Hey, why do I smell the aroma of freeze-drying? It’s venison! ——Bai Wanwan
I believe that there must be such a
"temptation" item in the home of the shit shovel official that can control the kitten in the palm of his hand.
"It" can not only be used as a training artifact,
it can also be a signal to summon kittens.
That's right, it is just that - freeze-dried!
does not have a long development history like cat food.
Freeze-dried pet food has entered our field of vision
only in the past ten years.
With the maturity of technology in the past two years
and the rapid development of domestic and foreign pet markets,
new products and new brands have sprung up on the market,
dazzling.
Today we will talk about the ins and outs of choosing "freeze-drying"!
01
freeze-dried classification: snack? Staple food? I can’t tell the difference
Freeze-dried pet food: refers to the pet food that is made by freezing pure natural livestock and poultry liver, fish, shrimp, fruits, vegetables and other raw materials at low temperatures through vacuum freeze-drying technology, and then heating them through heat medium radiation under vacuum conditions to directly sublimate the water into a gaseous state without passing through the liquid state. Finally, the materials are dehydrated and processed. There are many freeze-dried pet foods on the market.
From the raw materials, It can be divided into chicken, beef, fish, rabbit and rare meat
or a mixture of multiple meat sources;
Functionally, it can be divided into freeze-drying of cat grass with hair-changing effect,
freeze-drying with cleaning effect, etc.;
But fundamentally, we can divide freeze-drying into:
Staple food freeze-drying and snack freeze-drying,
The biggest difference between the two is the difference in nutritional content.
As the name suggests,
staple food freeze-drying is freeze-drying that can be eaten by cats as a staple food.
To put it bluntly, it means "can be eaten as a meal".
And in pet food, there is a rigid rule,
means that if it is marked with the words "staple food" or "full price",
the nutrients it contains must meet "comprehensive and balanced",
and need to comply with the national standards for pet food.
Therefore, in the ingredient list of freeze-dried staple food, you will see that its raw material composition not only contains 95% or more of meat
(as a source of protein and fat),
it also adds various vitamins , minerals and other nutrients,
There are also a lot of nutrients that
should have.
In addition to the basic nutritional composition,
some products also add prebiotics ,
chondroitin sulfate and other functional ingredients to add icing on the cake.
There are not so many particularities in freeze-drying snacks.
The raw materials are simple and crude, usually only "meat".
Therefore, it can only be fed as a daily snack.
Eating it alone for a long time can easily lead to picky eaters and malnutrition in cats.
02
Advantages of freeze-drying
Compared with high-temperature processed pet food such as puffed cat food,
freeze-drying has the following advantages:
Nutrients are fully retained and the palatability is good
Because it is frozen at low temperature,
nutrients such as amino acids and fatty acids in
freeze-drying will not be destroyed by high temperatures.
In addition to nutrients,
the umami flavor of the meat itself is also retained to the greatest extent,
which is more delicious for cats.
has strong water absorption and recovery ability.
In addition to being fed directly,
can also be freeze-dried and immersed in water, that is, fed after rehydration.
is an excellent water trick for cats who don’t like to drink water.
But it should be noted that
the freeze-dried food after rehydration must be eaten within one hour, otherwise
it will easily breed bacteria if left for a long time.
It has less gastrointestinal burden and is easy to digest and absorb.
Freeze-dried fresh meat has a high content.
It is very close to the natural diet of cats and has high nutrient density.
There is no need to add starch, a substance that is difficult for cats to absorb due to process reasons, like puffed food.
Therefore, it will not put a burden on the cat's gastrointestinal tract, and
is easy to digest and absorb.
is light in weight, easy to carry, and easy to store.
Freeze-dried food is dehydrated more thoroughly and is light in weight.
is very convenient for feeding and carrying.
Compared with foods that need to be frozen and preserved, such as raw meat and bones,
freeze-drying is easier to store (just seal it at room temperature), and
also eliminates tedious steps such as thawing.
It can be seen that whether it is used as a staple food or a snack,
this little "piece of meat" is definitely worth giving your master a try!
But how to choose reliable freeze-drying for cats?
03
Factors to consider when choosing freeze-drying
High protein
The freeze-drying process can well retain the nutrients in the original meat,
Therefore, the cost of freeze-drying The protein content
is enough to reflect the quality of the raw materials used in the factory.
Take the same freeze-dried chicken breast snack as an example.
The crude protein content of one product is 780%,
Another freeze-dried product that looks similar has a crude protein content of only 450%.
Which product uses better raw materials has to be judged.
When purchasing, remember to check whether the freeze-dried raw materials are traceable.
Be wary of unscrupulous small workshops using meat from unknown sources.
Whether the antibiotics in the meat exceed the standard and whether
the meat is properly preserved will affect the quality of freeze-drying.
Sterilization
Sterilization is the safety guarantee of freeze-drying,
However, this small detail is easily overlooked by the poop scooper.
Freeze-drying with excessive edible bacteria can easily cause vomiting,
gastrointestinal discomfort and other adverse reactions in cats.
When purchasing freeze-dried products,
can see on the product details page whether the freeze-dried products have been irradiated and sterilized.
In addition, it does not contain grains, artificial attractants,
BHA, BHT and other controversial preservatives
which should also be the "basic quality" of a high-quality freeze-dried product.
's big brand and its own factory are also plus points!
04
When choosing freeze-drying of staple foods, extra attention should be paid to the following:
A. It is very important to comply with national standards
!
As a "staple food",
cannot be called a qualified product if it does not meet the national standards (nutritional and safety indicators)
.
At the same time, freeze-dried nutrition should best meet AAFCO indicators,
such as essential nutrients,
taurine, , and various vitamins, minerals, etc.,
must meet the daily needs of cats.
emphasizes again:
Only with comprehensive nutrition can it be called a staple food freeze-drying!
B. Appropriate calcium to phosphorus ratio
Calcium and phosphorus are the most abundant mineral elements in cats.
They are involved in the formation of bones and teeth in cats.
Phosphorus plays an important role in the process of energy storage and transmission.
Pet nutritionists and pet doctors recommend that
the most suitable calcium-to-phosphorus ratio for cats’ daily diet should be in the range of 2:1 to 1:1.
You can make calculations based on the test report of freeze-drying ~
Finally, I would like to remind all careful people,
Don’t be greedy for too much when feeding your cat freeze-drying for the first time.
Take it step by step and give your stomach some time to adapt ~
Well, after seeing this,
I think you have mastered the essence of purchasing high-quality freeze-drying.
Hurry up and place your order!
interactive topic: What kind of freeze-dried food does your cat like to eat?
