Meat Protein Isolate?

mizzely

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What does "Meat Protein Isolate" mean as an ingredient? Is there a risk of allergies from it since it's unnamed? Browsing foods for a cat allergic to chicken and not sure if I should avoid something like this.
 
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catlover1028

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Hello! Well, first of all does it just say "Meat Protein Isolate" or does it name what meat source it comes from? If it doesn't name what the specific meat name is, I would move on from that food because it could literally mean any kind of meat. From zoo animals to road kill so just stick to named meat sources. Protein isolates are 95+% pure protein sometimes reaching close to 100% purity. They are the opposite from fillers. So I think it is a pretty good ingredient as long as you know what meat it is from. Hope this helped!
 
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mizzely

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From the ingredients:

"Venison Meal, Meat Protein Isolate, Potato Protein, Soybean Oil, Gelatin, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Natural Flavor..."

So yes unidentified meat. Glad to know what isolate means though but will skip it especially since we're dealing with allergies. Thanks!
 

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USDA guidelines say that anything labeled "meat" must be from a cow, pig, sheep, or goat. "Poultry" only refers to chicken and turkey. Anything else must be specifically labeled. If you need to know specifics, try contacting the company. Some of them are very helpful :).
 
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mizzely

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USDA guidelines say that anything labeled "meat" must be from a cow, pig, sheep, or goat. "Poultry" only refers to chicken and turkey. Anything else must be specifically labeled. If you need to know specifics, try contacting the company. Some of them are very helpful :).
Oh that's interesting, I didn't know that! I'll reach out just to be sure. It'll still have to be a food for exploring later as we haven't gone through most of those on a trial basis yet and I don't want to muddy the waters so to speak.
 

catlover1028

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USDA guidelines say that anything labeled "meat" must be from a cow, pig, sheep, or goat. "Poultry" only refers to chicken and turkey. Anything else must be specifically labeled. If you need to know specifics, try contacting the company. Some of them are very helpful :).
I have never heard of that. I guess you learn something everyday! :)
 
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mizzely

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Do USDA guidelines apply for every cat food?
I did see this: https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/ucm047113.htm


"For example, "meat" is defined as the "clean flesh of slaughtered mammals and is limited to...the striate muscle...with or without the accompanying and overlying fat and the portions of the skin, sinew, nerve and blood vessels which normally accompany the flesh." "

So at least the fda site mentions "meat" means "mammal"

Eta: just found this also: http://www.aafco.org/Consumers/What-is-in-Pet-Food

"
In addition to using the term "meat," the pet food manufacturer may also identify the species from which the meat is derived, such as "beef" or "pork." However, to use the generic term "meat" on the label, it can only be from cattle, pigs, sheep or goats. If it comes from any other mammal, the species must be identified (for example, "buffalo" or "venison"), so you can rest easy that if any other species was used, it would have to be declared. Also, if the muscle is from non-mammalian species, such as poultry or fish, it cannot be declared as "meat" but must use the appropriate identifying terms"
 
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catlover1028

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I did see this: https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/ucm047113.htm


"For example, "meat" is defined as the "clean flesh of slaughtered mammals and is limited to...the striate muscle...with or without the accompanying and overlying fat and the portions of the skin, sinew, nerve and blood vessels which normally accompany the flesh." "

So at least the fda site mentions "meat" means "mammal"

Eta: just found this also: http://www.aafco.org/Consumers/What-is-in-Pet-Food

"
In addition to using the term "meat," the pet food manufacturer may also identify the species from which the meat is derived, such as "beef" or "pork." However, to use the generic term "meat" on the label, it can only be from cattle, pigs, sheep or goats. If it comes from any other mammal, the species must be identified (for example, "buffalo" or "venison"), so you can rest easy that if any other species was used, it would have to be declared. Also, if the muscle is from non-mammalian species, such as poultry or fish, it cannot be declared as "meat" but must use the appropriate identifying terms"
Ok thanks! I have 3 cats and 4 dogs(1 is a Great Dane so he basically eats more than I do!) so I can't always afford the healthiest food. I feed PetGuard and rotate Sheba. PetGuard is the healthy food and Sheba is the ok food. It contains Meat By-Products and I kept on hearing that unidentified meat sources could mean meat from anything. Now I feel a lot better feeding Sheba!
 
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mizzely

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So I contacted Wysong (the manufacturer of the food I'm looking at) and they advised they only use pork for their isolate.

"Meat protein isolate, which is named so due to labeling regulations, is derived exclusively from pork meat. (Current regulations, for some unknown reason, do not permit a more descriptive term.) It is one of the cleanest and most pure sources of protein available."

http://www.wysongepigen.net/Epigen - The Rationale for Protein Isolates.pdf
 
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