OK, pop quiz — which of the following are legally acceptable ingredients for pet food companies to put in chicken meal?

A) Supermarket waste

B) Meat processing facility waste

C) Packinghouse waste

D) All of the above

You probably already guessed the answer. And of course, Halo NEVER uses chicken meal, beef meal, fish meal, or any other ingredients that are unfit-for-human-consumption.

Visit www.halopets.com/chickenmeal for more information.

I admit that before I came to Halo, I always assumed that “chicken meal” in my dog’s food was a great ingredient, and one that I wouldn’t hesitate to feed to my family. Hey, we have chicken meals once or twice a week at home!

So why won’t Halo use chicken meal, beef meal, fish meal, or any other rendered meat, rendered fish or rendered poultry products?

I was pretty shocked to learn what “chicken meal” in pet food really is. First, it’s absolutely not fit for human consumption (by law). Second, the safety and quality control standards for chicken meal are far inferior to human-grade ingredients.

But what really surprised me is what chicken meal may contain (and usually does).

Click over to www.halopets.com/chickenmeal to get the whole scoop!

Do you REALLY know what you’re feeding your beloved dog or cat? Probably not, according to a study conducted by Harris Interactive.

The majority of pet owners don’t even read the label and have no idea what they are giving their pets, according to the study, brought to our attention by Generation Natural Pet, a social media community launched by PETCO (Halo is a founding Council Member).

Frighteningly, most pet foods — unlike Halo, which uses only real meat, fish and eggs — have chicken meal. Sounds tasty, right?

Well, dear reader, chicken meal is legally unfit for human consumption and may contain waste products from restaurants, supermarkets, meat processing facilities and packinghouses. It is not the lean muscle that WE eat, but the stuff humans are forbidden by law to consume: the remaining bones, organs, beaks and other products that are rendered (obtained by melting down the animal’s remains) in a processing plant when made into meal.

“Chicken meal sounds like something wholesome that could be served in any household,” says Halo’s veterinarian, Dr. Donna Spector. “But don’t be fooled. Meat meals — such as chicken meal — are unfit for human consumption. In my mind, that means unfit for our beloved pets.”

Yet ignorance is bliss: despite confessing no knowledge of the ingredients on a bag or can of food, the majority of the 1,305 pet owners surveyed say they treat their animals as a member of the family, and wouldn’t want to feed their pets food containing allergens and prefer to feed their pets only natural pet food.

Halo never uses chicken meal or other rendered meats. Halo uses real chicken that can be sold to humans and meets FDA human safety standards. And while we don’t advocate opening up a can of Spot’s Stewto share with your pooch, many of us have.

“Wow! I guess I was spending too much time lounging around, but now that I’m on Halo, I can’t sit still!” So begins Week 3 of PetMD’s 8-week fanciful account of Gordi’s transition to Halo. Tune in to see how the real-life Labrador’s story unfolds in Haute or Not. This issue, Gordi talks about Dr. Donna Spector’s expose, “What’s Really in Dog Food?”

Concludes Gordi: “Better for us dogs are carbohydrate energy choices like barley and high nutrition veggies like sweet potatoes, which I love, love, love, and which Halo uses abundantly … thank goodness.”

We’re honored the popular “You’re Feeding Me What?” blog at the Pet Food Report published our Thanksgiving Spot’s Stew recipe. They said, “Halo is a terrific company that sells natural and holistic pet foods and products. I can testify that their stuff is first rate. I have personally used their supplements, grooming products and foods with great results. The best part is there are no chemicals or filler ingredients in any of it. Their “Spot’s Stew” is wonderful. All the ingredients are human-edible, and all their grooming and flea products are all natural herbals.”

Thanks for the kind words! Click over to our News page to see the whole post.