Chicken meat is our base meat
source. Lamb and a small amount of fish are also added to
give a more complete array of protein. In Flint River Ranch,
you will see our meats listed as Chicken Meal, Lamb
Meal and Fish Meal. There are
NO rendered
By-Products, such as heads,
feet, neck, bones, intestines or feathers, in Flint River
Ranch formulas.
Back to Top
Meal
means "reduces in size" - our meal is made from fresh meat (never
by-products) that is cooked; most of the water is removed
and the meat reduced in size and ground. Therefore, if a
"meal" ingredient is listed in the ingredients, even after
mixing and cooking, it should retain its ingredient ranking
since most or all of the moisture has already been removed.
In Flint River Ranch
products, you will see Chicken Meal, Lamb Meal,
Fish Meal, etc. It provides the most protein value per
volume weight. This is why our formulas are highly
concentrated with quality meat proteins.
Remember, the
Whole Chicken
is not like the chicken you buy in the
grocery store. Whole Chicken labeled for pet food is
exactly that - the whole chicken, including intestines,
heads, feet, bones, feather and everything but the "cackle." -
Sorry, but no thanks.
Secondly, keep in mind that
the ingredients listing ranks each ingredient by its volume
weight before it is mixed together and cooked with
other ingredients. Therefore, even if Whole Chicken
(or Chicken) is the 1st ingredient listed, when the
cooking process begins most of the water, blood and other
fluids are cooked out...the result is a much lesser amount of
chicken tissue remains - that Whole Chicken will not be
the predominant ingredient after cooking.
Finally, how does the pet
food industry get a hold of Whole Chicken so cheaply? Simple
answer - it was probably rejected by the (human) food grade
industry. Some of the reasons for rejection may be due a
condition called "4D"; Dead, Dying, Disease, decayed
meat...now a 5th "D", over-Drugged.
It is possible to put one(1)
chicken in 50 tons of food and legally say we use
organic, range fed chicken. Some manufacturers take this
option - we don't. While we purchase as much organic chicken
as possible, we prefer to more correctly say we use
human-quality chicken that is
hormone free. As with all of our ingredients, we pay a
premium price for the very best.
Our grains are purchased from
major commercial (human) food-grade suppliers like General
Mills, Pillsbury, etc. - fully tested and retested when
received. This testing insures the very best quality and
reduces the possibility of (naturally occurring) toxic molds,
such as Aflatoxin and Mycotoxins which are poisonous to pets
and animals who ingest them. Many pet food manufacturers
purchase their grains directly from the farms for the simple
reason that it is cheaper. These manufacturers run the risk
of buying lower quality grains which are not suitable for
human-quality certification, thus raising the potential for
toxic mold.
Whole wheat and selected
parts of the wheat berry are used as our base grain. Wheat
grains are not only more digestible than corn, it is one of
the most nutritionally balanced cereal grains. It is an
easy-to-digest source of carbohydrates, fiber and energy. Low
quality fillers like wood fiber, corn cobs, peanut hulls,
cottonseed, straw, soy beans or citrus pulp are not found in
Flint River Ranch products.
Our minerals are Chelated
(pronounced kee-lay-ted); minerals which are bonded or coated
with amino acids for better metabolic absorption compared to
regular inorganic minerals found in most pet foods.
|
