QUARTERLY BEAT / OCTOBER 2022 ///
• Robust quality control protocols in place for manufacturing, including both at in-house and co- manufacturing facilities. These protocols would include ingredient traceability and formula verification with authentication processes in place. • If your clients have a food brand preference, relay the importance of manufacturer feeding studies , which may include: • Feeding trials to ensure adequate acceptance (palatability studies) and digestibility studies. Additional studies, such as urine pH testing, may also be indicated depending on diet indication. • AAFCO adequacy: AAFCO requires every bag or can of food to have a nutritional adequacy statement specifying whether the diet is complete and balanced. This statement will identify how a “complete and balanced” claim is substantiated (either by an AAFCO feeding trial or through the diet formulation) and will also specify the species and life stage for which the product is intended to be fed. • Finished product testing, including nutrient verification and shelf-life stability studies. • Therapeutic diets may also undergo specialized studies to demonstrate product efficacy, such as RSS testing for urinary support diets. Clinical trials demonstrating specific benefits in disease-states are often listed on product webpages or support materials and are generally available for download. Can’t find the information you need? Contact your sales representative or professional services veterinarian and ask them for a run-down of support material. Evaluating manufacturer answers to these few critical questions will provide solid, objective information for evaluating pet food. This will dramatically help to simplify exam room nutrition discussions so that you, as a veterinary professional, and your client, as a pet parent, can find nutritional solutions that meet everyone’s needs and expectations.
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