FAQ
Here are some frequently asked questions concerning your pet's health and how the food they eat affects them.
Q. WHAT ARE ANIMAL BYPRODUCTS?
A. Byproducts mean the ingredient contains the identified meat, plus a wide variety of "secondary" items from meat animals, including some of the internal organs. This term can be used to refer to everything from the trachea to the viscera. These items will never be included in Pet Promise.
Q. WHAT ARE ADDED GROWTH HORMONES?
A. In today's industrialized agricultural system, animals such as beef cows are commonly injected with or fed hormones simply to make them grow more quickly. Although no studies have been done specifically on pets, studies by the U.S. General Accounting Office and Consumers Union have warned of a link between growth hormones and cancer in humans.
Q. WHAT IS ANTIBIOTIC-FED PROTEIN?
A. Disease is always a danger when farm animals are overcrowded as they can be in some of today's industrialized agricultural systems. Animals in overcrowded situations are commonly fed low doses of antibiotics. Although no studies have been done specifically on pets, a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine warned that the maintenance use of antibiotics in animal feed may be sparking an increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. We source our proteins from producers who do not use these maintenance antibiotics, but instead give their animals ample living space.
Q. WHAT ARE RENDERED MEATS AND FATS?
A. Rendered meats and fats are commonly listed as meat or poultry "byproduct meal" on the ingredient label of pet foods. They are the cooked and processed remains of the leftovers in meat and poultry processing. Rendered meats may be a source of protein in some pet foods, but will never be included in Pet Promise.
Q. WHY IS BRAIN AND SPINAL TISSUE A CONCERN?
A. Brain and spinal tissue are considered "Specified Risk Materials" (SRMs) because scientific evidence points to
brain and spinal tissue as a carrier for the prions that cause BSE or mad cow disease. Pet Promise will never
contain any such tissue.
Q. WHY NO ARTIFICIAL COLORS, FLAVORS, OR INGREDIENTS?
A. We want pets to eat as nature intended. Many pet foods contain artificial colors to appeal to the consumer, not the pet. And, because Pet Promise is packed with natural meat and poultry ingredients, we don't need to use such artificial flavors or ingredients to enhance palatability.
Q. WHAT DOES RENDERING MEAN?
A. Rendering is a process that uses very high temperatures to "render" the leftovers and waste products of the meat industry into a source of protein for pet food and animal feed. These products may consist of the carcass after meat has been removed for human consumption, and internal organs such as spleens, lungs, and the paunch (undigested contents of stomachs) from slaughter plants. Some types of rendered products can also contain 4D meat.
