of death. Even diseased or maggot infested carcasses can find their way into your dog’s food. Anyone who ever has paid for a private burial or cremation of their pet is well aware of how expensive it is for this process to be done. So where do all the bodies of our euthanized pet and shelter animals go? Oftentimes they become parts of cheap dog foods and food for other animals. These are ingredients completely unfit and illegal for humans but are completely legal to include in pet food.
Anything that is over processed and ominous such as digest should be avoided.
Byproducts are the parts of an animal’s carcass that cannot be used for human consumption. They are the lowest quality ingredients and often contain pieces of unrecognizable bone and meat. Many pet food companies will claim that this provides a viable source of certain ingredients, but if we would not eat it ourselves we should not be feeding it to our pets. Byproducts contain organ meats that contain toxins. It can also just be a cheap way of increasing protein content. Either way, it does not belong in your best friend’s body
