I'm posting this as information and not as a "stir the pot" thread. I have no problem with a good debate, but if it goes sour or get's personal, I'm asking in advance that it be locked.

I've been thru many many foods with Noel trying to find a quality food, reasonably priced and convenient that would keep away the yeasty ears and get rid of the pudding poops.

I was looking at a brand back in December Natures Recipe Farm Stand Selects which looked pretty good, but I was concerned about the animal digest as an ingredient and e-mailed them. Here is their reply:

December 12, 2007
Dear Cheryl,

Thanks for visiting our website and for your email.

The animal digest used in our pet food is completely safe. Organ meat is selected from healthy animals and then emptied of its contents. This material is then subjected to a process which breaks the tissue into simple, more easily digestible sugars and proteins. The result is very palatable and rich in amino acids.

We want to assure you that our products are made with nutritious, quality ingredients that meet the applicable standards and specifications of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Each of our products is processed and packed following strict quality control procedures that comply with the Good Manufacturing Practices established by the FDA. These procedures ensure that the resulting food will be wholesome and safe for your pet.

We hope that this information is helpful. We have sent complimentary coupons to you via postal mail.

Niki, Del Monte Foods Consumer Affairs
consumeraffairs@delmonte.com

I didn't try it because it was just as expensive as a premium brand I could get at Petco, but I no longer automatically think of beaks, wings or guts from unhealthy decomposed animals when I see "animal digest". If the company is reputable I think more in terms of healthy processed organ meat which is actually good for the dog.

I hope this helps put some minds at ease when they see animal digest. For me personally, I don't think it's an automatic death sentence anymore. If I saw animal digest in Ol' Roy, I would think differently than seeing animal digest in a top of the line brand by Purina or some other reputable companies.

I personally have no problem with "Animal Digest". It appears to be, basically, organs/entrails that have been cleaned. Even if it does have trace hair, hooves, feathers, etc. since (if we're thinking about natural diets) things like tissue and entrails as well as hair and feathers would be consumed by canids in the wild. Naturally, I'd always prefer to see a named animal (poultry, beef, etc.) but I don't think that things like Animal Digest or By Products should always be assumed to be a bad thing.

AAFCO DEFINITION: Animal Digest - material which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and un-decomposed animal tissue. The animal tissues used shall be exclusive of hair, horns, teeth, hooves and feathers, except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice and shall be suitable for animal feed.

i would think it be akin to feeding green tripe.

I have no problem with it...my boys love tripe, organ meat etc :)

The main issue that I have with Animal Digest is that brains and parts of the spinal cord could possibly be included. This is where Mad Cow disease is located... and how it is spread to other animals.

The fact that animal digest is 'chemically or enzymatically' processed kind of defeats any nutritional value it would have... at least in my books.

I don't know. It certainly wouldn't be top on my list.

I won't post the article intact here (its pretty gross), and I'm not sure if legislation has caught up with the gaps, but the meat we (humans) eat consume feed at risk for BSE. It's not just our pet's foods that contain things many of us find objectionable, these things are fed to the feed animals (cows, chickens, pork, etc.) we consume, as well. I find that I can live more comfortably not obsessing on this kind of thing when I can't currently afford to buy grass-fed organic beef :(

http://www.hpj.com/archives/2005/oct05/oct17/FDAwantstobancowbrainsspina.cfm

The term "animal digest" seems to leave open a lot of room for interpretation by a dog food company. I guess I would want to have a pretty high trust level in the company. For my own eating I avoid the whole issue as a vegetarian.

Yet another expert defines this as "a cooked-down broth" which can be made from unspecified parts of unspecified animals. The animals used can be obtained from almost any source and no control is in place over quality or contamination (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contamination). Any kind of animal can be included: "4-D animals" (dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughter)), goats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat), pigs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig), horses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse), rats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat), euthanized (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanize) at animal shelters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_shelter), restaurant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurant) and supermarket (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarket) refuse and so on."[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_digest#_note-1)Wikipedia
I would ask myself this question.. Why ? The company is just trying to rid itself of waste product. It's basically whatever falls to the floor in the slaughter house. It is the most inferior source of meat protein. Would you eat it.?
And trust Del Monte ?? LOL
What the giants of the Pet Industry do is mostly sell waste from human food operations. Because it can be anything( it just might be) no matter what your e-mail said.

I just did a little research and I believe that "Del Monte Foods" also makes "Kibbles and Bits" using "animal digest" on its ingredient list.

I am assuming that the "animal digest" that goes into Kibbles and Bits is the same animal digest that is going into Nature's Recipe.

If I am correct, then I would look at this animal digest in a entirely different light.

Just a thought.

I just did a little research and I believe that "Del Monte Foods" also makes "Kibbles and Bits" using "animal digest" on its ingredient list.

I am assuming that the "animal digest" that goes into Kibbles and Bits is the same animal digest that is going into Nature's Recipe.

If I am correct, then I would look at this animal digest in a entirely different light.

Just a thought.I think Del Monte Foods makes Ol Roy as well, however like ZenCat, I try not to obsess over it like I used to. Del Monte is a pretty reputable company. The problem I have with Ol Roy, Kibbles and Bits and the likes is it's full of filler. It's their bottom of the line food. I still feel it's made with clean ingredients just maybe not the most nutritional because it's full of filler. I feel the same about Purina. You can buy the bottom of the line which is probably safe to feed, but not the healthiest for your dog or you can go with the top of the line which is made with much healthier ingredients.

It's hard for me to believe that Purina or Del Monte that's been around forever would take a chance on intentionally putting nasty, unclean stuff into any of their products. I'm not saying they wouldn't, just saying I don't see why they would take the chance.

Yet another expert defines this as "a cooked-down broth" which can be made from unspecified parts of unspecified animals. The animals used can be obtained from almost any source and no control is in place over quality or contamination (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contamination). Any kind of animal can be included: "4-D animals" (dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughter)), goats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat), pigs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig), horses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse), rats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat), euthanized (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanize) at animal shelters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_shelter), restaurant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurant) and supermarket (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarket) refuse and so on."[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_digest#_note-1)Wikipedia
I would ask myself this question.. Why ? The company is just trying to rid itself of waste product. It's basically whatever falls to the floor in the slaughter house. It is the most inferior source of meat protein. Would you eat it.? And trust Del Monte ?? LOL
What the giants of the Pet Industry do is mostly sell waste from human food operations. Because it can be anything( it just might be) no matter what your e-mail said.Would I eat it? I probably eat alot of stuff that I wouldn't eat if I knew for a fact how it was processed. If I spent as much time researching human food as I did dog food, I would probably live forever. I love hot dogs, fried spam, fried bologna and I try not to think about what goes into those products lol. Frozen microwave dinners? I take one to work for lunch about twice a week. I can only imagine what goes into those or how they're processed. So yes, I would probably eat it if I felt a certain comfort level in the manufacturer.

Bottom line (for me anyway) is we don't know for sure about anything we feed ourselves or our dogs other than what we're told. I know a guy that worked in a plant that made the sausage patties for McDonalds. He said it was totally disgusting, but it taste good and he still eats a McDonalds sausage and biscuit on occasion. He said the process was clean, but just seeing whats thrown into the vat was gross.

I think you just put Micky D out of the breakfast business.... LOL

Yet another expert defines this as "a cooked-down broth" which can be made from unspecified parts of unspecified animals. The animals used can be obtained from almost any source and no control is in place over quality or contamination (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contamination). Any kind of animal can be included: "4-D animals" (dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughter)), goats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat), pigs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig), horses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse), rats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat), euthanized (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanize) at animal shelters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_shelter), restaurant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurant) and supermarket (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarket) refuse and so on."[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_digest#_note-1)Wikipedia
I would ask myself this question.. Why ? The company is just trying to rid itself of waste product. It's basically whatever falls to the floor in the slaughter house. It is the most inferior source of meat protein. Would you eat it.?
And trust Del Monte ?? LOL
What the giants of the Pet Industry do is mostly sell waste from human food operations. Because it can be anything( it just might be) no matter what your e-mail said.

Uplander, when I was researching "Animal Digest" I also saw the "experts" you refer to in your post (posting the same thing). This particular group of "experts" is still propagating the rumor that pet dogs and cats are also contained in dog food. I would recommend you read my recent update to the "Commercial Dog Food" thread in FAQ, which talks about the FDA investigation into whether euthanized pets are actually contained in pet food (they are not) and an explanation for the traces of phenobarbital that were found in some samples (not all) which started the rumor to begin with. The same investigation is now posted on the Animal Protection Institute website article ("What's Really In Pet Food") and replaces the statement in that article - made years ago - that pets are used to make pet food and the USDA and FDA don't care. It also explains the end products for euthanized pets, roadkill, etc. that are rendered (cosmetics, glue, etc.). If the API has removed this propaganda from their website, it might be worth thinking about why that is.

I'm not trying to sell anybody on kibble (heck, I'm no longer convinced pet food manufacturing is any more messed up than the human food industry!), but those who keep repeating the same anti-kibble propaganda over and over (in the same wording you find all over the internet) might consider doing the full research so you have current facts, and both sides of the picture.