So, What exactly is a beef meal in Dog Food? Curious to know about beef meal, so keep reading your post to find some interesting facts!
Beef is not only popular in our favorite hamburgers and sausages, but has been your doggo’s favorite too!
Beef meal is the second most common option in dog meat meal recipes after the chicken meal.
One of the most popular dog food flavors on the market is beef. The beef meal in your dog food can be a really healthy protein to feed your dog.
In general, meat meal forms the protein portion of dry foods and is often used to shape the’ meaty chunks’ in canned pet foods in conjunction with milled cereal and gelatine.
So, feeding your dog with a beef meal in dog food will not only build its muscle.
But will even support a healthy immune system as it is a great source of iron!
Contents
All You Need To Know About Beef Meal in Dog Food
Our articles dives into the most common and essential essential question about beef meal in your dog food! We have even suggested recipes and relevant FAQs that will help dog parents make a worth buy.
What is a beef meal in dog foods?
Beef meal is rendered dry fine powder with concentrated protein obtained by cooking beef meat. As per dogneedsbest“Beef meal is rendered cattle meat that has been dried and ground up, and includes clean flesh, skin, and/or accompanying bone.”
So, a beef meal is dehydrated whole muscle from cattle without hairs, blood, and offal.
A good quality beef meal will not have higher ash content. As a beef meal is prepared from raw beef it will have a higher content of crude protein.
How is a beef meal prepared?
The beef meal is prepared from beef meat. The beef meat is either taken raw or its source can be from slaughter house.
The beef meat is exposed to high temperatures to eliminate a certain amount of moisture and fat.
Overcooking beef meat at higher temperatures also kills any bacteria and harmful pathogens. It also makes the beef protein concentrate remain stable for a longer time.
The Debate: Beef Meal Vs Whole Beef
There is always a constant round of debate among dog parents and Vets over what is best to be fed to dog? Is is raw ground beef meat? Or a beef meal in my dog food is rather best alternative.
So, below we have addressed this debate, by jotting down facts, myths, and answers to common questions.
Why it is better to avoid raw beef for your dog ?
The major organizations like Disease Control & Prevention Centers (CDC), U.S.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) have carried out many studies on feeding beef meat to dogs.
And as per the provided reports and materials, it suggests high potential risks of feeding raw beef meat to dogs.
Harmful bacteria present in raw beef meat, such as E.Coli, Listeria with Salmonella, and more.
The easiest and secure approach will be to cook the meat when it comes to offering your dog meat.
But still, the digestibility of high-fat meat like beef would lower as compared to beef meal.
Moreover, the raw beef meat is just 30-40% protein and 60-70% water. So, nutritionally too it is not beneficial to feed raw beef meat to your dog.
Why prefer a beef meal over beef meat?
Beef meal are more concentrated source of crude protein from beef. The beef meal are also formulated for higher digestability.
That means that it is easier for your dog to digest beef meal than raw beef meat!
The beef meal in your dog food also has other added ingredients like other meat meals making it a complete source of protein.
A beef meal in your dog food is prepared by rendering so it has no chance of E. coli or other types of infections like raw ground beef.
Health Benefits of Beef Meal
Beef meal not only is tasteful but also has many good health benefits. Below we have highlighted some of the key health benefits of including beef meal in your dog food.
Best for Undernourished Dogs
As it is full of calories and fat, beef is a perfect food to help dogs gain a bit of weight.
Beef ranks second in terms of calories and first in terms of fat per ounce as compared to the other proteins widely used in dog foods.
However, by comparing two identical recipes made by the same supplier, more fat and calories are found in the beef meal as compared to other variants.
So, if your dog is recovering from a disease or is otherwise in need of putting on some extra body weight. A beef meal in the dog food would be the best choice to consider.
High in Protein
Beef meal is an abundant source of essential amino acids. Proteins are essential for better muscle mass. Proteins play essential role in various cellular functions of the body.
Best Source of Red Meat
Always labeled for being bad, red meat has catered to a myth. Red meat might have higher fat content but it not that bad. Because research studies found “low” evidence that red meat is harmful.
Perfect Source of heme-Iron
Beef meal is rich in iron but it is a more prime source of heme-iron. So, it prevents anemia especially in undernourished dogs and lactating dogs.
Eating beef meal thus improves blood circulation in your dog as it increases oxygen carrying capacity of Red blood cells.
Better Cardiac Health
The beef meal in dog food contains the highest amino acids. This amino acids are important in dogs for maintaining good health.
L-carnitine and taurine are two amino acids that contribute to heart health.
These two amino acids are found in higher quantities in beef meals but are found to be lacking in other meat meals.
Things to Look Before Buying Beef Meal
Buying beef meal in dog food will ensure that u get all the health benefits. But there are few things to be kept in mind and look into carefully before buying beef meal in dog food.
Look for First Three Ingredient
The ingredients list mentioned on the back of the dog food is important to read. But the first three ingredients of your dog food are crucial in deciding the quality of dog food.
The beef meal should be present in the first three ingredients itself. Having deboned beef meat in the first three ingredients will turn out to be a beneficial add-on.
And it will in turn enhance the taste a flavor of the beef meal. Some dog food can have other meat meals too in combination with a beef meal.
Weather to choose a meal that has beef meal alone or combination with meat meals, simply is owners choice.
Should Have no Mystery Ingredients
Many dog food manufacturers use beef meat only for preparing beef meal. Whereas the beef meal can also by prepared by using the offal and other remains.
While these kinds of ingredients such as beef by-products might put off some owners. But there is nothing wrong, with using beef and beef by-products for preparing a beef meal.
“Putting it more clearly: “Beef meal” or “beef by-products” are all fine, but the terms “meat meal” or “animal by-products really aren’t!”
Most dogs love them, and they typically have more protein per ounce than by using them raw, mostly because the water is removed from them.
There is one important thing that you may want to verify: it is best to properly recognize any meat meals or meat by-products used in your dog food.
It will not only simply guarantee that you do not give your dog a protein-containing food that they might be allergic to.
But it will also help ensure that there are no unpleasant or harmful sources of protein in the food.
Because some dogs might have allergies to certain parts of beef and might face digestibility problems as compare to some other breeds.
So it is in best of interest to look for a beef meal only and not a beef meal by-product.
Should be Made in a Country with High Safety Standards
You never want to give dog food to your furry buddies that could be contaminated or otherwise unsafe to even your pup.
It is difficult to eradicate these kinds of risks from packaged dog foods.
But if you stick to foods processed in countries with high levels of protection and quality control, most of these issues can be eliminated.
This means, in fact, it is always a better idea to buy dog food from the countries that have higher processing food standards.
Sticking to foods made in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or Western Europe, would keep you worry-free for dog food safety standards.
Look for Other Bonus Nourishing Ingredients
In general, the best dog foods contain major “bonus” ingredients that help to promote great health. Try selecting foods that contain the following, whenever possible:
Omega-3 fatty acids
Omega-3 fatty acids are a must if you want the better heart and brain health for your dog. Omega 3 fatty acid promotes mental development in puppies early stages of life.
Omega-3 fatty acids help prevent inflammation, which can, among other things, help improve the protection of the joints, skin, and your dog’s coat.
Probiotics
Probiotics are the good and beneficial bacteria that colonize the digestive tract of your dog. These good gut bacteria are also excellent bonus ingredients to search for in your dog food.
As they also help boost digestion and improve the pooping habits of your dog. Probiotics also help to increase the digestibility of the protein in the beef meal.
Glucosamine and Chondroitin
These are two of the most popular additives added to dog foods.
Both of these compounds, chondroitin, and glucosamine can help protect the joints of your dog. And they may even help promote cartilage formation.
Glucosamine: Controls the cartilage production of collagen and can have mild anti-inflammatory effects.
Chondroitin: Chondroitin is present in composite form with sulfate. It eliminates the joint fluid and cartilage damaging enzymes.
Suggested Beef Meal Recipes for Dog Food
We would want to suggest two beef meal recipes in your dog food. One of the recipes just has beef as a single source of animal protein.
Whereas the other recipe is grain-free and has a combination of poultry meats. The poultry meal recipe is best for dogs having an allergy to chicken meal.
Acana Singles Limited Ingredient New Beef & Pumpkin
Acana Singles Limited Ingredient New Beef & Pumpkin is our first beef meal recipe choice in your dog food. And is the best beef meal recipe for a single animal source of protein.
It contains only beef meal and no other meat meals.
Whole Earth Farms Grain-Free Recipe Pork, Beef & Lamb
Whole Earth Farms Grain-Free Recipe Pork, Beef & Lamb is the best choice for a beef meal if you are trying beef meal trying for the first time.
This recipe has a combination of pork, lamb, and beef meal. So it will best suit the dogs that have allergies to grains and even chicken meal at the same time.
FAQs
Is beef meal good for dogs?
Yes, the beef meal is good for your dogs and a safer option is to be fed than raw beef meat. Beef meal is a high-quality source of protein with essential amino acids. These nutrients help to support and provide energy for muscle strengthening.
What is a beef meal made of?
Beef meal is highly concentrated coarse powder prepared from rendered beef meat. The beef meal can be prepared from pasture-raised, organic, beef meats and sometimes can also use full cuts of beef without bones.
Is beef meal bad in dog food?
No beef meal is not bad in dog food. According to gov “Raw meat can be contaminated with harmful bacteria such as salmonella, campylobacter, listeria and Escherichia coli.Producing raw pet food does not include a process for killing bacteria.” Yes, the beef meal is good for your dogs and a safer option is to be fed than raw beef meat. Beef meal is a high-quality source of protein with essential amino acids. These nutrients help to support and provide energy for muscle strengthening.
What is the best dog food with real beef meat?
Acana Singles Limited Ingredient New Beef & Pumpkin is one of such beef meal recipe with real fresh/raw beef meat! This recipe has deboned beef and beef liver as the first five ingredients.
Concluding the Truth
So, our article concludes the truth about the beef meal in your dog food and it is the best meal to feed your dog.
Thus the beef meal recipes in dog food are prominently a great choice for underweight dogs and dogs that are allergic to chicken meals.
Resources
- Purina. (2020b, September 10). Is Beef Dog Food Right for Your Dog. Nestlé Purina Petcare Company.
- Spector, D. D. (2022c, August 16). Pet Food (What You Need to Know) for Your Pet’s Sake. PetMD.
- Coile, C., PhD. (2022c, October 27). The 8 Biggest Dog Food Myths. American Kennel Club.
- Herstad, K. M., V. (2017, May 30). A diet change from dry food to beef induces reversible changes on the faecal microbiota in healthy, adult client-owned dogs – BMC Veterinary Research.
Julia is a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist, practicing veterinarian in a non-profit animal hospital and feline sanctuary located in Rochester, NY. She is also a full-time veterinary advisor at DogLikesBest. She focuses on writing healthcare-related topics including dog foods, treats, veterinary diets, food for specific healthcare features, etc. Moreover, any article on DogNeedsBest that has to concern feline health in any way, goes under her scrutiny before being published.
