Purina Dog Food with Insects but Maybe they'll do Cat Food Soon

[MoonstoneWolf]

Anyone else hear that Purina will be adding insects to dog food next year? Wonder if they'll be doing something similar with cat food like mouse in the food.

 

[Caspers Human]

Purina isn't adding insects to their foods. They will be using insect-based protein.

Link Here: Nestle uses insect protein in Purina pet food

LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) - Nestle’s Purina brand is launching a line of pet food using insects, as the world’s biggest food group tests more environmentally sustainable protein sources.









The move addresses a trend of people seeking more eco-friendly or allergen-free diets for their pets, and puts Nestle into potential competition with smaller brands like Yora and Green Petfood’s InsectDog.

“We see increasing demand for diversified sources of proteins for pet food products,” Bernard Meunier, head of Purina in Europe, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

He said limited planetary resources and decreasing meat consumption in Europe were incentives to explore new proteins.


The Purina Beyond Nature’s Protein line, which launches in Switzerland this month, will be available in two variations - one using chicken, fava beans and protein from black soldier fly larvae, and one using chicken, pig’s liver and millet.

Both will be available for dogs and cats at Swiss retailer Coop, which also sells insect-based snacks and burgers for human consumption. Rollouts in more markets are planned starting next year, Meunier said.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic had strengthened the bond between people and their pets, pushing up demand for high-quality pet food and leading to market share gains for Purina.


Nestle’s petcare unit had sales of 13.6 billion Swiss francs ($14.96 billion) last year. It was the group’s fastest-growing category with 10.6% organic growth in the first nine months of 2020.

In April, Nestle bought UK-based natural pet food brand Lily’s Kitchen. Meunier said Purina’s European portfolio was now complete and the focus would be on organic growth.

In a blog post last year, the British Veterinary Association endorsed insect-based pet food, recommending it to owners who wanted a ‘livestock-free’ diet for their pets.


One leading supplier of insect protein in Europe is Dutch company Protix, founded in 2009, which sells ingredients made from the black soldier fly, mealworms, crickets and locusts.

No, they aren't putting insects or parts of insects into pet food. They are using ingredients made from industrially-processed insect material.

Although it may be a subtle difference, it's an important difference.

 

[Willowy]

Very natural, and good for the environment! I suppose Purina wanted to get the industry off the ground and probably got a decent price for the insect protein. I wonder if it'll stay in
Europe or if they'll be able to find an affordable supplier in the US.

Mice and rats would be too expensive to process (skinning them would be an issue!), so probably not.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

Thanks. I meant insect based. I'm having a bad week with things happening at home (not Mom or the cats)

 

[LTS3]

I posted something about insect-based foods here: Insect Based Dog And Cat Food

 

[cataholic07]

Kosiks already has a grub one, it's more salmon based but does have grub in it.

 

[moxiewild]

I would be over the freaking moon if there was a high quality (no fillers, plant matter, dye, etc), entirely insect based food some day.

Not only is it environmentally friendly, but I imagine it would be much cheaper to produce, offer an endless variety of potential protein sources, and would (potentially and likely) be astronomically more humane considering insects very likely do not sense or perceive pain or suffering in any meaningful way.

If only we could convince westerners to get over the “ick” factor so it wouldn’t have to be relegated to a niche market