At NARA, the safety of your pets is of the utmost importance.
The pet food industry is now the largest user of rendered fats and proteins. Renderers follow safety procedures to the letter to ensure that these rendered ingredients and end products are nutritious and safe for your pets (and livestock). Rendered protein meals such as meat and bone meal, poultry by-product meal, and fish meal are highly sustainable and almost universally used in pet foods. They provide high quality protein with a good balance of amino acids essential to pet health.
But for us it goes even deeper. NARA has longstanding and valued partnerships with organizations such as the Pet Food Institute, and Canine Companions for Independence who focus on the safety, and companionship of our pets.
At NARA we feel if you do choose to have a dog, cat (or any animal), it’s important to keep them healthy and happy, and one way to do that is to ensure they are eating safe and nutritious food.
That is why we’re celebrating National Dog Day, observed on August 26th.
As National Dog Day’s website says, this special day “was founded in 2004 by Animal Welfare Advocate and Pet Lifestyle Expert, Colleen Paige. National Dog Day celebrates all breeds, mixed and pure and serves to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year, either from public shelters, rescues and pure breed rescues.
National Dog Day honors family dogs and dogs that work selflessly to save lives, keep us safe and bring comfort. Dogs put their lives on the line every day – protecting our families and homes, for their law enforcement partner, for their blind companion, for the disabled, for our freedom and safety by detecting bombs and drugs and helping to locate and rescue victims of accidents and tragedy.”
Last October, NARA members generously contributed to our partner, Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), which pairs canine assistance animals with children, adults, and veterans in need. Attendees were so giving in fact, that our donation allowed us to name one of CCI’s new canine helpers, a yellow lab puppy officially named “Nara II.” (Read the blog here)
And for those following Nara II’s growth and development, he isn’t such a puppy anymore!
Nara II is currently being “home schooled” by two trained puppy raisers in San Luis Obispo CA. He’s learning new skills every day to help him become a trained and trusted assistance dog for someone in need.
Another important partner in NARA’s focus on pet food safety is the Pet Food Institute (PFI). Based in Washington, DC, PFI is the national trade association representing dog and cat food manufacturers. Its member companies make the vast majority of pet food sold in the United States, where pet food sales reach more than $30 billion per year. PFI serves as the voice of pet food makers before Congress and at state legislatures, is a resource for media and the public, and interacts with federal and state regulators at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and state regulatory agencies.
Earlier this year PFI released a new video, “What’s in a Pet Food Label,” that breaks down the information required on a pet food label and helps pet lovers make an informed decision when selecting their dog or cat’s food. PFI is also supporting research in partnership with the Fats and Proteins Research Foundation to advance continuous improvement in the safety of pet food ingredients and finished products. This includes mitigation of salmonella in rendered ingredients to help ensure safe pet food for the two-thirds of U.S. households with a dog or cat home.
Dog lovers can also learn more about how nutrition in a dog food recipe helps promote a long and healthy life by visiting PFI’s “Dog Nutrition from Nose to Tail.” There you’ll see interactive infographics that show the function of each nutrient in complete and balanced dog food.
So whether National Dog Day inspires you to adopt a rescue, or if you are a longstanding pet parent, we hope you remember rendering’s contribution and commitment to your four legged companion’s safety and wellbeing when feeding them nutritious pet food made with rendered products.
For more information on how rendered ingredients in pet food are safe and nutritious as well as sustainable, read the results of the Pet Food Production and Ingredients Analysis report, our joint study with The Institute for Feed Education and Research and PFI.
