Cellulose is used in animal nutrition to reduce calories and control blood sugar levels, sometimes also to aid digestion. However, this must be weighed against the general reduction in the digestibility of the food, increased stool volume, and reduced intestinal fermentation. This balance must be created very carefully, as often the content of proteins, fats, and other nutrients must then also be increased. However, the advantages of cellulose do not play a role, because an increased stool volume due to indigestible, nutrient-free cellulose and reduced fermentation in the gut are the price for it.
You can also spare your pet cellulose:
It's better to pay attention to your pet's weight, feed dogs and cats high-quality food, and always provide cats with cat grass.
This is our urgent recommendation!
Cold-pressed food:
Sounds wonderful. But it's not true.
It's only true in so far as no particularly high temperature is necessary for the pelleting process (i.e., the process in which the small food crumbs are pressed into a certain shape) – the term "cold-pressed food" comes from saving additional heat during the pellet pressing process.
But the entire production process of dry food requires more than just shaping the pellets.
During the manufacturing process, the food, in the form of a crumbly dough made from dried ingredients, is filled into a closed drum in which a roller runs. There are holes in the wall of this drum that are intended to give the dough or food its shape. The wall is very thick: due to the thickness of the drum wall, there is massive back pressure in the forming holes due to friction, which heats and compacts the food components so much that the binding agents become active (otherwise the individual pellets would crumble). It is impossible to achieve a bonding of the individual food components without a certain temperature being generated. Inside the pellets, a temperature of at least 90 °C develops, and on their outside, temperatures of at least 130°C. The smoother the pellet, the higher the pressing pressure, and thus also the temperatures that develop.
So, none of this is actually cold-pressed – nor is it "more natural" than other types of dry food.
Keep an overview: The truth about the meat content in dry food
Dry food for dogs is plentiful, so it's not easy to choose the right one for your furry friend. Often, misleading ingredient information is used to obscure the essential, for example, how much meat is really in the food. We'll show you how the meat content in dry food is calculated and what you need to pay attention to in order to choose the best food for your dog.
To assess the quality of dog food, as a responsible dog owner, pay close attention to the declared ingredients. Compound feed such as dry food is subject to mandatory labeling in accordance with feed regulations. This serves to protect consumers and animals by creating transparency and avoiding deception.
So, if a dry food package states that it contains up to 85% fresh meat, that initially sounds promising – but now you should pay attention!
"The truth behind well-known brands:
Many well-known brands use tricks to present their food in a positive light. But expensive does not automatically mean healthy and good.
Consider for yourself:
- Substitutes such as poultry protein, beef protein, and duck protein are used. But what's behind it? Often, these are inferior parts like beaks, bones, heads, and feathers - pure waste. To make it usable, it is chemically upgraded. This can lead to serious health problems in your animals, such as:
- Severe bad breath
- Gastrointestinal problems
- Digestive problems
- Excessive defecation
- Allergies
- Cellulose and other inferior ingredients are found in many foods.
- The stated fresh meat content in dry food is often a trick, as meat contains up to 70% moisture, which is lost during drying.
- Cold-pressed food is often no better than dry food, as it must be heated by law to neutralize germs.
These practices can severely affect your animals' health.
Inform yourself about the ingredients and manufacturing methods of your food. Your animals deserve only the best!
This is how the exact meat content in food is calculated.
It is legally stipulated that fresh meat cannot be processed directly into dry food for hygienic reasons. So, before the dry food is produced, the manufacturer either adds dried meat – or they use a special manufacturing process in which they add fresh meat and dry it before the actual dry food production.
It is important to note: fresh meat contains approx. 70% water, which is extracted from the meat during drying. So, if 1 kg of fresh meat is dried, approx. 350 g of dried meat remains. If you consider the drying process for a declared meat content of 70%, approx. 17% dried meat remains after the production process. So, if a dry food product states that it contains 70% fresh meat, this information is misleading!
How do misleading statements on feed come about?
Manufacturers of feed can choose different declaration variants. In the open declaration, the components of a recipe are listed with their percentage, for example: beef (25%), potatoes (24%), etc.
Semi-open declarations list the ingredients in order of their quantity, but without a specific measurement. Closed declarations only list feed groups, e.g., "meat and animal by-products." In this case, you will not learn anything about the exact composition.
Some feed manufacturers state the proportion of fresh meat they added before the start of feed production. So, if the manufacturer states "fresh chicken meat 60%" first, this refers to the raw meat that is still being processed. However, fresh meat contains 70% water, which must be deducted after drying. In this case, the "fresh chicken meat" should no longer be listed first in the composition.
Example of a misleading meat declaration in dry food
Composition: Duck (44%) (of which duck meat 25%, dried duck meat 17%, duck fat 2%), potatoes (24%), sweet potatoes (19%), duck jus, minerals, Jerusalem artichoke, chickpeas, flaxseed, tomatoes, Mediterranean herb mixture, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, black currants, elderberries, aronia berries, nettle, dandelion, ginseng, mannanoligosaccharides (probiotic MOS), fructooligosaccharides (probiotic FOS), Yucca Schidigera extract
Nutritional additives per kg:
Vitamins: Vitamin A (as retinyl acetate) 21,871 IU, Vitamin D3 (as cholecalciferol) 1,471 IU, Vitamin E (as alpha tocopherol acetate) 710 IU, Taurine 1,000 mg; Trace elements: Calcium iodate anhydrous 1.58 mg, Selenium 0.23 mg, Iron 89 mg, Copper 23 mg, Zinc 159.8 mg, Manganese 44.7 mg; Amino acids: DL-Methionine 2,126 mg, L-Carnitine
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Analytical constituents
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Protein
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21 %
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Fat
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9 %
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Moisture
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8 %
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Crude ash
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8 %
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Crude fiber
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3 %
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Calcium
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1.58 %
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Phosphorus
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0.95 %
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The statement "duck meat 25%" refers to the amount of fresh meat that was added to the food before drying. After production, approximately 6% dried meat remains.
At Kallisbest we offer:
- High-quality ingredients
- No substitutes or inferior ingredients
- Species-appropriate feeding and composition
As a small family business, we only want the best for your friend, for a long, healthy life.
For a healthy and happy diet for your pet!"
