Beef is an ingredient derived from cattle. In dog food, beef is one of the most widely used sources of animal protein.
Contents
Fresh Beef
Most dog foods contain chicken as the main source of animal protein. But beef is the second most common meat ingredient[1].
Beef provides an excellent source of protein and contains taurine, niacin, vitamin B12, creatine, fatty acids, and minerals.
As a red meat, beef contains elevated myoglobin concentrations and is a great source of iron and zinc[8].
| Nutrients in 100 g[9] | Beefa |
|---|---|
| Water | 58.1 g |
| Energy | 293 kcal |
| Protein | 15.8 g |
| Fat | 25 g |
| Ash | 0.77 g |
| Amino acids | |
| Arginine | 1.03 g |
| Histidine | 0.512 g |
| Isoleucine | 0.697 g |
| Leucine | 1.23 g |
| Lysine | 1.3 g |
| Methionine | 0.405 g |
| Threonine | 0.61 g |
| Phenylalanine | 0.615 g |
| Tryptophan | 0.08 g |
| Valine | 0.774 g |
| Fatty acids | |
| Saturated | 9.57 g |
| Monounsaturated | 11.4 g |
| Polyunsaturated | 0.609 g |
| Cholesterol | 75 mg |
| Minerals | |
| Calcium | 21 mg |
| Iron | 1.79 mg |
| Magnesium | 15 mg |
| Phosphorus | 145 mg |
| Potassium | 244 mg |
| Sodium | 66 mg |
| Zinc | 3.87 mg |
| Copper | 0.056 mg |
| Manganese | 0.009 mg |
| Selenium | 14.3 µg |
| Vitamins | |
| Vitamin C | 0 mg |
| Vitamin A | 4 µg |
| Vitamin E | 0.17 mg |
| Vitamin K | 2.4 µg |
| Thiamin | 0.044 mg |
| Riboflavin | 0.151 mg |
| Niacin | 3.8 mg |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.446 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.301 mg |
| Vitamin B12 | 2.11 µg |
| Folate | 8 µg |
| Choline | 51.6 mg |
| Betaine | 8.4 mg |
Beef is a highly palatable red meat and also a complete protein, meaning it contains all of the essential amino acids dogs need in their diet.
It’s a popular choice for dog foods since dogs seem to have a preference for beef over chicken or pork[2].
Because so many dogs are exposed to beef protein on a daily basis, it is also one of the most common allergens in dogs with food allergies. This does not mean that beef is a “bad” protein but simply reflects how many dogs eat beef on a regular basis[6,7].
If a dog food lists just beef, it refers to fresh meat.
To be more specific, beef is all of the skeletal muscle and striate muscle found in the diaphragm, esophagus, tongue or heart[3].
It is the same as deboned beef since meat can only include small portions of fatty tissue, sinew, nerves, skin, or blood vessels attached to the clean flesh. But never bone.
If a manufacturer wants to include some beef bone, a common way to label this combined ingredient is beef with ground bone.
in general, beef is considered a highly digestible source of animal protein, and dogs like the taste of beef in their food.
Some manufacturers rather use dehydrated or dried beef protein because it’s easier to store and handle compared to fresh beef.
Red meats like beef and beef organ meats are high in purines[5].
If your dog has problems with its purine metabolism or is prone to bladder stones and needs a low purine diet, you should talk to a veterinarian about the best food options anyway.
Beef By-Products
Beef for human consumption is produced at a large scale. And this means there are lots of leftovers that can be used in dog food.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture beef cattle weighing 1000 pounds yields about 450 pounds of edible meat per animal.
By-products include all the parts “other than meat” that are not used by humans. But not hair, hooves, horns or teeth.
Common beef by-products are organ meats such as lung, kidney, spleen, brain, liver, blood, bone, fatty tissues, and tripe and intestines without their contents.
Beef cartilage can add some collagen, chondroitin, or glucosamine.
So you see, there is a wide variety of beef parts companies can use and list as beef by-products.
Although many dog owners claim that by-products are nutritionally inferior, they are in fact very nutritious animal-sourced ingredients.
They are just secondary products of the meat industry.
But recycling beef leftovers to recover protein, fat, minerals and vitamins that would otherwise literally go into the trash is a sustainable way to utilize slaughterhouse waste.
Beef Fat
With more than 100.000 tons used annually, beef fat is the most commonly used source of animal fats in dog foods[1].
Beef fat is separated and collected during rendering, a type of high-temperature processing that separates beef tissues into their protein and fat fractions.
Beef fat is a highly digestible source of energy and fatty acids. And it provides lots of flavor.
It’s comprised of mainly saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids and only contains a small amount of omega-6 fatty acids.
| Nutrients in 100g[9] | Beef tallow |
|---|---|
| Energy | 902 kcal |
| Fatty Acids | |
| Saturated | 49.8 g |
| – Palmitic acid | 24.9 g |
| – Stearic acid | 18.9 g |
| – Myristic acid | 3.7 g |
| Monounsaturated | 41.8 g |
| – Oleic acid | 36 g |
| – Palmitoleic acid | 4.2 g |
| Polyunsaturated | 4 g |
| – Linoleic acid | 3.1 g |
| – Linolenic acid | 0.6 g |
| Other | |
| Cholesterol | 109 mg |
| Vitamin E | 2.7 mg |
| Choline | 79.8 mg |
It’s a “hard fat” with a melting point above room temperature.
In human nutrition, highly saturated fats are sometimes associated with coronary heart disease or high cholesterol.
While these are not common problems in dogs, beef fat should be balanced with a complementary fat source that adds some omega-3 fatty acids to the diet.
One advantage of beef fat is that it’s high content of saturated fatty acids makes it less susceptible to oxidation. It requires fewer added antioxidants to remain shelf-stable[4].
If this animal fat was rendered from cattle tissue only, manufacturers are free to label it as beef tallow.
Beef Meal
Beef meal is a type of protein powder that is commonly used in pet food. It is a meat meal made from beef tissues.
It’s made by taking the by-products of beef that are not suitable for human consumption, such as organ meats, meat scraps, and connective or fatty tissues, and cooking them down at high temperatures to remove beef fat and moisture.
This process is known as rendering, and it produces a dry, high-protein ingredient that can be added to pet food.
As a cost-effective way to provide animal protein to dogs, it is typically considered to be a safe and nutritious ingredient.
It’s important to note that the quality of rendered beef meal can vary depending on the raw materials or the rendering method.
If a beef meal is rendered from by-products and bones, it is a beef & bone meal and a source of protein and minerals.
Beef Flavor
There are many dog food ingredients that are used to add some extra beef flavor to products since dogs like it so much.
This includes broths like beef broth or beef bone broth or animal digests or hydrolyzed proteins made from beef tissue.
Only a small amount of “added flavor” is needed to create a beef-flavored product. But any dog food with “beef” in its name has to include some amount of real beef (not just meals or flavors).
Further Reading
[1] Pet Food Production and Ingredient Analysis (PDF). 2020. Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER), North American Renderers Association (NARA), Pet Food Institute (PFI)
[2] Tsai et al. Ranking of Dog Preference for Various Cooked Meats (pdf). 2018 SSP Conference.
[3] AAFCO Official Publication. Chapter 6. Free Access.
[4] Aldrich: Rendered Products in Pet Food. Published in Essential Rendering (pdf). 2006.
[5] All About Dog Food – Ingredient Glossary: Beef in dog food.
[6] Verlinden et al. Food allergy in dogs and cats: A review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 2006. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408390591001117
[7] Laflamme et al. Myths and misperceptions about ingredients used in commercial pet foods. Veterinary Clinics: Small Animal Practice. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvsm.2014.03.002
[8] Faber et al. Protein digestibility evaluations of meat and fish substrates using laboratory, avian, and ileally cannulated dog assays. Journal of Animal Science. 2010. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2009-2140
[9] U.S. Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central. 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov