24 LEARNING CURVE / Nutrition Myths
High ash content is an indicator of a poorer quality of protein with less digestibility.
can give you an idea of the quality of the by-products. High ash content is an indicator of a
poorer quality of protein with less digest- ibility. The presence of by-products would not indicate a poor-quality diet, but a higher ash-to-protein ratio would. Feeding trials evaluating nutrient con-
tent and digestibility will help greatly in evaluating the quality of the ingredients. This information is available in most product reference guides, in online ref- erences and from the manufacturer. The reputation of the manufacturer is the best indicator of a good-quality diet (Hand et al. 2000; Wortinger 2007).
Myth 2: Feeding trials are not necessary A feeding trial protocol as established
by AAFCO for adult maintenance lasts 6 months, requires only 8 animals per group and monitors a limited number of parameters. These parameters are set at the mini-
mum nutrient requirements as defined by the National Research Council. These levels tend to be lower than the recom- mended daily intake (RDI).
Requirements are the minimum level
of a nutrient that, over time, is sufficient to maintain the desired physiological functions of the animals in the popula- tion. RDI is the level of intake of a nutri- ent that appears to be adequate to meet the known nutritional needs of practi- cally all healthy individuals. The National Research Council recom- mendations are to serve as a guide to diet formulations, but they do not account for digestibility or nutrient availability. AAFCO feeding trials provide reasonable assurance of nutrient availability and sufficient palatability to ensure accept- ability. They also provide some assur- ance that the product will support certain functions such as gestation, lactation and growth (Case et al. 2000; Hand et al. 2000; Wortinger 2007). A feeding trial is also the only way to
accurately access the quality of the pro- tein in a diet, as this is the only valid way to determine digestibility of a pro- tein, and therefore its quality. Passing a feeding trial does not ensure that the food will be effective in preventing long- term nutrition/health problems or detect
Trends magazine, April 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68