NEW DESIGN, OLD RECIPE?

We frequently receive inquiries as to why some information, e.g., the feeding recommendation or the ingredients, changes and whether this always means that the composition has also changed. In this blog post, we would like to explain the background to such changes on the packaging:

Basically, you will find the following information on the packaging – among some other details:

• the feeding recommendation,
• the list of ingredients and
• the added nutrients, the so-called nutritional additives.

INGREDIENTS

The ingredients can be declared including or excluding the water content.

The raw materials used are listed in descending order. Only those ingredients that also appear in the product name must be declared as a percentage. Example Sensitive with lupine protein: Here, the quantity of lupine must be listed as a percentage in the ingredients list.

ADDITIVES

For additives, there are requirements regarding which must be listed on the packaging either mandatorily or voluntarily. Additives with a legal maximum quantity or amino acids, for example, must always be declared. Substances without a legal maximum quantity, e.g., B vitamins, do not have to be stated. This means that, in addition to those declared, a number of other additives may be included – such as B vitamins. Important: nutritional additives are exclusively nutrients that have been added to the feed, not actual analysis data.

For reasons of recipe protection, many manufacturers do not state all ingredients as a percentage and also limit the list of additives. In the course of our design relaunch, we have also adjusted some information:

Because the product names have partially changed, different ingredients are now declared as a percentage than before. In addition, the ingredients are now stated without the water content.

However, all of this has no influence on the recipe - it has remained the same. The nutritional additives are, of course, still being supplemented as before. It is just that they are no longer all listed individually.

Overall, the compositions of our wet food have not been changed; it is merely an adjustment of the information on the packaging.

FEEDING RECOMMENDATION

The feeding recommendation depends on various factors, e.g., the energy density and protein content of the feed. Since the naturally occurring amounts of nutrients in the ingredients can change, a recalculation of the feeding recommendations is sometimes necessary.

The fact that feeding recommendations change at all (despite the same recipe) has to do with an optimized calculation of nutrient intake, for example in relation to the supply of crude protein and energy.

In doing so, we have taken into account, among other things, possible influences on the apparent digestibility of crude protein and energy due to the higher crude fiber content in vegan recipes and have factored in safety margins.

Crude fiber also plays a significant role in a dog's diet, especially for the microbiome. For this reason, the fiber content has been maintained and the feeding recommendation adjusted.

It should also be noted that an oversupply of some nutrients can also lead to problems. "More" nutrients is therefore not automatically "better". In our product development, we always incorporate the latest results from research and development.

If you have any further questions on this topic, you are welcome to contact our veterinarians at tierarzt@vegdog.de or watch the corresponding video on YouTube: