Pros and Cons of Adding Animal Liver to Pet Food

Animal liver is well known as one of the added ingredients of commercial pet food, and the collection, storage and handling of the liver is extremely difficult.

Animal liver added to pet food can be unprocessed, that is, chilled or frozen, it can be a dry powder after hydrolysis, or it can be a component of flavoring. Beef liver, pork liver and chicken liver are common pet food raw materials; professional pet food manufacturers will indicate the source of the liver on the label of the sheep liver, chicken liver, duck liver or foie gras used; fish liver and other The livers of poisonous species are generally not used in commercial pet food processing.

For pet food, liver has become an important ingredient in pet food due to its rich nutritional content and pet appeal.

Benefits of adding animal liver to pet food

1. When dogs and cats were still living in the wild, they lived by hunting and eating what they caught. Therefore, they would eat up their prey, including internal organs, eyes, tongue, glands and even bones. Therefore, animal offal itself has always been in the recipe of pets and is part of pet food.

2. Animal liver is the main organ for animal metabolism and storage of nutrients. It is rich in protein, vitamins (such as vitamin A, vitamin D, B vitamins), trace elements (such as iron, zinc) and other nutrients.

3. The liver plays an important role in medicine, health and nutrition.

In the early research on the treatment of human "anemia", B12 was found in the liver. Vitamin B12 is very important for dogs and cats. The lack of B12 in dogs and cats is reflected in congenital defects and excessive growth of small intestinal bacteria; in addition, the 1934 Nobel Prize in Medicine for Commends research on feeding raw liver to dogs with anemia.

4. Animal liver is also a rich source of some minerals, such as iron, zinc, selenium, copper, etc., which can be added to pet food to supplement mineral trace elements for pets.

5. The liver is also one of the important sources of vitamin A intake. Adding liver in moderation to dogs and cats' diets can provide their daily vitamin A requirements. However, excessive addition of liver ingredients will exceed the nutritional limits of pet food, especially canned food.

6. Liver has a unique fishy smell, and both dogs and cats have a special preference for liver. For this reason, some foods, especially canned foods, have a certain amount of liver added and are named specifically, such as "chicken and liver recipe". The purpose of this is to enhance the attractiveness of commercial pet food.

The harm of adding animal liver to pet food

1. Animal liver contains toxic substances that can remain in the animal body

So from this point of view, the liver is harmful as food. It must be noted that, unlike the static filtration of the water purification system, the liver will actively combine with other foreign molecules and eliminate toxic substances. Through this process, foreign molecules are gradually eliminated, while the liver regenerates itself. However, when food contains heavy metals or toxins, they are left in the liver.

It has been reported that the livers of some species, such as those of polar bears and seals, are toxic to the body due to excessive amounts of vitamin A. In cases of hypervitaminosis A in growing cats, it is almost always due to diets fed a lot or all liver.

2. The liver also contains a certain amount of caffeine and pyrimidine systemic fungicides (systemic fungicides refer to fungicides that can be absorbed into plants through leaves, stems, and roots, and transported to the affected parts in plants), which will Causes health problems in certain breeds of dogs