Chicken By-Product Meal

Chicken processing leaves usable parts that do not go to the meat case. Renderers cook and dry these perishable parts, separate some fat, then grind the solids into a meal that kibble plants can store and weigh.^6,7

1. 01 // Source Chicken parts Cleaned organs, necks, feet and other permitted carcass parts come from chicken processing.
2. 02 // Process Cooked Rendering heats the collected parts to reduce moisture and destroy bacteria before shipment.
3. 03 // Process Fat separated Some rendered fat is removed, especially when a fatty meal would be less stable in storage.
4. 04 // Output Ground meal The dried solids are milled into a concentrated protein ingredient for kibble plants.

1. 01

   Adds animal protein

   Rendering removes much of the water, so a measured weight of meal brings concentrated chicken protein into finished kibble.^5,7

2. 02

   Uses processing leftovers

   Chicken plants produce perishable parts alongside meat for sale. Rendering gives those parts a large feed market and makes them easier to store and ship.^6,7

3. 03

   Contributes minerals

   Bone and other hard parts bring minerals alongside protein. Their changing share also changes the meal's ash content, which makers must account for when formulating.^5,6,7

How much Dog study diets used 14% chicken by-product meal and, in a separate trial, 37.47% low-ash meal; neither figure is a usual recipe amount.^2,3

1. Brands say

   It supplies concentrated chicken protein

   Evidence

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

   A tested chicken by-product meal contained 67.66% crude protein on a dry matter basis. Rendering removes water and concentrates the solids. The protein contribution is real, though that single result does not describe every supplier's meal.^5,7

2. Brands say

   Dogs digest its protein well

   Evidence

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

   In a dog study of 8 poultry by-product meals, protein digestibility averaged 84.6% and varied between samples. Those meals were not identified as chicken only, and the result does not guarantee the digestibility of any finished kibble.¹

3. Brands say

   Dogs prefer it to fresh chicken

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

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

   The support is a Hill's-funded, 2-day panel test of a single 14% by-product meal recipe against recipes with fresh chicken. The paper itself flags recipe and processing differences as a confound, too thin to back a general preference claim.²

4. Brands say

   Its organs give dogs a vitamin boost

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

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

   Organs are permitted, but necks and feet are too. The tested chicken by-product meal sample reports protein, fat and ash without an organ proportion. The ingredient name cannot tell an owner what vitamin contribution reaches the finished food.^5,7

5. Critics say

   It is just cheap filler

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

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

   The tested chicken by-product meal contained 67.66% crude protein on a dry basis. A review of 17 dog diet studies treated poultry offal meal as a protein ingredient, although results varied. Calling it filler ignores its nutritional job.^4,5