BarfWorld: Fresh Frozen Dog Food

Is freezing a raw meat dog food safe?
Can frozen raw meat dog food degrade?

Lets answer the second question first:

Yes it will deteriorate over time even if stored properly. You will notice that after 6 months or longer that the visual organoleptic qualities of taste, texture, feeling have changed. Most often these changes can be due to temperature abuse but with proper maintenance of the freezers this change in appearance can be minimized. The benefit is that if we maintain our frozen product properly there is little loss of nutrients, it is still wholesome. In the end that is what we want a nutritional diet for our dogs.

Is freezing raw safe for my dog?

The question is compared to what? As we talked about above, yes there is a change that happens overtime. But how about our dogs that are eating a dry kibble diet? What happens to that kibble? A dry food by nature is treated with extreme heat which destroys the living enzymes. The heat process also destroys much of the nutritional benefit.

If nutrition is important to our dogs, then it is also important to give them the diet that will give them the greatest benefit. The raw meat diet fulfills that need, living enzymes and more nutrition implies safety for their health.

Another thing we should consider:

Why do you suppose that you can open a bag of dry kibble pet food, leave it open for months and not have to worry about having the product spoil? Is it because they use preservatives? You bet.

Do you think the high temperatures used in processing kibble have preserved the original protein or altered them? Yes I am sure you know the answer; it has altered and killed much of the protein and nutritional value.

Raw has the advantage of not destroying (or minimally destroying) the enzymes, proteins and nutritional value of the meat. This allows our dogs to use the food in the most efficient manner and in the process, just maybe, giving them a better quality life.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

What are the dangers of feeding a raw meat diet?

The first question I always ask is danger to whom?

• Is it the dog?
• Is it you or I the human?

These are two separate concerns. Let’s cover the concern to the animal first.

In my opinion there is no such thing as a completely safe diet for the domesticated dog and cat whether it is a dry food, canned or natural raw meat diet. Each diet has its pros and cons. From my experience however, I can attest to the fact that animals raised on our formulas for over 35 years have experienced improved health and vitality over all the other canned and dry formulas. There are reasons for this advantage. The raw diet has not been heat processed which is the biggest detriment to all dry and canned products. The advantage gained is a diet that has its nutrients preserved as nature intended and still contains active enzymes and phytonutrients that create essential life giving and life extension qualities. As far as safety for the animal is concerned, mother nature has blessed the dog with a digestive system to handle potential bacteria and pathogen concerns. Namely stronger stomach acids, and a shorter digestive track.

Comparing the dangers of feeding a dry kibble diet and a natural raw meat diet is an interesting comparison. All I can say is that the news media has presented far more detrimental feeding scenarios from eating dry kibble than from eating a raw meat diet.

Now let’s cover the concern for us humans.

Is there risks involved in feeding a raw meat diet to us as dog owners? Of course there is and that is why we give specific instructions for safe handling and feeding practices. In general, I always suggest that you handle the raw meat diets the very same way that you handle raw chicken that is being cooked for your family. Sterilizing dishes, washing hands often, using disinfectants, and observing safe handling procedures is the key to eliminating potential hazards. This is common sense stuff, but needs to be emphasized to eliminate the possibility of harm to humans.

There are situations that may require concern for a us. Using the diet around older adults that may have a depressed immune system or around infant children requires additional preventive measures. Again it is just common sense to be aware of the potential harm that could result in this situation. Take the necessary sanitary precautions to minimize any risk.

In all feeding situations we must weigh the benefits against the potential liabilities. Caution should prevail for whichever feeding method you use. Do your homework and discover the advantages and disadvantages of all products.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Frozen raw meat vs dry kibble.

An interesting challenge exists in trying to determine the free radical formation in raw meat diets and dry kibble formulas. We know that the development of free radicals are detrimental to health and the formation of disease. We are justified in making differences between a heat processed dry diet and one that has had little or no heat used in the manufacturing process. A big concern is the oxidation of lipids and essential fatty acids. I agree that when a frozen diet is ground, mixed, exposed to air, light, and other elements found in plant and animal tissue that some free radical formation happens, however, in any process whether frozen or dry there is similar exposure to this toxin formation problem.

One of the biggest concerns I have in the manufacturing of a dry kibble formula is the development of lipid oxidation, mold contamination, and pesticide control. For this reason, they use preservatives and a variety of harmful chemicals to inhibit the growth and contamination of these ingredients. How else could a consumer keep a bag of kibble from spoiling after being opened for 30 days? There are more reasons to be concerned, in your pet food choice, when comparing a raw pet food versus a heat processed kibble diet. Trying to indicate that lipid oxidation in a raw diet is a major concern is potentially true to some extent, but minimal in comparison to the possible toxin development in a dry kibble product.

I’m against the harmful exposure to preservatives, flavoring agents ( fat sprays), mold inhibitors, and other harmful chemicals that are used to either preserve the integrity of the dry product or enhance the palatability of the product. It would be an interesting research project to isolate the specific differences in free radicle formation between the two choices. Until that time, the choice is yours to determine the best source of ingredients and manufacturing process to feed your dog. I know what my choice is!

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Is your raw frozen dog food properly frozen?

Very important to frozen dog food is the freezing process. What is involved and why is this important? The time and temperature of the ingredients exposed to the ambient temperature and the time of freezing the product are critical. First is the raw material, it must be processed in an efficient timely manner to avoid potential bacterial growth. Second it should be frozen as fast as possible for the same reason, potential bacteria growth in the freezing process.

Modern technology provides an adequate freezing method. Our company uses a nitrogen flash freezing system that freezes our patty in a matter of minutes. This reduces dramatically any potential bacteria growth.

Controlling the frozen product in the supply chain is critical in the delivery of fresh frozen raw patty’s. It is therefore very important to use only transportation companies that follow strict temperature control methods to deliver the product to the ultimate distributor or consumer. Even our mail order distribution center offers the assurance of proper handling and maintaining adequate dry ice to keep our product frozen solid.

Frozen food competitors that use inadequate freezing techniques or that have not secured reputable frozen transportation services are exposed to liability issues and unwanted returns. This is one manufacturing area that demands critical attention to detail.

If you buy from Mom and Pop processors are they practicing Good Manufacturing Process?

Do you know how your product was handled from A to Z?

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

What is freezer burn?

Freezer burn is the result of air reaching the surface of the frozen patty resulting in a grayish-brown leathery looking spot.

At BARF World we use nitrogen freezing and you may notice discoloration. This discoloration should not be confused with freezer burn. When using a nitrogen freezing process the tunnel will cause a slight dehydration on the patty surface. This differs greatly from a badly discolored freezer burn.

The very best way to control this potential problem is to use good air sealed packaging to block the air movement on the surface of the patty. The answer is to only stock and use enough of the frozen diet to keep it looking fresh and properly colored.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Many say that raw food producers are ignoring the problems caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites. It is obvious that pathogens are present in raw meat diets. Just like it is obvious that dry heat processed kibble contain similar pathogenic problems with salmonella, mold, and a variety of other potential hazards. The real difference is that MOTHER NATURE has equipped the dog with specialized internal safeguards that help to reduce the dangers of pathogens that would typically harm humans.

I am realistic in my views and importance of pathogen contamination, dangers exist but normally are only involved in situations such as a compromised immune system, or when other medications have triggered gastrointestinal responses. Much stronger stomach acids and a much shorter digestive track are two good reasons why the pathogen concern is reduced or eliminated in the dog. The key is the amount of time a pathogen is present in the gastrointestinal track. By providing a faster elimination time from mouth to tail the pathogens don’t have time to build toxicity and the stronger acids tend to neutralize the damaging effects of the pathogens. This is why a dog can unbury a putrified and pathogen loaded carcass and be able to digest the material without harm or detrimental effect.

Personally, I am far more concerned about feeding my dog a dry kibble product that is laced with pesticides, flavoring agents, chemicals and toxic preservatives. The continuous daily ingestion of these toxic agents tend to provide a more wide range detriment to the health of the animal than what it might receive from the periodic ingestion of pathogenic material. For example the recent Menu Foods recall that killed thousands of dogs gives me reason to question the logic and safety of dry kibble diets.

The bottom line is this: there are potential hazards when ingesting dry kibble diets or pathogens from raw meat diets. The choice is yours to make when you weigh the benefits against the risks of each product.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Merry Christmas from Rob and all the rest of us at www.barfworld.com.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

It has been suggested that because of minimal technology required to produce a pet food product, that essentially anyone regardless of credentials or expertise can bring a product to market. Even though this is a true statement it is important to clarify the difference between someone doing a garage operation and someone who follows the right requirements to manufacture a quality product. I have seen many companies that have started as garage operations and have expanded into thriving operations. Some have done it right and most have done it wrong. Many have started as a result of trying to improve the quality, and make the formula less expensive than a commercially prepared diet. They have originally decided to make the diet for themselves and then found others that wanted the same diet for their dog. Little by little they expand to the point that they need larger and more expensive equipment to do the job on a larger scale. A big hurdle comes when they find that they do not have the freezing capacity to do the production on a larger scale. Another hurdle comes when they find out that the ingredient supply has dried up and now they have to procure the ingredients from locations far from their operation. The next step in the expansion process happens when the Department of Agriculture steps in to regulate and control the commercial operation. Fees and fines prevail and pretty soon it becomes overwhelming. Registering your products in the various states present expensive challenges to anyone following proper registration requirements. Anyone can make a food under unknown conditions, with unknown ingredients, put a label on it with marginal packaging, freeze it and sell it to unsuspecting consumers.

The responsible commercial manufacturer commits to procuring adequate meat processing equipment along with low temperature freezing capacity, and packaging technology. It is a big step to take to bring a brand to market and have it coupled with a history of usage. One last caution to mention is the lack of regulation in the pet food industry. The regulatory agencies responsible for policing the manufacture and production of pet food is quite lax and as a result there are several claims and false statements made on labels. This is very misleading to the consumer that relies on the information on the bag to make a decision on what to feed. AAFCO does provide some guidance for pet food products and labeling but regulatory agencies do not have the funding to police the misguided information. Claims made regarding ingredient sourcing, ingredient quality, hormone free, antibiotic free meat used in the products are common areas of potential exaggeration. New pending federal label changes are in the works to help defray these common abuses and it will help to make all producers conform to more rigid standards.

The introduction of raw meat dog food diets is a relatively new industry compared to the heat processed dry kibble market and as such consumers have to sort out the responsible producers from the garage operations. It is good advice to investigate the history and the points outlined above to determine a proper and safe product to feed your dog.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Our country is undergoing change in so many areas now that it is really hard to keep track of them all. The problem with all this is the lack of preparation and the lack of the ability of the regulators to properly read, study and offer comments in regards to the changes. The new proposed national health bill is a perfect example. Throwing a 2000 page complicated stack of proposed changes in one bill and not allowing time to sort through them all and make comments and suggestions are what we are finding all over this country.

One such change that is being proposed in Washington state, really concerns all raw petfood manufacturers, distributors and consumers of raw foods for their pets. King county, near Seattle, Wa is proposing to change the regulations regarding the sale of raw pet foods. You can verify the provisions of the new proposed regulations by going on line and at www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/ehs/petregs.aspx.

As one of the pioneers in the manufacturing and marketing of raw pet food, I find it absolutely appalling that regulators can suggest to isolate and discriminate against one segment of the industry. The agency proposing to make the changes are suggesting higher fees and licensing for all entities in business to sell the raw food diets. The higher fees will discourage retailers from participating in selling the food and the consumer will suffer because of the higher costs that will be passed on to the consumer.

The regulators obviously have given no consideration to the fact that there has been a much higher incidence of contamination and bacterial concern with dry pet food products than with the raw foods. The Menu Foods catastrophe is a prime example. Could this new regulation be connected some how with the dry food manufacturers (the giants in the business) that are now getting concerned over the increase in popularity of the raw foods? Are we grabbing some of their market share? My concern is that if this gets approved for a new regulation and law in Washington state, that this could spread also to other counties and as a result cause the raw pet food consumers harm from rising prices. Could it then spread to other states that might feel compelled to make similar changes in their respective areas.

I would like to see the proof of the potential damage that has been caused by the use of raw diets and the spread of disease to humans as a result. Once this has been provided can we then make a comparison to the potential harm and health concerns associated with the dry pet food products on the market. I think you will see how slanted this proposed regulation change is toward the raw food manufacturers and in turn having no consequences for the dry food manufacturers.

Once they include the heat processed food producers in their new regulations they will have a major fight on their hands with the powerful lobbying ability and financial backing behind them. I feel that what is fair for one group should be fair for all groups selling to this market.

So my plea is for all pet owners that are concerned about finding a better health generating solution for their pets should jump on the wagon, read about the proposed changes, and then act by sending letters to this county and express your disgust at the proposed regulation change. Only this way will we be able to make changes that are fair and appropriate and for the right reasons.

Technorati Tags: BARF World, legislation, raw

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

We at BARF World wish you all a very very Happy Thanksgiving.

Yum that looks good!

From:
Rob
Lily
Amber
Christopher
Thomas
Jose

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites