Four major categories of substances that adjust the protein index of dog food

Substance 1: Various purified protein powders

Plant-purified protein powders: corn protein, soybean protein, wheat protein (gluten) Prion), potato (potato) protein, pea protein;

Animal purified protein powder: whey protein powder, certain meat hydrolyzed protein,

PS: Different dog foods have different labeling habits. Some are "X protein" and some are "X protein powder", which are all the same ingredients.

Substance 2: Various beans

Complete beans: peas, lentils, chickpeas, various beans, etc.

By-product: soybean meal (also known as soybean protein powder, and soybean protein peptide powder for human consumption, the production process and technology are different, please do not confuse)

Substance 3: Others

Example: beer yeast powder

Substance 4: Melamine

Poison protein.

Various purified protein powders

Plant protein powders:

Corn gluten powder, soybean protein powder, wheat protein (gluten) powder, potato (potato) protein powder, Pea protein powder

Advantages:
Lower cost protein source

Disadvantages:

① Dog’s gastrointestinal capacity is low in absorbing plant protein

Example: Suppose dog food A contains 30% protein, and this 30% is 20% meat protein + 10% plant protein. If the dog’s absorption rate of plant protein is 60% (this is an arbitrary number example, it is real There is no relevant information on the absorption rate), then the actual protein content of dog food A for dogs is equivalent to dog food B with only 26% protein from pure meat and eggs.

② Excessive nitrogen-containing wastes put pressure on the kidneys

Plant protein is a low-quality protein, and dogs’ ability to digest plant protein is much weaker than that of humans. Those proteins that are not absorbed eventually become nitrogenous waste, which needs to be excreted through the kidneys, which indirectly causes kidney work pressure.

For dogs with healthy kidneys, there will be no adverse effects in the short term. However, the kidneys continue to operate at such a high load for a long time, which increases the probability of disease or malfunction in middle-aged and elderly dogs, that is, renal failure.

People can also suffer from kidney failure, which is why human doctors will advise patients with kidney failure to reduce their total protein intake, choose high-quality protein (meat, egg and milk protein), and strictly control plant protein. Ingestion.

Why do dogs often add various plant protein powders to their food?

① First of all, we need to know that if a certainIn dog food, the protein basically comes from meat, and its cost is quite high. For example, the protein of fresh whole duck only contains 15%. To make a dog food with a protein content of 25-30% without adding other purified proteins or high-protein ingredients, if it relies entirely on whole duck, each kilogram of dog food needs Design 1.7-2 pounds...

As for purified plant protein powder, the higher-grade plant proteins have a protein content of 80-90%. In other words, in one pound of dog food, 1000 grams of whole duck can be used to achieve the 30% protein value. You can easily get it by using 167-187 grams of plant protein powder (lower grades will use more).

Analysis of various types of plant protein powder

Corn gluten powder

Price:2.2-2.3 per catty

Protein content:≥60%

Source: By-products left after processing corn starch

Notes:

① Corn gluten meal itself has no other problems except for its low digestibility and the fact that some dogs are allergic to corn. Therefore, it is not only used in pet food but also in breeding. Industry is also widely used;

② Hidden dangers come from warehousing and production of raw materials. Corn is one of the foods most likely to produce aflatoxin. Especially as a feed raw material, it is difficult for us to guarantee its storage conditions and storage time, which further increases the probability of "toxins" being produced.

List of dog foods containing corn gluten meal:

Brazil Taotao (Brazil)

Oudiyi (Belgium)

Guanneng (foreign brand made in China)

Sibei Liang (foreign brand made in China)

Oudiyi (Belgium)

Soy protein powder

The soy protein powder here is actually soybean meal. Soybean purified protein peptide powder for human consumption is much more expensive than meat. There is no need to risk thankless efforts to add it when making dog food.

Wheat protein (gluten) powder

Wheat protein (gluten) powder is one of the more conscientious among various types of plant proteins. Because gluten flour is not cheap, it is widely used in the human food industry (it is included in the bread eaten outside, and it can increase the stringiness and toughness of the bread).

The one on the left of the screenshot is 350 yuan for 50 pounds, and the one on the right is 18 yuan for 2 pounds. The market price is also 7-9 yuan per pound.

Protein content:80-90%

Source:Taking advantage of the fact that protein easily clumps when exposed to water, the wheat flour is washed with water to remove the starch, leaving behind a product.

Points to note:

If you choose wheat protein as a plant protein in dog food, it is already a better choice. As long as it is within the normal shelf life and not expired, it will be fine.

List of dog foods containing wheat protein powder:

Baifu (Belgium): Gluten powder (wheat protein)

Royal (foreign brand made in China): gluten (wheat protein)

Guanneng (foreign brand made in China): wheat protein powder

Potato (potato) protein powder

This is the price of domestic potato protein powder, one kilogram. It can be seen that, at least in China, the price of potato protein powder is on the high side. Therefore, it stands to reason that if you choose potato protein powder for domestic dog food, it is better to choose meat powder to save costs.

Domestic potato protein is mainly used in the pharmaceutical tablet and capsule industry, and a small part is used in the food industry. From this, we can also see the reason for the high price.

Content:10:1

10:1 is not a content ratio, but means that 10 parts of raw materials produce 1 part of product. The product also does not have a clear ratio of protein content. From this point of view, the feasibility of using potato protein in dog food production in China is very low. A small number of imported dog foods contain potato protein, which may be caused by the differences between the foreign potato deep processing industry and the domestic one.

Examples of dog food containing potato protein powder:

Tianhengbao (formerly Snow Mountain, United States)

Pea protein powder

Price:2.3-2.5 yuan per pound

Protein content: About 65%

Source: By-products of pea deep processing

Industrial applications: chicken and duck breeding, special breeding, pet feed, livestock and poultry feed

Points to note:

The storage conditions and storage time of feed raw materials can be avoided by ensuring fresh raw materials instead of moldy raw materials

List of dog foods containing pea protein powder:

Blue Buffalo (USA)

Summary:

For security reasons, it is recommended (> stands for "priority over")

Gluten/potato protein ＞ Pea protein ＞ Soybean meal ＞Zein

Ranking analysis:

① Gluten and domestic potato protein are basically human consumption grade, and their safety level is much higher than feed grade raw materials

② Pea protein is feed grade, but the level of aflatoxin produced by peas is much lower than that of corn, so it is safer

③ Soybean meal has a much lower probability and content of toxins than corn gluten

④ Zein is one of the allergens of dogs and one of the raw materials most likely to produce aflatoxin, so it ranks last

Animal protein powder:

Whey protein powder:

This is a controversial animal protein supplement.

① If you think that the milk protein in it refers to the protein extracted from goat milk, then I can only say that you are too naive~

The cost of goat milk is much higher than that of cow milk, with the price being around 200 per kilogram. Even pet milk powder generally uses milk protein to increase the protein ratio of milk powder, let alone dog food?

② Protein type problem. Parents who have studied milk protein must know that certain types of milk protein still put a little pressure on the absorption and digestion of the dog's gastrointestinal tract. The gastrointestinal tract is too weak, and dogs that cannot adapt will have soft and loose stools (non-lactose factors);

③ Lactose problem. Whey is actually a yellow-green dilute solution containing lactose, protein, minerals and fat. In other words, lactose is present in whey! Unless the whey is further processed to remove the lactose; if the whey is simply dried, the lactose will still remain in the whey protein powder.

Whether lactose has been removed depends on the degree of processing of the product. Most dogs are lactose intolerant, and lactose in milk can easily cause loose stools. This is why Ping An Mama has eliminated milk protein ingredients from the beginning of the dog food formula design.

However, because whey protein powder is added to dog food, the actual proportion is small, only a few percent, and the probability of soft stools is much lower. This is why many dog ​​foods use this ingredient.

A certain meat hydrolyzed protein

What is hydrolyzed protein:

Meat, etc., are decomposed at a constant temperature after adding protease, allowing the protein contained in the meat to enter the liquid, and then After filtration and drying, the hydrolyzed protein powder is obtained.

Evaluation:

Don’t think it’s unreliable when you see “hydrolyzed protein”.

Hydrolyzed protein actually just uses biological "enzymes" to "digest" the protein in advance. This digested protein enters the stomach again and is easy to absorb and digest.

However, the controversial point is not "process", but "raw materials"!

Whether this protein is reliable or not depends mainly on the raw materials. I have studied a very professional "meat protein" purification and processing process. Basically, the liquid after "biological enzymatic hydrolysis" directly enters the drying process after degreasing and deslag.

So, if the production raw materials contain some harmful substances, they will inevitably follow the liquid into the drying process.

"Hydrolyzed protein" and raw materials are the factors that parents really need to worry about.

There are also some dog foods that use not dried "hydrolyzed protein powder" but "slurry" before drying... Then, we have to worry about preservatives in this kind of food, because the liquid pulp will come out. Finally, if no preservatives are added, it may go bad before it cools down on hot days.

Hydrolyzed protein generally uses slaughterhouse scraps and other wastes, because for good meat, there is no need to go through such a process again, and the energy consumption cost of the drying step is not low. Dehydrating it directly to make meat powder is more cost-effective than doing it this way...

List of dog foods containing certain hydrolyzed meat proteins:

Negis (Belgium): Hydrolyzed chicken protein

Dr. Claude (Germany): Hydrolyzed protein

ProBiotic LIVE (Germany): Hydrolyzed Chicken Protein

Wellness (USA): Hydrolyzed Chicken Protein

Baifu (Belgium): Hydrolyzed chicken protein

Odeyi (Belgium): Hydrolyzed poultry protein

UEFA Champions League (Belgium): Dehydrated animal protein

Ada (Belgium): Hydrolyzed chicken protein