Natural, fruit and organic pet food
Widespread new trend
Fruit forms an important component in foods for small pets due to its obvious natural fit with their natural diet, but its use in dog- and cat foods started a few years ago with increased humanization of the pet product market. Since then, it has become more widespread in the last few years, because it provides a good fit with some of today’s most pressing market focuses, for example, tackling the rising incidence of obesity in pets and other specific health issues.
A natural fit?
An increasing number of pet owners look for pet foods that contain natural and healthy ingredients in line with their own dietary priorities, but are their decisions based on healthy choices for their dogs and cats?
Both dogs and cats do ingest some grains, vegetable and fruit, when they catch and eat live prey. The gut content of their herbivore prey animals is full of semi-digested plant material (comprising up to almost 30-40% of the weight of the prey).
The order in which dogs, for example, consume their prey (gut first, then organs, muscle and bones) suggests that the grain/plant content of the diet is vital to their health. Dogs are, however, more omnivorous than cats (which are obligate carnivores), and are able to survive, if necessary, on a diet that contains plant-based materials, indicating that they can digest and process these types of food groups to a greater extent.
Cats only eat fresh prey. They do eat the gut content of their prey (including plant-based materials), like dogs, and do consume small amounts of fresh green plant material, but in general, their diet is much higher in fresh meat content.
Dogs and cats have a poor ability to digest intact plant material, because they lack the enzymes required to digest cellulose plant cell walls. When they eat plant-based material, it is pre-digested from the gut of their prey or is decaying. Many processed pet foods for cats and dogs include very high cereal content, but dogs and cats are not adapted for highly refined starch, which has little nutritional value, except for calories. The result is a diet with too much refined sugar.
Supporting better health
Certain fruits can provide an important source of dietary fibre within dog- and cat foods, fulfilling an important role in the gastrointestinal tract and increasing the feeling of ‘fullness’, without adding calories or fat. This can be particularly useful for effective weight-management in pets.
The inclusion of fruits can ensure dietary variety and access to a wide range of vitamins and minerals. And some fruits could offer functional benefits – biologically-active compounds that can deliver clinically-proven health benefits. For example, apples provide some vitamin C, beta carotene and potassium and blueberries are a source of antioxidants that may help support health and vitality.
Important limitations
Whilst many fruits can form valuable components in dog- or cat food (unless the individual pet is allergic to them), some fruits are toxic or can cause gastrointestinal irritation.
These include: grapes and raisins (toxic), avocados (gastrointestinal irritation), figs (possible allergic reaction), orange and lemon tree seeds, peel, leaves and stems (toxic), rhubarb (toxic) and coconut (safe, but can cause bloating and discomfort).
Importantly in manufacturing processes, whilst some fruits may be perfectly safe to use in pet formulations, the seeds or stones of many may be highly toxic. Products containing fruits should be introduced gradually into the pets’ diet and pet owners need clear guidance on feeding. Even though fruit can be a good dietary component, it is not calorie free.
Allergen-free formulations
Whilst allergic or other adverse reactions to certain fruits can always occur in individual pets, generally, fruit has value in gluten-free and other low-allergen formulations.
Clean label trend
A growing number of consumers are drawn to natural products. Many pet owners look for clean-label ingredients in pet food labels, as they do in choosing their own food products. They also prefer ingredient names that are easy to understand – the simpler the ingredient’s name, the more appeal it has. With so much general awareness of the benefits of fruits in our own diets, fruit is well-recognized as a positive dietary ingredient.
Manufacturing
Utilizing fruit in pet food can help reduce eliminating waste associated with processing in the fruit industry and can contribute to a sustainable manufacturing policy. With the exceptions above, there are a wide variety of fruits that can be used in pet food formulations.
However, fruit requires specific processing, for example, dehydrating fruit requires a longer process than making other dry- or wet pet food – important factors for interested manufacturers to weigh up.
Worth considering
Fruits can offer nutritional value in pet food formulation. Whilst they are mostly tertiary ingredients in commercially-available products, key benefits include:
- relatively low calorie source of fibre and vitamins;
- relatively low calorie and natural way to add sweetness;
- contain antioxidants – important in human- and pet nutrition, now and in the near future;
- an additional source of water (in canned formulations), which can be especially important in summer;
- a healthy, natural source of vitamins and minerals.
It would appear the use of fruit in dog- and cat food is here to stay.
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