What is meat meal and is it good for my pet?

Meat meal is an ingredient that is used in pet food and is often misunderstood. Do an internet search and you will find all ends of the spectrum of it being an unhealthy filler material to it being a rich source of nutrition for dogs and cats. But what is fact and what is fiction? To understand this, we need to understand how meat meal is made.

HOW MEAT MEAL IS MADE

Meat meal is dried powdery material that is the end product from a rendering process. Rendering is a cooking method whereby meat materials are cooked, separated into solid and liquid components, and further dried or separated into useable ingredients for petfood and other animal feeds. The cooking process is important as it kills off any microorganisms that could otherwise cause the meat materials to spoil. Rendering provides a way to utilisze more of the animal materials and is an alternative to food wastage.

While meat meal is the end result of the solid component, the liquid component is also very useful as it contains tallow. Tallow is extracted from the liquid and is used extensively as an ingredient in dry petfood. Not only does tallow taste amazing to both dogs and cats, it also provides a strong source of essential fats such as Omega 6 fatty acids.

WHY IS MEAT MEAL OF BENEFIT?

Meat meals can be considered as high concentrated protein powder. They contain a high level and good quality source of protein. As well as protein, meat meals also have strong levels of amino acids, energy, minerals such as Calcium and Phosphorus, essential fatty acids and other vital nutrients.

QUALITY MATTERS

The quality and nutritional levels of the meat meal depends on the quality of the meat materials going into the rendering process. Therefore, there can be many grades of meat meals available in the petfood and animal feed industries.

At IVORY COAT, all the ingredients used in our products undergo strict quality checks and specifications, ensuring all of our products meet their product quality requirements and nutritional levels.

ALTERNATIVES TO MEAT MEAL

If for whatever reason you don’t feel comfortable feeding your pets foods that contain meal materials,  wet foods such as Ivory Coat are a great alternative and are also well known for their high quality, Australian made nutrition.