scholarly journals Evaluation of nutritional value and microbiological safety in commercial dog food

Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kazimierska ◽  
Wioletta Biel ◽  
Robert Witkowicz ◽  
Jolanta Karakulska ◽  
Xymena Stachurska

AbstractIn addition to properly balancing nutritional value in accordance with the needs of a dog, estimating the microbiological quality of dog food is crucial in providing healthy and safe foods. The aim of this study was to examine the quality of dry food for adult dogs, with particular reference to: (1) evaluating the nutritional value and compliance with nutritional guidelines for dogs, (2) comparing the nutritional value of dog foods, with particular emphasis on the division into cereal and cereal-free foods, and (3) evaluating their microbiological safety. All thirty-six evaluated dry dog foods met the minimum European Pet Food Industry FEDIAF requirement for total protein and fat content. The total aerobic microbial count in the analyzed dry dog foods ranged from 2.7 × 102 to above 3.0 × 107 cfu/g. In five (14%) dog foods the presence of staphylococci was detected; however, coagulase positive Staphylococcus (CPS) was not found. Mold presence was reported in one cereal-free dog food and in six cereal foods. In none of the analyzed foods Enterobacteriaceae were found, including coliforms, Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. Bacteria of the genus Listeria and Clostridium as well as yeasts were also not detected. In conclusion, the evaluated dry dog foods had varied microbiological quality. The detected number of microorganisms may have some implications for long-term consumption of contaminated food. The lack of European Commission standards regarding the permissible amounts of microorganisms in pet food may result in insufficient quality control of these products.

Author(s):  
Milan Matavulj ◽  
Milan Martinov ◽  
Maja Karaman ◽  
Branislav Veselinov ◽  
Dusan Adamovic

The goal of this research was to investigate improvement of drying method of peppermint and pumpkin kernels (hull-less pumpkin seed) with the aim to get as best microbiological quality of products as possible. Small and medium scale producers of medicinal plants in most cases perform it in batch dryers, which offer optimal output rate. Disadvantages of this dryer type are slower through-heating of upper layers, with the resulting increase of microbial count. In this paper, results of investigation of drying characteristics in batch dryer expressed through the changes of count of bacteria and microfungi are presented. The drying regime was applied in three different phases, and different material batch heights. Obtained results show that microbial count has increased in the upper layer during process of peppermint drying, while the temperature was less than 45?C for a long period. However, during the final drying phase in this layer, the temperature was also over 45?C, and the final microbial count was almost the same for upper and lower levels. During the treatment of pumpkin kernels in all of cases number of microorganisms indicated that the treated pumpkin grains belonged to the 3B qualitative group or to the 4B for phase drying respectively, and to the 4A for control group according to the Europaean Pharmacopoeia. The results obtained suggest that the treatment of hull-less pumpkin seed with even higher temperatures of drying agents, for example 70?C or 80?C, in the first phase should be investigated. After that phase, the second phase would follow, using temperature of 60?C, and the method with shifting mode should be applied.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 662-670
Author(s):  
Mohammadreza Koushki ◽  
Paliz Koohy-Kamaly ◽  
Sara Sohrabvandi

Ready-to-eat foods are not usually treated sufficiently to eliminate the existing pathogenic bacteria in them before consumption; therefore, bacterial contamination in these foods requires due consideration. This study aims to detect Salmonella and Escherichia coli contamination and total microbial count in ready-to-eat salad samples containing meat products in Tehran in 2018. The microbial analysis of 136 samples including Olivier salad, Macaroni salad, and Sausage salad, collected by simple randomized sampling method from chain-stores, grocery and cooperative stores, was done according to the ISO international standards. Salmonella was not detected in any of the samples, and only 0.7% of the samples were contaminated with E. coli. The total number of microorganisms in 89.6% of the Olivier salad samples, 61.4% of the Macaroni salad samples and 97.7% of the Sausage salad samples was within the permitted limits of the Iranian National Standard. The average total number of microbes in the Olivier salad, Macaroni salad, and Sausage salad samples was obtained as 4.84, 4.23, and 5.34 log CFU/g, respectively. This study confirms the relatively satisfactory microbiological quality of ready-to-eat salads containing meat products in Tehran,Iran.


2020 ◽  
Vol 187 (7) ◽  
pp. e50-e50
Author(s):  
Benedetta Bottari ◽  
Elena Bancalari ◽  
Annalisa Barera ◽  
Sergio Ghidini ◽  
Monica Gatti

BackgroundBiologically appropriate raw food (BARF) diet is becoming more and more popular among pet owners in Europe. However, there are documented microbiological risks associated with raw feeding, and this study aimed to determine the presence of human pathogens in commercially frozen BARF products sold in Italy.MethodsSalmonella species, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter species were identified. The general microbiological quality of BARF products and hygiene were also evaluated. Sample size was limited and therefore the study may not be representative of a larger sample.ResultsNone of the tested samples showed total bacterial count (TBC) higher than the limit set to consider a sample unacceptable. However, 14 out of 21 samples showed TBC higher than the limit set to consider a sample marginally acceptable. A high percentage of samples were contaminated by the aforementioned pathogens, highlighting the need for pet owners to be aware of the risks of this feeding strategy both to themselves and to their pets.ConclusionsConsidering that BARF diet meals can be prepared at home using the hands, as well as tools and spaces that could be shared, guidelines on safer handling of these pet food products should be recommended by veterinarians and nutritionists.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e5828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo de Aro Galera ◽  
Adibe Luiz Abdalla Filho ◽  
Luiza Santos Reis ◽  
Janaina Leite de Souza ◽  
Yeleine Almoza Hernandez ◽  
...  

Background Brazil is a low- to medium-income country and has the second largest pet food market in the world with 8% of world pet food consumption. The lowest-income social class spends around 17% of their domestic budget on pet food and other items related to pets. Consumers are frequently misled by advertising as there is no precise information about the main sources of protein, carbohydrates and fat in the labels, and the Brazilian pet food industry can legally claim that their products contain certain items like salmon or beef even if they use just a flavoring compound. Methods The stable isotope methodology compares the stable isotope ratios of carbon (13C/12C) and nitrogen (15N/14N) between source and product. The 13C/12C ratio of a specific product (e.g., dog food) reveals the proportions of C4 (maize) and C3 (soybean, rice and wheat) plants in that product and the 15N/14N ratio reveals the proportion of the compounds derived from animals. With this isotopic data, we used MixSIAR, a Bayesian stable isotope-mixing model, to estimate the proportion of maize, grains, poultry and beef in dog food. Results The δ13C values of dry dog food ranged from −24.2‰ to −12.8‰, with an average (± standard-deviation) of −17.1‰ ± 2.8‰. The δ13C values of wet pet food ranged from −25.4‰ to −16.9‰, with an average (± standard-deviation) of −21.2‰ ± 2.4‰, which was significantly lower (p < 0.01). The δ15N values of the dry and wet food ranged from 1.7‰ to 4.2‰, and from 0.5‰ to 5.5‰, respectively. The average δ15N values of dry food (2.9‰ ± 0.5‰) was not higher than the wet food (2.6‰ ± 1.3‰) (p > 0.01). The output of the MixSIAR showed a low proportion of bovine products in dry dog food samples. On the other hand, poultry was obviously the dominant ingredient present in most of the samples. Maize was the second dominant ingredient. Wet and dry dog food showed similar isotopic analysis results. The only difference was a lower proportion of maize and higher proportion of grains in wet dog food. Discussion The main finding is that dog food in Brazil is mostly made of approximately 60% (ranging from 32% to 86%) animal-based and 40% (ranging from 14% to 67%) plant-based products. Poultry and maize are the main ingredients. Poultry is added as a by-product or meal, which avoids competition between dogs and humans for meat products, while they can compete for maize. On the other hand, a large proportion of plant-based products in dog food decreases the energy and environmental footprint, since plant-based food products tend to be less harmful compared to animal-based products. Labels can mislead consumers by showing pictures of items that are not necessarily part of the product composition and by not showing the detailed information on the proportion of each ingredient. This information would allow customers to make their own choices considering their pet’s nutrition, the competition between animals and humans for resources and environmental sustainability.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0250351
Author(s):  
Giorgia Meineri ◽  
Alessia Candellone ◽  
Sonia Tassone ◽  
Pier Giorgio Peiretti ◽  
Erica Longato ◽  
...  

Fresh mechanically deboned meat (MDM) is usually claimed as high-quality ingredient on dry pet food recipes and this aspect may positively influence consumer choice. It is important to determine the scientifically sustainability of this claim and to assess the microbiological safety of MDM inclusion in dry pet food. Objectives were: 1) to evaluate the effect of inclusion of MDM in dry dog food on fatty acid profile and in vivo and in vitro digestibility, proposing a new system (DaisyII Incubator) to measure the in vitro digestibility for dogs; 2) to compare palatability of dry dog food containing MDM with dry dog food in which meat by-products (MBP) are the only animal protein sources; 3) to determine, whether or not, the inclusion of that ingredient changes the microbiology and the storage quality. Results indicated that MDM product was characterized by significant higher nutritional value in terms of fatty acids profile, in vitro digestibility (HV-IVD method) and lower palatability than the MBP product. Microbiological risk assessment showed no microbiological hazards for either product. After 6-months storage, the total mesophilic bacterial count ranged between 1.77 and 2.09 log CFU/g feed, while polyamine values were higher in the MDM (0.37 g/kg) than in the MBP (0.27 g/kg). The DaisyII Incubator was found to be a valid instrument for studying in vitro digestibility also for dogs, providing data simply, quickly, with less variability and costs than in vivo trials. In conclusion, MDM inclusion in dry dog food is microbiologically safe and it can improve its nutritional quality, at the expense of a reduced palatability. The higher polyamine levels fount in MDM-enriched petfood after 6-months storage, however, may represent a possible hazard, and further studies are still warranted.


Author(s):  
Ferymon Mahulette ◽  
Tri Santi Kurnia

Bakasang laor is one of the traditional fermented fishery products in Maluku, Indonesia. There are two types of  bakasang laor, i.e. with and without vinegar. The microbiological research of bakasang processed use laor as raw material  has never been done before. The research aimed to analyze the microbiological quality and proximate composition of two types of bakasang laor.  The proximate composition can determine the nutritional value of  this product for consumption by the community. The sample of bakasang laor was taken from traditional producer in Latuhalat village, Ambon. The total number of halotolerant and coliform bacteria  in bakasang laor without vinegar were 1.7x106 CFU/g and 4.1x106 CFU/g, respectively, while the total of lactic acid bacteria in bakasang laor with vinegar was 6.0x106 CFU/g.  The carbohydrate, protein, fat and ash contents of bakasang laor with vinegar was higher than bakasang laor without vinegar. The carbohydrate, protein and fat contents of bakasang laor with vinegar were 19.64 %, 16.23 %, and 2.42 %, respectively. Generally, microbiological quality and proximate composition  of  bakasang laor with vinegar was better than bakasang laor without  vinegar. The bacteria that play a role in fermentation can be used as a starter in the fermentation of various food products.  The results of this research to improve the quality of this fermentation product in the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-46
Author(s):  
Jagoda Kępińska-Pacelik ◽  
◽  
Wioletta Biel ◽  

The aim of this study was to estimate complete extruded dry food for adult dogs, with a particular focus on the nutritional value with respect to current nutritional guidelines for dogs, dietary fiber fractions, the division into breed size. Dog foods were subjected to chemical analyzes to determine the content of basic nutrients and dietary fiber fractions. The material for the research consisted of 15 maintenance foods for adult dogs (five for large breed dogs, five for small breed dogs and five for all breeds dogs). All analyzed feeds met the European Pet Food Industry Federation recommended minimum recommended levels of protein and fat. Individual tested foods were characterized by different levels of dietary fiber fractions, such as acid detergent fiber (ADF), cellulose (CEL), hemicellulose (HCEL). The group of foods for small breed dogs was characterized by the lowest mean of ME (391.23 kcal per 100 g DM). A higher level of ME (393.99 kcal per 100 g DM) was observed in the group of foods for dogs of large breeds, and the highest (397.05 kcal per 100 g DM) – in the group of foods for dogs of all breeds.


2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-76
Author(s):  
Ksenija Nesic ◽  
Marija Pavlovic ◽  
Snezana Ivanovic

Introduction. The Verbands Deutscher Landwirdschaftlicher Untersuchungs und Forschungsanstalten (VDLUFA) is an association of German agronomic, analytical and scientific institutes dealing with various types of research in the field of agronomy and the development, adaptation and validation of analytical methods. This association has established an approach for determining the microbiological quality of feed based on the contents of molds, yeasts and bacteria by taking into account not only their total numbers (cfu/g), but also their potential pathogenicity. According to the degree of the potential pathogenicity, microorganisms are divided into seven groups. Based on the number of microorganisms in the seven groups, feed and feedingstuffs are classified into four categories according to microbiological quality. Materials and Methods. This method for categorization of feed is described in Methods Book III. Detailed instruction is given within the four Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Results and Conclusions. The VDLUFA method of assessing animal feed and feedingstuffs is a far more detailed approach that gives a more complete picture of the actual microbiological status of feed than the approach currently used in Serbia. Feed placed on the market to be used in animal nutrition should meet the criteria for classification into classes I to III, in accordance with the parameters laid down in the method. Animal feed that belongs to class IV is not suitable for animal feeding. This method could be a useful guideline in the modernization of hygienic standards for feed in Serbia in the future.


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