Food for thought

Natural and organic pet food

Whilst there is no legal definition for ‘natural’ pet food, the European Pet Food Federation has set a standard which requires that all pet foods marketed as ‘natural’ must only be made with ‘natural’ ingredients and the food must not contain any chemically synthesised components. Because independent governments have never bothered to define ‘natural’ for human foods, this word essentially means anything the manufacturer says it does. And this state of affairs clearly cannot continue.

“Whilst there is no specific organic standard for pet food, companies making an organic claim will need to be approved by an accreditation agency such as the Soil Association,” explains Nicole Paley for the UK Pet Food Manufacturers Association.

The universal acceptance for both ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ foods is made even more challenging when one bears in mind that pet food companies typically buy vitamins, minerals and other additives from factories overseas where quality controls are sometimes non-existent.

Pet food trends

Craig Taylor, managing director of natures: menu, the largest raw pet food company in the UK, supplies both wet and cooked ranges and is passionate about this growing and exciting sector of the pet food market. Craig Taylor with his two raw fed labradors “Whilst technically raw, untreated foods are the most ‘natural’ of this growing sector of products, many companies are claiming a link to nature with ‘natural’ ingredients and better quality foods and treats, which have had minimal processing,” Craig explains.

Products which have been baked, air dried and freeze dried in particular seem to be leading the way with direct links to the raw feeding world, embracing ‘back to the wild’ diets like biologically appropriate or species appropriate.

Raw complete diets now lead the way in the ‘natural’ sector, being the main choice over high-cost organics with free range and provenance being a central buying choice for the consumer looking for high quality and reliable foods.

As consumers now look at the pet foods they buy with increased awareness of meats and meat cuts, the drive to buy products from suppliers and producers sourcing the highest meat grades is inevitable with many brands now sourcing human grade cuts as their main ingredient.

Human grade simply means a cut of meat which has been veterinary inspected and passed as suitable for human consumption – which technically can cover most pet food ingredients – but honest pet food brands will identify their ingredients and the ones you would normally associate with human consumption.

“The trend for better quality, honest packaging and provenance of raw materials continues to grow year on year,” says Craig.

Labelling definitions

Whilst accepting the fact that the market was largely started by smaller and more niche manufacturers, Pet Planet’s Moira Petersen says: “The major brands are now developing their own ranges, although the absolute number of customers purchasing these diets is still relatively small.”

What does give rise to concern is the complexity of the labelling definitions for these areas. “Labelling could definitely be clearer for pet food consumers as with human food. With many ranges of human food there is little meat in chicken kievs or high cereal content in sausages and, in that context, the mix of meat to cereal in dog food has become a big topic in the past few years.”

“However, it is not always clear-cut. Some dogs will benefit from a very high protein diet, whereas others will need a higher mix of cereals in their diet. There will be manufacturers whose use of the term ‘natural’ does mean that their ingredient list comprises only raw ingredients and those who will use some ‘natural’ ingredients in their food but the whole food is not in itself 100% ‘natural’,” Moira explains.

“There is no consensus of opinion amongst veterinarians, pet food nutritionists or manufacturers about the best food to feed your pet, making it doubly difficult for consumers to decide. In addition, all of our furry friends have such different needs that there is no one brand or product that would suit them all.”

Pet humanization

Pet parents are treating their dogs like children and want the best nutrition they can give to their pet.

“Human food manufacturers are ‘muscling- in’ on the pet industry, which used to be the poor relation,” says Jill Angell of Angell Associates. “Now they realise the margins available are better than traditional human food production. Consumers buy my fish treats for their dogs at the rate of €46,000 ($51,000) per tonne. That’s more expensive than the protein which goes on the dinner plate for humans!”

Jill: “No wonder food factories are looking more seriously at their ‘waste’ products now and fighting to enter the profitable and growing pet food sector. The only way is up as far as space for growth in foods, ingredients and quality are concerned. Since pet food manufacturers started initially at such a low quality level there is plenty of room for niche quality expansion at the specialist top end of the market.”

Alternative protein sources

At this point, one is tempted to forecast well ahead to a time when food supplies are so short that we are getting our protein from another source. That may well come from insects if one BBC 2 TV report, ‘Back in time for dinner’ aired in the UK on 21 April 2015, is to be believed. Insects already form part of the staple diet of 4 billion people in Africa and Asia.

During the report, a family who had experienced the foods widely eaten in the UK from the 50s up until the present day were given the opportunity to enjoy Mexican-spiced cricket tacos and buffalo worm tart, to name two delicacies on offer, but, as you can imagine, they didn’t go down too well and resurrected cries of “I’m a celebrity. Get me out of here!”

I asked industry innovator Jill Angell whether she could envisage any of her products being based on protein-packed insects. She, perhaps understandably, recoiled in horror with the words: “Do we really want to feed our dogs on insects?” ringing in my ears.