The pet food market is flooded with all kinds of organic claims. However, only a few of these claims have been substantiated by a third party. Only organic pet foods provide the assurance of strict regulation, verification, and legal enforcement to support their status as truly organic.
Organic claims made without USDA certification are not subject to any kind of regulation. Such claims are based solely on the manufacturer’s word and, as such, may or may not be true. So, as you might guess, abuse of the term ‘organic’ is unfortunately quite common in the pet food industry.
What you might not realize is that Hormone Free Pet Food are currently subject to the same regulations. All the ingredient choices and manufacturing processes involved in the production of USDA organic pet foods must, therefore, comply with the National Organic Program (NOP) standards established by the USDA. USDA certified organic pet foods must contain at least 95% organic ingredients and all ingredients must be fully traceable from their sources to specific production batches. Furthermore, NOP standards prohibit the use of conventional ingredients if organic versions are available;
Exceptions are made in cases where certain organic ingredients aren’t available and the only options are conventional varieties (e.g., calcium carbonate and fish). NOP standards also prohibit the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). If a conventional, or non-certified organic, ingredient, such as citric acid, is used, a non-GMO certificate must be provided by the organic producer. As well, NOP standards prohibit the use of ingredients which were treated with antibiotics or hormones, as well as the inclusion of potentially toxic synthetics, such as artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, in certified organic pet foods.
How to select the appropriate Hormone Free Pet Food
• Choose the food based on your pet activity and breed: Working pets will require more protein than other pets. Some pets naturally have a slower metabolism than others do, which mean they will need to be fed less. If you feed a pet a high protein diet that does not need high protein, you will end up with a fat pet.
• Check out the ingredients on the bag:
While the ingredient list is long, the most important ingredients are listed first. The first three ingredients are what you want to look at. This is what is the pet food is primarily made of. You do not want to see any by-product. In fact, you do not want to see any animal by-product listed anywhere on this list. The first ingredient should be a meat product. You do not want to see rice or corn listed as the first ingredient as this is filler. Meat should be the first ingredient.
What you don’t want in the pet food:
• Animal by-products.When checking out a pet food company, make sure they do not use animal by-products. Animal by-products are the biodegradable waste parts of animals, which are not intended for human consumption.
• Herbicides. Make sure that all the grains contain no herbicides. You do not need your pets eating grains that are covered in herbicides or pesticides.
• Preservatives .That should be fresh. Get that fresh and feed it to your pet fresh.
• Hormones .Your pet has enough hormones as it is. Why would you need to give your pet more through its meals? Keep the hormones out of the meal by giving your pet fresh and organic hormone free.
High-quality organic pet food is easier to find than you think. All you need to do is shop around. You may not be able to pick it up at your local grocery store but you can find at online. It is what is best for you pet.
When you buy your pet food, do you purchase the cheapest you can find or do you look for the healthiest meal available? The best organic pet food is not always the cheapest one that is on sale.
You should not buy foods based on what that is the cheapest. Generally, the cheapest meal is that is the least healthy. That picture on the bag can be very deceiving. Don’t trust it. Unless the pet food is organic, it is not going to be high quality.
Organic claims other than those made under the assurance of USDA certification are often used by pet food manufacturers to increase their sales. Even if manufacturers claim to use organic ingredients that are free of hormones, antibiotics, or GMOs, such claims are not verified by an unbiased party and, most importantly of all, cannot be verified by you, the consumer.