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When you read the ingredients list of your dog’s favorite food, you almost always find some ingredients that you don’t know, and meat foods like Lamb Meal may be one of them.
Although Lamb is well known, many dog owners are not sure what Lamb Meal means and if it is something their dog should be eating.
What is the Supper of the Lamb?
Lamb Meal is a concentrated form of Lamb meat and tissue that has been processed to remove excess moisture.
This process, known as rendering, is carried out on an industrial scale and produces other well-known animal products such as Beef Tallow.
Many dog owners do not realize that whole meat ingredients such as Lamb, Chicken, or Beef contain a very high proportion of water or moisture, about 75%.
You can see a few examples in the chart below.
As you can see, the Lamb itself does not have as much moisture as other meats, but at about 60%, it is still great.
This high moisture content means that when the meat is cooked during dry dog food recipes, most of this moisture is lost, leaving only a small portion of the meat remaining.
But the portion remains stable due to meat foods such as Lamb Meal that have had this moisture removed in advance.
Lamb Meal is an example of a responsible and transparent meat ingredient as it should be produced with Lamb based ingredients.
This is in contrast to other meat meals such as Bone and Meat Meal, which are less versatile and can be made with a variety of ingredients.
You can read more about Bone Meal in our dedicated discussion – Bone Meal In Dog Food.
Why Eat Lamb in Dog Food
Nutritious food
As we mentioned earlier, Lamb Meal is dehydrated, which means it is a very dense ingredient full of protein and animal fat.
This nutrient density allows pet food manufacturers to include a smaller portion of Lamb Meal to provide more nutrition than whole lamb ingredients.
Similar to other red meat ingredients, Lamb contains a higher amount of fat compared to some lean meats, with a protein to fat ratio of 30:70, although this can vary depending on the source.
Costs
It also happens that meat dishes like Lamb Meal are cheaper to buy than whole lamb ingredients.
This is because most of the Lamb used to produce Lamb Dishes is leaner and less desirable cuts of meat than the ones you are used to in the supermarket.
While that may not seem appealing, those scraps and trimmings are still very nutrient dense, and dogs won’t turn their noses up at them.
Storage and Security
An often-overlooked reason that meat dishes such as Lamb Meal use whole meat ingredients is that they are less prone to spoilage once made.
This is an important feature in the pet food manufacturing industry and reduces the risk of problems that could lead to recalls.
It also allows manufacturers to more easily transport and store ingredients over time, allowing for a more efficient supply chain.
Types of Dog Food Using Lamb Meal
Lamb Mnly is not the most popular meat in the dog food industry, but it sees consistent use throughout the industry.
Some well-known dog food brands use Lamb Meal in their recipes, such as Purina Pro Plan, Hill’s Science Diet, Diamond, Iams, Wellness, Zignature, Canidae, Rachael Ray Nutrish, Victor, Instinct, and Nature’s Logic.
While recently researching the use of ingredients in dog food preparation, we found that of the 100 most popular dry dog food recipes on Chewy.com, 9 of those contain Lamb Meal.which is almost in line with our expectations.
Nature’s Logic’s Canine Lamb Meal Feast is an excellent example of using Lamb Meal in dog food, and you can see its ingredient list below.
As you can see, Lamb Meal is the most abundant ingredient in the recipe, and given its density, this means that there is a large portion of Lamb present.
However, some brands often use a mixture of Lamb and Lamb Meal in their recipes, such as Signature’s Select Cuts Lamb & Lamb Meal formula.
As you can see above, Lamb is the most abundant ingredient in the recipe and is included in a small portion of the Lamb Meal.
However, given its high density, there may be more Lamb in that small portion of the Lamb’s Supper than in the larger portion of the Lamb.
Based on our experience from the past few years, the use of Lamb and Lamb Meal is likely to increase as dog owners look to provide their dogs with a varied and appealing diet.
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