Work

Assessment of mineral adequacy in preprepared raw dog foods labeled as complete

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In parallel with the growing number of pets, interest in their proper nutrition is also increasing. Many alternative diets have become popular. In addition to home-prepared raw food, commercially available preprepared raw dishes have also been developed in recent years. According to publications from the last decade, many recipes for raw foods do not fulfill the definition of a complete and balanced diet. We determined the mineral composition of complete preprepared raw dishes (n = 33) available in Hungary and compared the results with the FEDIAF's recommendations. Macroelements were determined via inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, and microelements and heavy metals were determined via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. None of the foods were complete to all the macro- and microelements. Selenium was below the minimum recommended level in all foods. The lead levels were higher than permitted in two samples containing game meat, one of which was combined with salmon. In our research, none of the preprepared raw dishes covered the mineral requirements of dogs according to the FEDIAF recommendations. Our results are in accordance with the relevant literature, emphasizing the need for better quality control from regulatory authorities and increased awareness from the owners to ensure that their pets receive a complete diet.

Source: Scientific Reports

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-27388-w