In recent months there has been a lot of talk on television and radio about ways to save money. The economic crisis has been biting hard. With inflation continuing to rise and the general cost of living sky rocketing, people are looking for ways to cut back, economise and spend less. And for many pet parents, that may mean considering a change to ‘cheap’ or cheaper pet food.
When it comes to feeding ourselves and our families we have options. We can look to switch from branded food labels like Heinz, to supermarket own-brand labels. These cheaper alternatives can offer very similar products for a fraction of the cost. The comparison process is relatively easy. We can see what is in each product by reading the labels. We can then compare the taste of each and make our choice. If we like the taste of the cheaper product and are happy with the ingredients, then we simply switch and save! We are eating the same product but in a different package for a fraction of the cost.
Cheap at Half the Price?!
Now, lets compare this analogy to pet food. On initial inspection it would appear to be same proposition. If your current dog food costs £50 a bag and you switch to a ‘cheap’ dog food at £25 for the same size bag, that’s a winner isn’t it?! Surely all you need to look out for on any bag of pet food is that it is nutritionally ‘Complete’?
However, this is where the problems can start. It is not that simple and straightforward. There can be serious, unforeseen consequences to do with your pet’s health as well as financial ramifications.
Moreover, mainstream media (TV, Radio, Newspapers etc) have exacerbated the situation. They have been promoting the idea of switching to ‘cheap’ pet food to save money, with no ill effects to pet health. The crux of their belief, one that is supported by some Vets, is that so long as a pet food is labelled ‘Complete’, it contains everything the pet needs to survive. (Note, I say Survive. Not Thrive, which is what we as pet parents surely want?!) ‘Complete’ is a bare minimum requirement, not the pinnacle of nutrition.
What is ‘Complete’?
Whilst it is true, a nutritionally complete diet is very important, it is not the only consideration. A ‘Complete’ diet means the food contains balanced amounts of protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins and minerals etc. The European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF) describes Complete as:
Pet food which, by reason of its composition, is sufficient for a daily ration (Regulation (EC) No 767/2009)
The term ‘Complete’ however, does not give any indication or guarantee as to the quality of the ingredients used. Furthermore, the consistency of ingredients from one production batch to the next is not specified. Nor is the method of processing of those ingredients. All of these points have a considerable bearing on the finished product and how that pet food may affect the health of your pet.
Indeed this was the subject of a 2019 report* on UK pet food. The report analysed the ingredients lists of the 1,025 wet and dry pet foods available in British Supermarkets and on Amazon’s Bestsellers list at the time. It was found that 95% of the foods available from Big Brands do not disclose exact ingredients.
Furthermore 85% of super market own-label dog foods and almost two thirds of Big Brand dog foods list Meat & Animal Derivatives as an ingredient.
Ingredient Consistency in ‘Cheap’ Pet Food
Imagine I were to say to you that your dinner this evening is Chicken and Rice with Vegetables. You might imagine a piece of chicken, a pile of rice and a portion of vegetables on a plate. That would be a fair and reasonable conclusion.
Now, imagine you are walking down the pet food aisle at your local supermarket. You see a bag of ‘cheap’ dog food that is half the price of the good quality food you currently feed. You have fed this ‘good food’ for a number of years. Your dog has been healthy as the food suits your dog. However, as money is getting tight, you decide to buy a bag of the ‘cheap’ food to feed your dog. After all it is ‘Complete’ and it is Chicken and Rice flavour with vegetables, the same as their current food.
The issue is that labelling regulations only require a minimum of 4% of the ingredients detailed on the front label to be in the food. So that could mean only 4% Chicken, 4% Rice and 4% Vegetables.
If we think back to that imaginary dinner plate of Chicken, Rice and Vegetables, that means 88% of that plate is not what you thought it would be. The reality is, it could consist of almost anything that fits the vague terminology used on the ingredients list.
What are Meat & Animal Derivatives?
Manufacturers of cheap dog food and cat food use terms such as Meat and Animal Derivatives (also known as Mystery Meats!) and Cereals on their ingredients lists. This allows them to chop and change the ingredients used based on what is cheapest at the time of production. Or what is most readily available etc. A perfectly good and sensible business model. But not one, that from 15 years experience in the pet food sector, is beneficial to our pets.
Inconsistent ingredients that chop and change from one production batch to the next offer no digestive stability to our pets. Furthermore, the phrase Meat & Animal Derivatives gives absolutely no guarantee as to the quality of the meat used. Whilst this may not be an issue for some pets with a robust digestion, I have found from experience, that more often than not it is an issue.
Going back to the earlier analogy, you buy the cheap dog food and take it home to feed your dog. As is good practice, you gradually introduce it to your dog over a week or so. This is because a sudden change in diet can in itself, have adverse affects on digestion and overall health.
Best case scenario, you may be lucky and the ingredients used in that bag suit your dog. They continue to eat and poop as normal. Worst case scenario, the ingredients do not suit your dog and they becomes ill. This could very easily be due to an adverse food reaction from the unspecified ingredients. i.e. not the chicken, rice or veg making up the legally required minimum of 12% of the food (4% Chicken, 4% Rice, 4% Vegetables). But something unspecified in the remaining 88% of the ingredients.
Cheap Pet Food Roulette
What’s worse, is that even in the best case scenario where your dog is happy, healthy and settled on the ‘cheap’ food, that can all change when you buy the next bag.
You can return to the same shop. Buy the same brand, same bag/tin, same flavour and same size of food. But if that bag/tin is from a different production batch, it could have up to 88% different ingredients to the previous bag. The result being a sudden, unexpected change in diet.
The 4% chicken could be supplemented with Beef. The 4% Rice could be lost amongst a load of wheat. If Beef and Wheat are ingredients that do not suit your dog, then this could make them very ill indeed. Unexplained diarrhoea or a sudden skin irritation could be two common outcomes.
However, as most pet owners are not aware of these vague labelling regulations and what they actually mean for pets and their health, a situation like this can often end up with a trip to the Vets. Afterall, you hadn’t changed what you fed your dog, you’d bought the ‘same’ food. They must have ‘just got ill out of the blue!‘ Or so you think…..
So off to the Vets you go and promptly fork out £50 plus for a consultation and possible medication to remedy a dose of diarrhoea. Or a sudden skin irritation. Or any number of other ailments that can be linked to adverse food reactions. Suddenly ‘cheap’ pet food isn’t so cheap……
Quality of Ingredients
Now that you have a better understanding of pet food labelling and furthermore, the ways in which vague terminology can hide a multitude of sins, lets look at the main ingredients themselves. And the mostly costly…. Proteins.
Lets take our classic, chicken based dog food. A chicken is a whole animal, made up of many parts. Not all of which we, as humans would eat. What usually happens with a chicken once it has been slaughtered is that the quality cuts of muscle meat (breast, legs, thighs etc) are removed for the human food chain. This leaves the carcass. Invariably, it is this carcass that makes its way into the pet food chain. As you can see from the picture, there is not much meat on a carcass.
Processing Pet Food
To incorporate the carcass into a pet food it would normally be rendered. Simply put, rendering is cooking at a high temperature. The end result of this process is meat meal or dehydrated protein. This will be in the form of a dry powder. The meat powder and remaining ingredients are then combined and cooked again. You now have your finished product.
There are some nutritional benefits to rendering. For example, the resulting powder is more nutrient dense per gram. However, this can be outweighed by the fact that the protein structure is denatured. This effects digestibility and bio-availability (how easily the food can absorbed into the body) etc.
It is worth noting that there are a variety of different rendering processes, some better than others. Rendering is used in a wide range of pet foods. From cheap/poor quality foods to good quality foods. Rendering is the most popular method of production for pet food today.
Toxins
Protein is the hardest ingredient for a body to digest. This process of digestion naturally creates toxic by-products/free radicals. The poorer the quality the protein, the harder it is for the body to digest it. The harder it is to digest, the more natural toxins there are in the body.
These toxins are generally burnt-off in a fit and healthy pet during the course of their normal metabolic processes and activities. However, if the pet is not fit & healthy to begin with, or they have very high levels of these toxins in their body, their system can become overwhelmed. These excess toxins can then contribute towards a variety of general heath issues within the pet’s body. For example, skin and coat problems, ear problems, eye problems, digestive issues, behavioural concerns etc.
Now think of any flavour of dog or cat food you like (Lamb, Turkey, Beef, Fish etc) and the same rule applies. The good bits go to the human food change and the rest goes into pet food.
Well, not all pet food…….
Better Ingredients, Better Food
There is another side to pet food though. There are foods that use fresh meat in their ingredients. This gives better smell, flavour and digestibility to the food. Foods that use a high portion of fresh meat in their make-up will often undergo a steam cooking process. This steaming process is much kinder to the protein. As a result, it is easier for the body to digest and absorb it’s nutrients.
However, good pet foods do not have to be steamed. Rendering and cold pressing are other common production processes.
Consequently, thanks to better ingredients and digestibility, the body is expending less energy to gain more nourishment from the food eaten. As a result, the feeding quantities are normally lower when compared to ‘cheap’ pet foods, that use poorer quality protein. So the cost per kilo to buy a better quality food may be higher but the actual feeding cost in real terms can often be lower.
Furthermore, toxin levels are lower as the feeding portions are smaller and the food is more digestible! All other things being equal, a pet with less toxins running wild about it’s body will be healthier and happier than one which is over-run with toxins.
Most importantly, a pet that is generally healthy and fed on a better quality, suitable food, will spend less time at the Vets with food related issues! And less Vet visits mean more money in your pocket at the end of the day!
False Economy?
Cheap food is generally cheap for a reason. Poorer quality ingredients, inconsistent ingredients, lower levels of nutritional value, cheaper processing methods etc. All of which invariably lead to poorer digestibility, requiring higher feeding quantities and as a result, create more natural toxins in the body. These in turn create a greater likelihood of ill health on an ongoing, albeit intermittent basis (depending on when the ingredients change without your knowledge).
Quality food (the term hypoallergenic could also be used here) may cost more per kilo but will generally have lower feeding quantities. This can be down to better quality ingredients, kinder production methods and higher ingredient proportions i.e. not just the 4% meat required by law when stating the flavour on the label. These can all make the actual cost to feed less than expected. Often, it can be cheaper to feed a better quality food than a ‘cheap’ pet food as a result of these lower feeding portions.
Furthermore, taking into account the massively reduced likelihood of sporadic illness (caused by randomly changing ingredients) and higher toxin levels (resulting from poorer digestibility), it is easy to see that Vets visits could be reduced considerably.
In Conclusion
Pet food comes in many forms. From very cheap to very expensive with a whole host of options in between. But don’t think you need to spend loads to get good quality!
Talk to your local pet food experts. This is most likely going to be your local pet shop. Pet shops deal with pet food on a daily basis. As a result, they are best placed to advise on the various options available.
I appreciate that we all have different financial constraints and considerations. What is affordable for one person may not be affordable for the next. That said, I encourage you to get proper information and advice on what might be best for your pet. Don’t just pick up the cheapest bag/tin you can see and think that it will be OK as it is Complete. There is, as you now know, much more to pet food than that…..
Every Question Deserves an Answer
So to answer the question this article poses, ‘Should ‘Cheap’ Pet Food come with a Health Warning?’ I believe that yes, based on the considerably increased chances of intermittent health problems as described, often requiring Veterinary treatment, it most definitely should.
However, that is not to say that some pets will not be OK on cheap pet food. Some might appear to be fine. It is the probability of random illness that is increased. It is this I want to make people aware of. As a result of this awareness, should illness arise, pet food can be included as a possible cause and consideration. As a result, you could avoid an unnecessary and costly trip to the Vets.
Having helped thousands of pets and their owners since 2007 with all sorts of food-related health issues, I have had first hand experience of the problems so called cheap pet food can cause. Conversely, I have seen the health benefits of a change from these cheap foods to better quality pet food.
A Parting Thought
One final thought to leave you with if you are feeding a good quality food and considering a change, is as follows: You do not always see the problems that feeding good food prevents. That is until you change the food and the problems can then start to appear.
If you would like to read more about pet food and feeding in general, as well as many other pet related articles, check out our Blog!
To see some our range of hypoallergenic foods, just click here to learn about Teepee, Easterbrooks and our new budget friendly food K9- Elemental!
Pet food labelling rules are set by legislation from a retained EU Regulation (767/2009). This is part of UK law. The FEDIAF (The European Pet Food Trade Body) guidelines were put in place to simplify the regulation. To read the FEDIAF labelling code of practice click here.
*Source: Paws.com UK Dog Food Transparency Report 2019.
