- Filler (animal food)
In processed animal foods, a filler is an ingredient added to provide
dietary fiber , bulk or some other non-nutritive purpose.Products like corn and corncobs, feathers, soy, cottonseed hulls, peanut hulls, citrus pulp, screening, weeds, straw, and cereal by-products are often included as inexpensive fillers or low-grade fiber content.
Dietary fiber acts as a calming base for forming the stool in the colon, and it should help develop good fecal consistency, in addition to other health benefits such as reduced
blood sugar uptake.According to critics, many commercial pet foods contain fillers that have little or no
nutrition al value, but are added to decrease the overall cost of the food, especially when pet food manufacturers attempt to keep their pet foods at a desiredprice point despite rising manufacturing, marketing, shipping, and related costs. Critics allege that low-grade fiber fillers actually aggravate the intestinal walls instead of promoting health, and that carnivores such as cats are not able to successfully digest vegetable matter.In rare cases, contaminated fillers have led to large-scale recalls at significant expense to the pet food companies. Two recent examples are
aflatoxin on corn in the [http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/diamond12_05.html 2006 Diamond Dog Food Recall] andmelamine , which may have contaminatedwheat gluten and other protein concentrates, in the2007 pet food recalls .ee also
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Dog food
*Meat by-product External links
* [http://www.purina.com/dogs/food/FunctionsOfFiber.aspx Functions of fiber] -
Purina
* [http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1 What’s Really in Pet Food]
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