The First Chinese Pet Nutrition Guide was Launched on 2023.5.20

The Chinese Society of Nutrition launched the first Chinese Pet Nutrition Guide on May 20, aiming to fill a knowledge gap in the field of pet nutrition, promote the development of the discipline and provide professional nutrition advice to pet owners.

With the rapid development of our social economy and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, pets as a companion animal play an important and unique role in our life, giving us company and warmth. In recent years, pet nutrition and health have been highly concerned by the public. Pet nutrition and human nutrition should be well-balanced and meet the specific needs in different life cycle stages.

Led by the Chinese Nutrition Society, China Pet Nutrition Guide will organize several authoritative academic institutions and industry experts to comprehensively analyze the nutritional needs and health problems of pets based on evidence-based nutrition science, combined with domestic and foreign research results and practical experience, and write a scientific, comprehensive and authoritative guide through systematic sorting, summary and scientific evidence evaluation.

Prof. Yang Yuexin, President of Chinese Nutrition Society, President-elect of Asian Federation of Nutrition Societies, Academician of International Union of Nutrition Sciences; Prof. Xu Minggang, Academician of International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, former Director of South Tropical Crops Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences; Prof. Wu Yongning, Academician of International Food Academy of Sciences; Professor Dai Xiaofeng, former director of Feed Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and member of National Animal Nutrition Steering Committee, and other experts and scholars in related fields attended the launch ceremony, and exchanged academic views on several pet nutrition and health issues in the expert academic forum of "Paying attention to companion animal nutrition and Sharing a long and healthy life".

Comprehensive and balanced nutrition is better for modern pets to prevent pets from suffering "hidden hunger"

For these animals, the environment changed dramatically as they moved from wild to companion animals. Whereas wild animals' diet composition would depend more on the availability of natural resources, modern pets live with people and their diet is mainly provided by humans. We need to provide comprehensive and balanced nutrition in bulk pet food to ensure that it gets enough nutrients. Nutrition plays a key role in maintaining your pet's overall health, including skin and hair health, maintaining a healthy body shape, bone and joint health, and digestive health.

Yang Yuexin said that from the perspective of nutrition, pets need appropriate proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals to maintain their normal growth, development and function. Pets need to eat a diet that meets their energy needs, and care is taken to maintain an appropriate weight and digestive health. Since pets no longer need to find food in order to survive, their diet may be more homogeneous and regular. This has led to the need to provide more comprehensive and balanced nutrition in bulk pet food to ensure that pets are getting enough nutrients for a healthy and happy life.

Dai Xiaofeng shared what is comprehensive and balanced nutrition from a scientific and professional perspective. In terms of types of nutrients, pets need about 20 kinds of macronutrients, including protein (and amino acids), fat (and fatty acids), carbohydrates and dietary fiber, and more than 10 kinds of minerals and vitamins. From a scientific point of view, firstly, the proportion of nutrient types should be comprehensive and reasonable. Macronutrients: vitamin: mineral 3:2:2, and secondly, the content of each nutrient should be appropriate. Learning to read the nutrition facts list and ingredient list in the pet food label, to check the proportion and amount of nutrients contained, is the basis of reasonable choice of pet food. Beware of "hidden hunger" caused by an imbalance or lack of one or some nutrients and an overconsumption of others. This requires that we provide comprehensive and balanced nutrition in pet food to ensure that it meets the needs of growth, development, digestive health and immunity. Click here for wholesale dry dog food in bulk, wholesale dry cat food and freeze-dried dog food bulk.

High-meat, high-protein feeding is not necessarily a scientific plant source for sustainable nutrition

Is the current "high meat feeding" and "high animal protein" in the global pet food field a marketing gimmick or scientific common sense? Wu Yongning shared from the perspective of nutrition and safety, "High protein content in pet food may exceed the actual needs of pets, may increase the burden of kidney; Second, high protein intake may lead to acidification of urine, which may lead to an increased risk of stone formation. Potentially adverse effects on the long-term health of pets."

With the growing global demand for sustainability, reducing the use of meat ingredients in pet food and increasing the proportion of plant-based ingredients is seen as a viable approach. "In addition to environmental pressure on water resources, land use and greenhouse gas emissions, meat production is not conducive to sustainable development. In addition, meat production involves the process of raising, transporting and slaughtering animals. Reducing the use of meat ingredients in pet food can reduce the demand for other animals and promote the welfare of other animals."

After a long period of domestication, the digestive system of pets has adapted to a certain degree of grain digestion. Even in the wild, cats and dogs may hunt prey with a certain amount of grain. Therefore, the presence of grains in pet food is consistent with its natural feeding habits. From the perspective of digestibility, Dai Xiaofeng took wheat protein as an example. The digestibility of pepsin to high-quality wheat protein was no lower than that of animal protein. From the standpoint of nutrition, plant protein and animal protein complement each other in amino acids.

Plant-derived raw materials provide a wide variety of sources of vitamins, minerals, protein and dietary fibre in pet food, helping to maintain overall balanced nutrition and health and immune function of pets. "Increasing the proportion of plant raw materials in pet food can not only meet the nutritional and health needs of pets, but also promote the sustainable development of the pet food industry, which is of great significance for the sustainable development of global food," Xu Minggang, a researcher, called for.