Product Label and How Should it Be Read? Part 1
The product description is the first part of the label and provides basic information about who the product is intended for. Even here, one must be careful about the false attractiveness of the product.
The product description is the first part of the label and provides basic information about who the product is intended for. Even here, one must be careful about the false attractiveness of the product. In America, many years ago, a recipe was drawn up to show all the ways in which it is possible to imitate animal feed. Food composed according to the 'old shoe' recipe and contained 10% protein, 6.5% fat, 2.4% crude fiber and 68% moisture. The ingredients of the recipe were:
- old leather work shoes,
- used motor oil,
- ground coal and water.
Of course, the animals were not fed with this, this was just to show that each ingredient and its quality is important and that the percentages alone do not say much in the end.
The product description is the first part of the label
It provides basic information about who the product is intended for. Even here, one must be careful about the false attractiveness of the product. There are many terms that food manufacturers know are extremely attractive to customers such as
- natural,
- balanced,
- premium,
- excellent,
- complete,
- rich,
- delicious...
what is important to note is that these are all arbitrary statements by each producer, because there is no legal provision which criteria the food must meet. We already wrote about premium hrana za-pse so that we don't repeat ourselves now. Then there are descriptions from which you can easily conclude that this food is just right for your dog
- for small breeds,
- medium breeds,
- for retrievers,
- bulldogs,
- Maltese,
- sterilized bitches,
- active adult dogs,
- bitches with puppies,
- puppies of large breeds
- for beautiful hair,
- healthy teeth,
- for dogs with gastrointestinal problems,
- for weight control, etc.
Natural food for dogs? Recently, what is very fashionable to use when it comes to food for people and dogs is the description -
natural dog food. In order for food to be labeled natural, it must not contain any additives. The only problem is that everything of value contained in the 'natural', by cooking and other industrial, aggressive processes that process food, is partly changed and partly destroyed. Then it is added. And if any synthetic compound is added to the food, then it is no longer natural. Look for all the terms you remember from chemistry (e.g. manganese sulfate monohydrate or methylsulfonylmethane) on the declaration in the composition of the food and if you see any - the food is not natural. And then another series of epithets that every dog owner who cares should think about.
- complete and balanced,
- complete
- guarantees the optimal amount of all nutrients substances.
What is important to understand here is that vitamins and minerals, essential amino acids, essential fatty acids are added to food in order to meet the prescribed required amounts. And that these synthetic compounds are not as accessible and usable by the body as those originally contained in food. Often, the food is composed and called balanced and complete only on the basis of chemical analysis, without research that would include the actual feeding of dogs with a certain food, therefore it satisfies the idea of a complete meal only on paper. The sequel will follow soon...