Should Reconstituted Meat in Pet Food be Disclosed? – Truth about Pet Food

September 7, 2023 Kar-Bay-Inc

At the suggestion of a pet owner, I recently took a closer look at Full Moon pet food. The label states this is a human grade pet food. It is manufactured by Purdue Farms and sells online for about $7.50 a pound.

The pet food website states the food is formulated as Complete and Balanced per AAFCO Nutrient Profiles for Adult Maintenance. And the website discloses the Turkey Recipe contains 137.5 kcal per cup.

Coincidentally (or not), the Full Moon Chicken Recipe and the Beef Recipe contains the exact same kcal per cup…137.5 kcal per cup.

This is a cooked, sold frozen pet food. The Guaranteed Analysis states the pet food contains a minimum of 10% protein, a minimum of 8% fat, and a maximum moisture of 73%.

When you look at the pet food – as displayed on the Full Moon website – it appears to be a bowl full of pieces of meat with small chunks of vegetables.

The ingredients of this pet food bring some questions. Ingredients are (Turkey Recipe): “Turkey, Turkey Liver, Turkey Bone Broth, Spinach, Sweet Potato, Broccoli, Blueberry, Cassava, Carrageenan, Vinegar, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Rosemary Extract, Dicalcium Phosphate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Fish Oil.”

Why is Cassava and Carrageenan included in this pet food? Both ingredients are thickeners and commonly used in high moisture pet foods (such as canned pet foods).

In looking at the food again, where are the supplements? (Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Rosemary Extract, Dicalcium Phosphate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Potassium Iodide.) Are they added loosely in the pet food or is what appears to be chunks of turkey actually a fabricated/reconstituted meat and supplements are included in the slurry?

Questions were sent to Full Moon – via their website – asking if the meats in the pet foods are fabricated meats? We asked the company to explain how the supplements were included in the pet food and if the meat ingredient was fabricated, were the supplements included in the pre-cooked slurry?

Full Moon did not respond to our questions.

Wikipedia describes a reconstituted meat as: “A reconstituted meat, meat slurry, or emulsified meat is a liquefied meat product that contains fewer fats, pigments and less myoglobin than unprocessed dark meats. Meat slurry is more malleable than dark meats and eases the process of meat distribution as pipelines may be used. Meat slurry is not designed to sell for general consumption; rather, it is used as a meat supplement in food products for humans, such as chicken nuggets, and food for domestic animals.“

We don’t know if the Full Moon pet food is made with fabricated or reconstituted meat, but if it is…should that be disclosed to pet owners?

Is it misleading consumers to portray a pet food as chunks of cooked meat if the pet food is actually chunks of fabricated meat product made to look almost identical to cooked meat?

Should Full Moon Pet Food provide a response to our questions, they will be added to this post when received.

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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