Pet Food Analysis

Pet food is plant or animal material intended for pet consumption. It is usually formulated and manufactured to specific pet animals, such as dog or cat. Most meat used for nonhuman animals is a byproduct of the human food industry, and is not regarded as human grade. As you know, high-quality ingredients are essential for the health of the fed pets. Some economical brands of pet food, which may technically meet the legal specifications for percentages of protein, fat, carbohydrates, etc., may be not easily digested, and therefore, do not provide qualified formulated nutrition. The important nutrients may pass through the gastrointestinal system of your pets, without absorbed. For the pet food, there should be the following ingredients in the label:

Crude Protein
Carbohydrates
Crude Fiber
Crude Fats
Ash
Vitamins
Ω3 fatty acid
β-carotene

By law, pet food labels must list all the ingredients by weight. Because of the strict regulation of meat protein of animal origins after the scandal of horse meat hamburger in Europe, regulation agencies require solid proof for animal origins, the frequently consumed protein resources, like

Pork
Chicken
Beef
Horse
Fish
Duck

would be tested and determined by PCR, or LC-MS based method popular in proteomics research. Meat, fish, and eggs are often utilized as protein resources in the form of digestible, usable amino acids, in the complete and balanced standards established by specific regulation agencies or associations(the Association of American Feed Control Officials, AAFCO).

The pet foods must contain no poisonous, harmful or deleterious substances, or pathogenic bacteria, which may be induced in the manufacturing, packing, distribution and storage. and be truthfully labeled, just like human food. Meanwhile, the pet food should be labeled and the ingredients must be listed, including the flavors, colors, and chemical preservative, in descending order of predominance by weight, and identified with generic names. Alfa Chemistry can provide robust analytical services to assure that there are no false or misleading statements on the label.