Meat meal generally contains more actual
meat than whole meats listed, = because of the lack of water weight.
Meat meals, on the other hand, are concentrates of whole meat so the protein content is
higher than whole meat.
Miller's colleague, Dr. Erin Reed, explains that in commercial dog food, a high grade meat meal can actually be a better source of digestible protein
than the whole meat from which it was made.
Meat meal is actually a more concentrated source of protein due to the fact that it does not contain the water content of whole meat, and therefore can be added in greater quantities to dry foods to achieve a higher protein
content than whole meat because of the limitations of manufacturing machinery in their ability to include water beyond certain amounts.
Meat by - products are made from the meat parts of the animal such as the organs, and are generally lower - quality ingredients handled less
carefully than whole meats so avoid by - products.
Hill's foods have an interesting dynamic, because while they proudly advertise that real chicken, lamb and salmon are always the first ingredients, what they don't mention is that this is often a meat meal,
rather than a whole meat like other brands might have.
Meals do contain more protein
than whole meat, since the fat and water have been removed.
The first is always a whole meat or fish, followed by a meat or fish meal, which can provide nearly four times more protein
than the whole meat.