Meat and Bone Meal

Meat processors leave trimmings, offal and bone after preparing food for people. Renderers cook that material, press out fat and grind the remaining solids into a dry ingredient for pet food plants.^7,8,9

1. 01 // Source Mammal leftovers Trimmings, inedible organs and bones arrive from slaughter and meat processing.
2. 02 // Process Sized and cooked The material is sorted into similar sizes, then cooked to separate tissue and fat.
3. 03 // Process Fat pressed out A press removes much of the released fat from the cooked solids.
4. 04 // Output Ground dry meal The remaining protein and bone are ground into a dry meal for the kibble plant.

1. 01

   Adds animal protein

   The dry meal contributes protein without the water in fresh tissue. Dogs digested an average 76% of its crude protein across the meals in one substitution study.^1,8

2. 02

   Supplies bone minerals

   Bone brings calcium and phosphorus into the recipe. The formulator must account for both in the finished food, especially when the meal makes up a large share.^6,7,8

3. 03

   Uses a large supply

   Rendering gives meat processors a use for parts left after human food production. An industry report places meat and bone meal among the highest-volume U.S. pet food ingredients.^7,10

How much A 6-dog trial added 6, 12 or 24% meat and bone meal to a base dry food.²

1. Brands say

   Meat and bone meal supplies usable protein

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Across 8 meals tested in dogs, average crude protein digestibility was 76%. A separate 6-dog trial found no drop in diet protein digestibility through 24% added meal. It supplies protein, though quality varies by batch.^1,2

2. Brands say

   Its bone supplies calcium and phosphorus

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Feedipedia's high-fat samples averaged about 101 g/kg calcium and 49 g/kg phosphorus on a dry basis. Bone supplies both minerals. Whether the finished food has appropriate amounts depends on the whole recipe.^6,8

3. Brands say

   It digests as well as poultry by-product meal

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   In a dog study testing 8 samples of each ingredient, average crude protein digestibility was 76% for meat and bone meal versus 85% for poultry by-product meal. Those samples do not support an equal-digestibility claim.¹

4. Critics say

   Rendering destroys all its protein

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Dogs digested an average 76% of protein from the tested meals. A processing trial raised concerns about protein availability after harsher heating, but it did not find that rendered protein became unusable.^1,4