Ken Lambrecht DVM

Medical Director Westside Family Pet Clinic

Presented March 24th, 2012

4th Annual Pets Reducing for Rescues Contest 2nd Annual Preventive Nutrition Fair

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TOP 10 PET FOOD LABEL FACTS

HOW TO READ A PET FOOD LABEL

FDA & AAFCO regulated Is a legal document

THE LUCKY 13!• 3 most concerning to pet owners

• 3 most important to board certified veterinary nutritionists

• 4 potentially helpful & interesting areas

• 3 Supplements (Probiotics, Fish oils & joint supplements)

WHY DO WE AS PET OWNERS WORRY? Melamine disaster of 2007? Distrust of “big box” companies Human food issues (salmonella, e coli

etc) We want our pets to live a long and

healthy life! Reading pet food & supplement labels is

TOUGH work!

Bug LANCE

MY BUDDIES!

PET FOOD IS AN EMOTIONAL ISSUE!

TEAM WORK!

OUR ROLE AS VETERINARIANS

1. Trusted advisors/scientists2. Prevent interactions/side effects3. Above all do no harm4. Preventive5. 70% of pet owners consult their veterinarian about pet food

3 MOST CONCERNING TO PET OWNERS

1. Are grains bad?2. What is best protein source? 3. Are “byproducts” safe?

WHAT DO DOGS NEED? Omnivorous Not apex predators like wolf (more like

foxes) Very adaptable as species Variation in breeds (over 268!) Has eaten what man has given him/her

since domestication

WHAT DO CATS NEED?

True or obligate carnivores Natural diet mice birds & lizards,

crickets etc Almost 58% protein Evolutionarily have not changed in over

9000 years! Have always eaten what they want!

(what they can kill)

GRAINS (CORN, WHEAT, RICE) Quality How allergic are they? Processing needs to be defined

THE GREAT GRAIN DEBATE

opponents proponents

CORN filler poor protein source poorly digestible causes allergies

corn meal is good source of protein

SOY cheap source of inferior protein

Fine if used w/ complementary grains

WHEAT allergenic not allergenic

DRY PROTEIN SOURCES (% AS FED) Poultry by product meal 65 to 70% Chicken meal 63 to 67% Fish meal 60 to 65% Corn gluten meal 60 to 64% Meat & bone meal 50 to 55% Soybean meal 46 to 50%

MOST COMMON ADVERSE REACTIONS = ALLERGIES

Reference: Verlinden A, Hesta M, Millet S et al Food allergy in cats & dogs a review Crit Review Food Sci Nutrtion 2006;46:259-273

Cats (n=89)

1. Beef (20%)2. Dairy (14.6%)3. Fish (13%)4. Lamb (6.7%)5. Poultry (4.5%)6. Barley/wheat

(4.5%)

Dogs (n= 198)

1. Beef (36%)2. Dairy (28%)3. Wheat (15%)4. Egg (10%)5. Chicken

(9.6%)6. Lamb (6.6%)7. Soy (6%)

WE ARE REALLY TALKING ABOUT IS OVER PROCESSING

Corn meal Polenta Whole corn High fructose corn syrup

SHOULD WE WORRY?

3 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS ON LABEL TO BOARD CERTIFIED VETERINARIANS

American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) statement (Feeding trial or meets profile at minimum)

Appropriate life stage (growth/location, maintenance)

Amount to feed (calories/cup & calculations)

4. AAFCO LABELS

AAFCO “Feeding study or trial done” = BEST

“Meets established AAFCO levels” = GOOD

No statement = BEWARE No statement but “To be used under

supervision of a veterinarian” = RX FOODS

AAFCO FEEDING STUDY

At least 8 dogs At least 6 months Blood work, weights, stool quality Only way to tell protein quality

(digestibility)

5. CORRECT AMT TO FEED BASED ON AGE, CALORIC DENSITY & ACTIVITY

Feeding charts not accurate Calories not always listed on bag Only crude protein levels listed

6. LIFE STAGE STATEMENTS & LIGHT FORMULAS Growth/lactation Maintenance Light formulas (less than 320 Cal/cup) Senior, others?

4 THINGS POTENTIALLY HELPFUL/INTERESTING

TO ALL OF US

7. Ingredients (major & minor)8. Manufacturer details9. Natural/Organic/Human Grade

claims10. Preventive value (fish oils, joint

supplements, protein level, anti tartar etc)

7. INGREDIENTS In order by weight Meat source in first three Salt divider Beware of Ingredient “splitting”

MINOR VS MAJOR Salt divider

8. MANUFACTURER DETAILS Phone number Ability to track & recall Does internal controls & quality checks Has Board certified veterinary

nutritionist on staff Answers your questions to you & your

veterinarian’s satisfaction!

9. ORGANIC, HOLISTIC, HUMAN GRADE There is currently no FDA definition for

Organic, holistic or human grade for pet food

10. PREVENTIVE VALUE Fish oils Glucosamine, Perna Green lipped

mussel etc Probiotics Correct caloric density /Protein level

WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO PREVENT? Overweight dogs (even 10% is not

Ideal!) Dental disease Arthritis Cancer Immune system challenges

PREVENTING & TREATING OBESITY

FISH OILS (EPA & DHA) Need to know dose to be anti-

inflammatory 20mg/lb of EPA per day

60 lb dog will need 1200 mg typical human capsule is 180mg will need to give 7 daily or feed Rx diet

Sources: Can get at Wal-Mart, Costco etc or in Rx foods

Note: flax does not = fish oil (EPA & DHA)

JOINT SUPPLEMENTS Consumerlab.com Glucosamine (not enough in food by

law) Perna Green lipped Mussel (not

regulated) Chondroitin sulfate (expensive)

Use veterinary label products only

PROBIOTICS LIVE organisms (need to know which

ones) Killed by heat Dose very important 5 billion

CFU/capsule best Human products up to 450 billion!

THE TEAM’S FAVORITE REFERENCES Feed Your Pet Right Marion Nestle Chow Hounds Dr Ernie Ward Pub Med/peer reviewed Consumerlab.com Pet label 101 website

DON’T WORRY!

Or…

Worry as much about ideal weight as ingredients!

Ideal weight pets live a 15% longer life, have less pet food expense & fewer health problems

PETS REDUCING FOR RESCUES 2012 57 participants in 2011 (37 dogs & 20 cats) DCHS, FOF & Grey Muzzle Bad Dog Frida & Mad Cat WFPC will donate $1 per pound lost Form Dog Packs & Cat prides until 3/31/12!

Clover

Thank you for your attention! Questions?

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