The possibilities for making functional health claims in pet food

October 06 2022 - News

Health and well-being trends are driving today’s pet food market. Pet parents consider their pets as true members of the family and feel a big responsibility to keep them healthy, active, and comfortable. Pet foods with claims to improve health and well-being help pet parents to make the right choices, and substantiating them requires innovation and close cooperation between all players in our industry.

In many respects, the requirements for healthy living for both humans and pets are very similar. We both need plenty of exercise, not too much stress, and a healthy diet. That means giving cats and dogs good quality food with the right mix and balance of ingredients, and in the right amounts to ensure they don’t overeat. Pet parents also need to make sure that their pets get the right nutrition for their age, health condition, and breed. This is where health claims come into play.

Pet health claims
Particular ingredients can be used to make health claims for supporting a healthy digestive system, cognitive functioning, or skin and coat, for example. Other possibilities are targeting specific health issues or catering to the specific needs of individual breeds of cats and dogs or their age group. Aging can cause many health issues for cats and dogs, which can be controlled or mitigated by choosing the right ingredients, as my colleague Geert van der Velden explains in his blog on senior pet nutrition.

The pet experience

Pet parents truly want to experience a close relationship with their pets and give them a long, happy, and active life. More and more opportunities are therefore available for pet food producers to cater to this growing, developing, and diversifying market. On the other hand, it can be challenging for pet parents to find out which food best suits their dog or cat. Pet food producers need to find ways to provide clear and precise information on the health benefits that can be expected of particular ingredients.

Importance of clear information

Claims for health and well-being benefits are important for pet parents to navigate the world of pet food. The exact effect of ingredients on the health or well-being of cats and dogs depends on whether these are soft or hard claims. The health benefits of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, for example, have long been scientifically proven, but whether a cat or dog will truly benefit depends on the exact composition of the pet food. Instead of a soft claim, such as ‘with salmon as a source of omega-3’, pet food producers can be much more specific about whether the product contains EPA or DHA long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and in which quantities.

The benefits of innovation and co-development

At IQI, we support our clients in entering new market segments. We do so by developing new claims with high-quality ingredients, setting up the supply chain with a focus on sustainability, and providing them with clear and detailed product and application information. We take a scientific and integral approach to pet food development based on an understanding of the latest scientific studies, knowledge, and insights on which ingredients have what kind of effects. As I mentioned in my previous blog, co-creation and co-development with our suppliers and customers is key to translating market demand into specific, high-quality pet food that will ultimately benefit the health and well-being of cats and dogs.

White paper on health claims

Are you interested in learning more about health claims for pet food? Our white paper ‘Finding the right ingredients to support health and well-being claims’ explains the most important ingredients for making the five most popular health claims.

About Mark Oostendorp

Mark Oostendorp is IQI Trusted Petfood Ingredients’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), responsible for managing our facilities in the Netherlands and the USA and giving further shape to IQI’s strategic choices and the continuous icrease of added value within the petfood supply chain. Mark has more than 25 years of international leadership experience for different companies in the fields of food, agriculture and biotechnology.