Manufacturing nutrition for animals

 Food is produced for animals by imitating the nutrition they would receive in nature and the nutrients they are reviewed to need by scientists who research what materials they are able to digest, the minerals and vitamins they require to maintain their health and what is palatable to the animal (Mcdonald et al., 2011)

For example, having a choice in the food has also been shown in a study reported by the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour (Manteca et al., 2008) to have a positive effect on livestock well being as they can balance their nutritional needs based on postdigestion feedback so that stress from ingesting excess nutrients is reduced.

Another example would be a study by Koppel et al. (2014) that tested the palatability of pet food using 5 human panellists to get a more descriptive analysis of the food. If this research was marked by the JADAD scale however, a scoring system for clinical trials (Duke University, 2017), it would only score a 2 as it did not mention if any panellists withdrew and if the study was double blind, but it did mention that it was randomised and how it was done

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However, a study conducted by Maine et al. (2015) found discrepancies in the meat used in commercial pet food and a study testing the DNA contents of the “meaty” chunks found that 14 out of 17 pet food brands contained varying percentages of chicken, bovine and swine than what was stated on the label.

Overall, the research that goes into manufacturing nutrition for animals seems to be extensive but more information should be available to livestock and domestic animal owners so that they can make better informed decisions on what food to give to their animals.

References:

Duke University. 2017. Systematic Reviews: the process: Appraisal & Analysis. [ONLINE] Available at: http://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/c.php?g=158155&p=1035796. [Accessed 16 January 2018].

Koppel, K., Gibson, M., Alavi, S., Aldrich, G., 2014. The Effects of Cooking Process and Meat Inclusion on Pet Food Flavor and Texture Characteristics. Animals, [Online]. Volume 4 (Issue 2), p254-271. Available at: http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/4/2/254 [Accessed 9 January 2018].

Manteca, X., Villalba, J.J., Atwood, S.B., Dziba, L., Provenza, F.D., 2008. Is dietary choice important for animal welfare. Journal of Veterinary Behaviour, [Online]. Volume 3 (Issue 5), p229-239. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787808000944? [Accessed 9 January 2018].

Mcdonald, P., Edwards, R.A., Greenhalgh, J.F.D., Morgan, C.A., Sinclair, L.A., Wilkinson, L.A., 2011. Animal Nutrition. 7th ed. Gosport: Pearson Education Limited.