Pet food and wellbeing company Bella and Duke is calling upon those in the pet food industry to be clearer about what goes into pet food.
The call comes after research found three quarters (74%) of pet owners don’t know what ingredients are in the food they feed their pets – equating to nearly 12 million households that have a pet.
According to the research, pet food products that display meat as an ingredient need to only contain just 4% of that animal protein. A third (33%) of people said this is not good enough and that they themselves would not eat a ‘meat meal’ if it only contained 4% of the meat it claims. With half (50%) of respondents agreeing that pet food should be of the same quality as human food, the need for clearer labelling is not just wanted but necessary.
Now, Bella and Duke are calling for clarity on what goes into pet food to help pet owners make informed decisions and do right by their pets.
Nearly two thirds (63%) of pet owners said they ensure they give their pet the best food and nutrition, spending on average £45.16 per month. However, without clear information, pet owners risk being misinformed on what is right for their pet.
Certifications such as RawSAFE and those from UK Pet Food now exist to create a set of robust standards for raw meat-based diets for pets, focused on safety and quality, with the standards based on those in human food manufacturing.
Pet owners who choose a product with the RawSAFE label, can be reassured that it has been manufactured to the “highest” standards of safety with quality ingredients, and Bella and Duke is now calling for similar standards to be consistent across the entire pet food industry whether manufacturing raw meals, fresh or kibble.
As well as demanding greater transparency on pet food labels and higher standards across the industry, Bella and Duke is arming pet owners with the knowledge of what is best for their pet, and what foods to avoid after finding the percentage of pet owners that would feed their pets the below foods, which can in fact cause health issues
Last year, Bella and Duke ran their annual Health and Happiness survey, speaking to 1,399 dog owners, 212 cat owners and 33 cat and dog owners to concretely understand the beneficial impact its customers have seen since switching to a raw diet for their pets, and the findings highlighted the health benefits of a raw diet:
- 81% agreed that feeding raw helped their pet maintain a healthy weight
- 87% saw positive poo changes from their pets
- 70% saw positive changes to their pet’s coat
- 69% saw an improvement in their pet’s allergies
James Sturrock, CEO at Bella and Duke, said: “We only want what is best for our pets yet there are still many misconceptions around a raw food diet that we are campaigning to address. The reality is raw pet food is one of the most regulated in the pet food industry, with organisations such as RawSAFE and UK Pet Food ensuring only the highest standards of manufacturing are being met. We were also awarded Manufacturer of the year at the Pet Industry Federation Awards in 2023, coming out on top amongst a variety of different pet foods , highlighting our commitment to making safe, complete raw meals for our pets.
“We think it is time that the rest of the pet food industry follows these high standards with transparent labelling on what is going in their products, to allow pet owners to make informed decisions on what is best for their pet to live the happy and long lives they deserve.”
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