Alimentação natural para cães e gatos

Abstract

A major pet food recall occurred in 2007 in the United States due to fraudulent contamination with melamine was key to the current interest on new food alternatives for dogs and cats, the party to conventional commercial ration. The demand for exclusivity in the pet food industry, combined with a permanent trend of humanization in pet industry, increased the demand for differentiated food for pets. Among the types of alternative diets are called natural foods and organic, among others. However, no specific guidance on the approach to manufacturing and labeling of products containing raw meat, which could cause instability and risk the health of owners that by provide that type of food to their pets. Moreover, natural foods can be made of ingredients for food, seeking an approximation of the composition of the foods that animals (dogs and cats) obtained from nature, with higher contribution of nutrients such as proteins and lipids in these animals. The effects they may cause in pets are different from parameters related to the emergence of diseases that affect the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates and / or lipid factors related to the quality fecal and beyond, the question of safety food. Thus, the commercial foods are natural and potential market niches have emerged to meet the demand of owners increasingly demanding in relation to food and nutrition for their pets. However, it is important to a thorough and scientific assessment of this niche market, seeking to establish its upside and downside from the point of view of nutrition and food security. © 2010 Sociedade Brasileira de Zootecnia.