What are Animal Derivatives, and why are they AWFUL?

Today I’m clambering onto my high horse and talking animal derivatives…

What are animal derivatives?

Animal or meat derivatives can legally come from ANY part of an animal.

Beaks, heads, claws etc. they all get dumped in the leftover bucket and ground into a usable ‘ingredient’.

But even worse they can come from ANY animal… and you don’t legally need to be told which animal (or animals)!

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Different Batch means Different Animals!

Some manufacturers try to put our minds at rest (if we actually manage to find the ingredients on the back of the pack) by saying their treats are animal derivatives with, for instance, minimum 70% pork.

Which says 70% of what they used came from the pig-meat leftovers bucket.

BUT that means 30% came from whichever meat leftovers they could get their hands on cheaply for that day’s batch!

AND that 30% can come from different meat leftovers every time you buy.

e.g. Your first purchase:

70% from the pig leftover bucket
10% from cow leftovers
15% from goat leftovers
5% from fish leftovers

e.g. Your second purchase:

70% from the pig leftover bucket
15% from deer leftovers
15% from shellfish leftovers

And BIGGER…

The use of derivatives is hidden away from us.

Manufacturers only need to legally say anything about them in the ingredients hidden away in the small print on the back of the pack – where they hope you won’t find them.

And even BIGGERER…

And worse than that, any manufacturer can say on the front of the pack, for instance, ‘only two ingredients’ yet because they’re made from derivatives there could really be any number of ingredients in there.

So not only are the real ingredients being hidden from us, we are actively being misinformed.

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The Solution…

Always read the Composition which is the legally required list of ingredients on the back of the packet or on the website.

Don’t believe the hype on the front of the packet or the website – go straight to the composition/ingredients list where the manufacturers have to tell you the truth.

(Although even there it’s couched in weird language designed to keep us, consumers, in the dark).

Simpler solution?

Stick with us – yay!

Because we don’t and will never sell any products that contain derivatives of any kind (e.g. animal/meat/plant/vegetable).

And we make it simple for you to check by putting our ingredients out there and easy for you to see at a glance.

We’ll never be perfect, but as a company fixated on our dog’s health and your peace of mind – never including derivatives anywhere – is one of the easiest decisions we ever made.

PS
If you’re new to us (or haven’t used the offer before) then you can get 50% off your first order of treats! It’s easy, all the details are here: https://shop.bounceandbella.co.uk/pages/blog50