huskymom
Posted : 8/29/2010 12:59:37 AM
I'm slightly confused by their site. I've always thought that Meal meant dehydrated meat, meaning if its listed first or second, it is usually worth more than a Meat listed in the same place. Wiki defines it as:
Chicken meal, according to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), is the dry rendered product from a combination of clean chicken flesh and skin with or without accompanying bone, derived from whole carcasses of chicken, exclusive of feathers, heads, feet and entrails.[citation needed] A meal in general is "an ingredient which has been ground or otherwise reduced in particle size."[1]
Chicken meal is ground up chicken meat that has been carefully dried to a moisture level of 10%. The protein content is 65% and the fat level is 12%. Regular chicken contains about 70% water with 18% protein and 5% fat.
By this definition I WANT Chicken Meal listed more than Chicken Meat. (If I want a chicken formula, Fish Meal if I want fish etc.) But by Halo's definition "Meal" is the devil. So by listing Chicken alone, the third ingredient, Pea Protein and the fourth, Oats may very well amount to more than the chicken does, and very likely are more when combined. Chicken meat weighs alot, but its mostly water. That water is lost when the food is dried, so...I would rather it was meal. Maybe I'm wrong.