Description
The 2nd of 2 foundational modules setting the scene for the course, and specifically modules 8-16.
This module provides an overview of pet food – basic food preservation principles, processes and formats, ingredients, key pet food terminology and trends, and differences between general retail and veterinary diets. It also touches on legislation, safety, efficacy, and compliance to aid product comparison and selection / recommendation.
Learning Objectives
- Basic Food Preservation Principles & Pet Food Processing
- Introduction to the various formats – wet, dry, and semi-moist – pros and cons
- Comparing nutritional content – DM vs Energy
- A quick overview of ingredients used in pet food – feed materials & feed additives – bells & whistles (antioxidants, omega 3s and 6s, prebiotics, chondroprotectants, L-carnitine, others specified by PARNUTs)
- Introduction to other pet food terms – how we assess foods from a palatability, acceptability, digestibility, biovailability, urine pH perspective
- What makes vet diets so special – how they differ from OTC (health concern / special care) diets
- Long-term feeding vs. symptom-led feeding
- Selecting transition diets – the advantages of commercially prepared over homemade (‘bland’ diet)
