Meat and Bone Meal in Dog Food

Meat and bone meal in dog food is a rendered animal by-product often made from beef or pork. Due to its unclear name and composition, it is a bit of a controversial ingredient.

Contents

What is Meat and Bone Meal?

Meat and bone meal can be made from any mammal like beef, pork, or lamb. It’s made from animal tissue mixed with the bone.

It’s a mix between a meat meal and a bone meal.

Per AAFCO guidelines, it can not include lesser proteins from things like hairs, hide, hooves, or horns^[4].

For its production, meat and bones get ground and cooked. The rendering process then removes much of the fat and moisture.

In the end, this produces the dry nutrient concentrate the animal processing industry calls meat and bone meal.

Rendering is a common method to convert slaughterhouse leftovers into nutrient-rich powders for pet food.

And since meat and bone meal can come from a huge variety of animal-sourced parts, it is the leading animal-based ingredient used in dog food production^[13].

Benefits Of Meat and Bone Meal For Dogs

Most meat and bone meal contain about 50% of protein plus 15-45% of minerals and 8-12% of fat with some fiber and moisture.

Meat & bone meal is a dual-purpose ingredient.

It includes not only protein but also considerable amounts of natural calcium and phosphorus due to the bone material.

More specifically, it has to include at least 4% of phosphorus and the calcium level can not be more than 2.2 times of phosphorus^[4].

Overall, it is a good source of bioavailable protein and minerals that would otherwise go to waste.

Quality of Meat and Bone Meals

Proteins from meat and bone meal are very digestible and comparable to those from other animal by-product meals.

This is especially true when meat and bone meals were processed at low temperatures^[2].

Depending on how much bone was actually used the ash content in meat and bone meal can vary greatly^[8].

The nutritional value and protein quality of meat and bone meal varies widely between products, most likely due to the different processing procedures or raw material sources^[6,7,11].

As a rule, the higher the mineral content, the fewer essential amino acids are contained and the worse their bioavailability^[3,5,8].

This is probably because meals with a very high mineral content contain a lot of bones and collagen from their bone matrix.

In meat and bone meals a significant amount of the total protein can actually be collagen. Unfortunately, it is deficient in several essential amino acids and is a low-quality source of protein^[12].

But luckily, suppliers have to make sure that most of the protein in rendered mat and bone meal is actually digestible for dogs^[4].

In addition to protein and minerals, this ingredient also provides some animal fat.

However, the fatty acid composition depends on the animal(s) from which the meal is derived, e.g. the fatty acids of beef are proportionally more saturated than those of pork.

Without knowing the exact nutrient composition of the meat and bone meal used in a dog food recipe it is somewhat difficult to guess its actual function, digestibility, or quality.

Is Meat and Bone Meal a Bad Ingredient?

It’s not a harmful ingredient. But it’s also not the most natural ingredient either and does not come close to fresh meat.

For the industry, it’s a sustainable, and nutritious way to recycle leftover animal by-products into dog food recipes. It’s also cheaper than whole foods and helps keep costs down^[10].

On the other hand, meat and bone meal is a processed low-quality ingredient when compared to named, whole, or fresh food items. It’s mostly used in non-premium brands.

According to the animal food industry, meat and bone meal is one of the most widely used sources of animal protein in dog food^[1].

It’s a cost-effective ingredient for pet food manufacturers and reduces food waste, which is why it is so commonly used.

For the industry, it’s an obvious choice. But they know meals are not exactly label-friendly or a favorite among pet owners.

And that’s because most dog owners probably have no clue what this ingredient really is, how it’s made and why its used.

The use of meat and bone meal in dog food is somewhat controversial because it can contain a variety of animal parts that don’t sound too appealing to dog owners.

Since meat and bone meal is so high in minerals its use in commercial dog foods is somewhat limited anyway.

For example, it can’t really be the main protein source for high-protein diets. This would incidentally add way too many minerals.

It’s also a vaguely named ingredient which adds to the distrust.

See, meat and bone meal only has to be properly named if it is produced from a single source, e.g. as beef and bone meal^[4].

So if it’s really just generic “meat and bone meal,” it’s likely made from a blend of different animal carcasses (probably with species composition varying from batch to batch).

That can become a concern for dogs with food allergies.

It’s still a sustainable ingredient with reasonable quality.

All in all, meat and bone meal in dog food can be a valuable source of protein, minerals, and other nutrients.

Most dogs accept, like, and properly digest dog food even with moderate amounts of meat and bone meal in them.

When possible, we still recommend looking for a dog food with better ingredients like a named meat meal or fresh meat.

Or at least a food that uses meat and bone meal only as a supplemental ingredient and not as its main source of protein.

What is Meat and Bone Meal?

Benefits Of Meat and Bone Meal For Dogs

Quality of Meat and Bone Meals

Is Meat and Bone Meal a Bad Ingredient?

Further Reading