We want to feed our pet the healthiest food possible. While shopping for dog food or cat food, the first thing that you should look for is the first ingredient on the bag or can. It should be meat, chicken or fish not grains or byproducts. Most byproducts are considered unfit for human consumption. Why would you want to feed these to our pets? So what are by-products? Don’t get too grossed out but here they are:

Feet
Backs
Livers
Lungs
Heads
Brains
Spleen
Frames
Kidneys
Stomachs
Intestines
Undeveloped eggs
But there are exceptions…
Giblets (livers, hearts, gizzards and necks) as well as other organs can be sold as edible meats or used generically to make hot dogs, bologna and sausage. Think of this when you bite into that hot dog this holiday weekend.

What makes some by-products edible (and others not) isn’t just a matter of what they are but how they’re handled after slaughter. For example, giblets that are not refrigerated immediately after slaughter but stored for up to 24 hours cannot be sold for human consumption.
Yet they can still be legally used for making dog  food or cat food.
Likewise, dead-on-arrival animals or other condemned parts that have been declared inedible and unfit for human consumption can still be used for making pet food.  Thanks to DogFoodAdvisor for providing some of this information.

Read the labels carefully when selecting dog food or cat food. It’s worth it to spend a little more money for quality food for your pet.

Remember, pets are family!

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