Why Derivatives should be Banned…

Hello, you lovely Pet Parent, you!

This is the final email in the Weasel Words Trilogy – I do trilogies now 😀 – Then it’s back to the fun and games for a bit.

I’ve saved the worst until last… derivatives.

The Big Brand use of plant/animal derivatives should be banned or at the very least warning signs need to be added to the front of packets.

1. They’re nutritionally very, very, very poor.
2. You never have any clue what’s in there → unexpected reactions.

I’ve done a quick summary rant first with the full director’s cut rant below…

Nutritionally very, very poor

Derivatives (aka plant/vegetable/meat/animal derivatives) have little nutrition value in them because they’re cooked repeatedly at very high temperatures.

All the goodness is cooked right out of them.

Imagine cooking yesterday’s dinner at the highest temperature your oven offers.

And repeat that four times.

Is there any point eating that?

No Clue & Unexpected Reactions…

What goes in a barrel of derivatives changes with each batch.

Your dog could be getting an ingredient they’re allergic to with one batch but not in another.

Itching starts, itching stops etc

You have no clue what’s causing it.

And in fact, will probably rule out the food/treats actually causing the itching because your dog has had them before with no issues.

Still… Nutritionally very very poor

Derivatives (aka plant/vegetable/meat/animal derivatives) are literally the last scrapings, the equipment being hosed down last scrapings.

But that’s not what makes them terrible nutritionally.

It’s cooking over and over again at high temperatures.

This is done to kill off bacteria because they’re the last scrapings.

When using derivatives in dog food – every time a new part of the dog food making process happens the food has to be re-heated again. 

It’s usually cooked around four times at super-high temperatures.

(Shortcutting this process is one of the reasons there are so many bacteria in dog food recalls in the USA)

By the time your dog gets their food it’s been over-cooked so often it’s ‘denatured’.

Meaning – the bonds within the protein molecules have been broken down.

The protein no longer works properly.

So the protein provides very little of the nutrition it should.

The other main problem with derivatives is that you have no clue what’s in there so you get unexpected reactions.

Still… No Clue & Unexpected Reactions…

My friend’s grown-up daughter is allergic to shellfish.

Recently she had a few glasses of Prosecco while out at lunch with her parents.

She began itching and then her arms started swelling up.

Painful, scary and incredibly tough to watch helplessly as a parent.

My pal began looking into it and discovered the shells of crustaceans are sometimes used as finings.

Finings are used to help clear the cloudiness in wines, ciders and beers.

Yet he found no mention of shellfish on the label.

It’s a similar problem with derivatives…

Lumping it all together

Dogs as with humans are nearly all allergic or sensitive to something…

It just depends how severe the reaction and how common the ingredient.

Lumping different kinds of meats or plants together all in one batch is clearly a nightmare for pet parents that have dogs with known allergies.

Dogs with allergies must absolutely avoid products with derivatives.

Indeed that’s why many of you found Bounce and Bella – an escape from unknown nasties.

However it’s also an issue for those of us with dogs without known allergies.

Here’s why…

Crazed Itching – Crazed Thinking

Maybe milk thistles happen to have been added to this batch of plant derivatives. 

Your dog is allergic to them.

BUT – you have no clue your dog is allergic to milk thistles.

AND – you have no clue you are feeding them to your dog.

They suddenly go itching crazy and yet the food labelling hasn’t changed.

You think and think about what you’ve done differently, where have you been? What have you fed them? Fleas? Grass pollen? It can’t be the food – that’s the same as always.

The next bag of food you buy it’s not in there.

Maybe the next has a tiny amount of milk thistle but not enough to trigger your dog’s itching.

Then it’s in again. Your dog suddenly goes itching crazy again.

Then it’s not.

Etc

It drives you mad trying to logically work out the cause because the piece of the puzzle that would tell you is being hidden for a bit of extra bit of Big Brand profit.

Actually discovering the culprit would be like the finale of a Midsummer Murder revealing that someone from a neighbouring village did it that you’ve never even seen before.

‘Chicken and Country Vegetables’

If we look at our poster-child for Big Brand awful food ‘Chicken and Country Vegetables’ we can see how much is made up of unknown ingredients that put our dog’s health and well-being at risk.

55% Cereals
20% meat and animal derivatives (of which 4% chicken)
Derivatives of vegetable origin,
Oils and fats,
Glycerol,
Vegetables

At a guess based on the other ingredients the derivatives of vegetable origin (catchy name!) are probably about 15%-18% of the overall weight.

Therefore the derivatives make up about 35%-38% of the overall food.

We know there’s some chicken in there but overall about one-third of the food is completely unknown to us and there’s no way of finding out.

Shocking!

About 33% of that food’s ingredients are unknown.

One-third of what your dog is eating is completely unknowable!

Get into a great habit of checking ingredients so you can avoid avoid avoid derivatives – because they’re never going to declare them on the front of the packet!

That’s it, end of rant, I’m going to need a nap.

Don’t have nightmares – do have a lovely rest of your week,
Darren

PS

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All details are here: https://shop.bounceandbella.co.uk/collections/dog-food