Insights From Our Experts
Learn about what AAFCO is and what must happen during a typical AAFCO feeding trial. This bulletin explains how we expand upon this to ensure the safety, health and nutritional adequacy of our foods. We’ve custom designed an enhanced AAFCO canine and feline feeding trial and this shares information regarding the additional metabolic and health measurements we choose to look at.
Palatability is essentially how much a dog or cat prefers a texture, odour and flavour of a finished product. Through palatability testing we can measure the performance of a diet. This bulletin explains the findings of an industry standard two-bowl test comparing two different recipes to see which diet cats and dogs prefer.
At Champion Petfoods we make award-winning Biologically Appropriate foods that are trusted by Pet Lovers everywhere. That means our foods are rich in meat and protein, and subject to rigorous nutritional validation and industry leading food safety standards.
We believe that describing heavy metals as “contaminants” in pet foods confuses Pet Lovers on the origin of these elements as well as their safety limits for dogs and cats.
As the maker of ORIJEN and ACANA dog and cat foods, Champion developed this paper to:- discuss the source of heavy metals in pet foods;
- publish the maximum tolerable limits (MTLs) for dogs and cats; and
- discuss the results in comparison to animal health to help bring clarity and restore confidence.
At Champion Petfoods, we understand DCM is a concern for some pet lovers. We’ve broken down the top five myths using factual evidence.
Peer-Reviewed Scientific Research
In 2018, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a statement that grain-free diets may be related to the development of canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). In some FDA case reports, dogs diagnosed with DCM consuming grain-free diets also had low concentrations of plasma or whole blood taurine. While there is a known relationship between low taurine status and DCM, there are few studies published to evaluate the relationship of commercial grain-free diets and taurine status in healthy large-breed dogs.
The following study, published in the journal Translational Animal Science, determined the effects of feeding a commercial grain-free diet to large breed dogs on taurine status and overall health. The study, which was fully funded by Champion Petfoods, evaluated a small cohort of Labrador Retrievers during a 26-week feeding trial. The results suggest that the grain-free diet tested improved taurine status in this group of Labrador Retrievers. While this demonstrates that taurine status is not negatively impacted by feeding this grain-free diet, more research is required to fully understand the multifactorial etiology of DCM.
Research followed the recommendations of the Association of American Feed Controls Official (AAFCO) Canine Feeding protocols. Other factors that may contribute to the etiology of DCM should be explored.
In 2018, the FDA first reported a potential association between canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and diet. The FDA has never recommended that Pet Lovers change their pets’ foods and did not request any recalls from pet food manufacturers. To date, review of available scientific literature and research on DCM has found there is no definitive, scientific link between DCM and our foods or grain-free diets. Currently, researchers attribute many factors as possible causes for DCM in dogs, including genetics, breeding and lifestyle.
The following article, which appeared in the Journal of Animal Science, provides an overview of the scientific literature on the issue.
High-protein, grain-free extruded dog diets are increasing in popularity, but few have compared the digestibility of these diets to others containing different ingredients or nutrient concentrations.
