One such by-product that is used by both humans and dogs is wheat bran. To obtain white flour for bread and confectionaries the wheat kernel needs to be polished, removing the protective skin, protein and oilrich germ.
A by-product of this process is wheat bran. The high fibre of wheat bran improves the micro health of your digestive tract, keeps you regular and absorbs many toxins like cancer forming (carcinogenic) mycotoxins.
But human demand for this wonderful fibre through brown bread, breakfast cereals and other products does not balance the demand for products produced from white wheat flour. There remains an excess of wheat bran at Flour Mills, which they must dispose of at a fair value to control their product pricing and keep them viable.
Wheat bran, a healthy by-product of wheat milling, therefore exceeds human demand despite its healthy contribution to our existence. Is this the despised byproduct or waste product of primary industry?
It is this “waste” product that is included in dog foods as a cereal by-product or wheat offal or wheat bran or wheat byproduct (see the ingredient list on your dog food bag). Dogs receive a healthy fibre source, often shunned by man, which helps maintain their digestive tract and supply important nutrition.
As long as man demands more convenience foods and more refined foods, there will be a growth in by-products (waste) from the primary food industry.
These are by no means low grade or useless products, only materials man chooses not to consume. They remain useful to other industries such as the pet food industry, adding value to these products.
Many and varied by-products are produced, supplying valuable nutrition, from primary food processing. Oil cake meals, as a further example, are excellent vegetable proteins, high in amino acid supply for pet foods and derived as by-products from the primary oil industry bringing unsaturated oils and fats (margarine) to the table of mankind.
By no means a ‘waste’ material, it adds to the balance of nutrition in dog foods.
By-products is not a ‘dirty’ word for waste, but a description of often valuable nutritious materials that people choose not to eat, and have therefore removed from food stuffs. These food stuffs in their refined state, then become the primary food product in the food chain. Animals, and in particular pets, benefit enormously from the wastefulness of man.