For some time now I have been watching with much interest the debate
surrounding the order of ingredients to be listed on the packaging and
what constitutes a complete ferret food.
Firstly before I begin I will brief you on who I am.
My name is Mark Orvad and I am the Managing Director of Companions Choice
Products Limited. We manufacture a large range of products for the pet
market in Australasia, UK and Europe and one happens to be a complete
ferret food called 'Ferrets Choice'.
Several years ago I came into contact with Professor Costa of Murdoch
University in Perth, Western Australia. Nicks credentials in the
Veterinary Nutrition and Biochemical field are top shelf. His main
research area at that time was on the metabolic role of selenium in
animals, particularly ruminants. The main achievement in this research
was to discover a new interaction between ionophores, commonly used as
feed additives for ruminants, and a series of trace element nutrients,
specifically selenium and zinc. He has taken this work from its initial
discovery to the development of a new commercial product called Z-Megamore
Plus or Omegamore in Australasia. He has also had numerous articles
published on the relationship between nutritional biochemistry and disease
in animals. On top of this he has been invited as a plenary speaker at
International forums on pet nutrition all over the world including the USA.
Before we launched our products into the market place an awful lot of
research had to be done and palatability trials conducted to make sure our
products conformed to the standards set by the AAFCO, (American Animal
Feeds Control Organization), at that time. However since this was done
Australia brought in its own set of standards which were widely perceived
in the industry to be of a higher standard than those set by the AAFCO. We
conformed to this standard as well without any alteration to the formula.
The misconception behind the debate on fish and corn is understandable if
we were strictly talking about ingredients in their raw form. What must be
remembered is that our ferret food, like a lot of others, is put through an
extrusion process at high temperatures and pressure.
The key to the whole argument is that our food is BALANCED. It is
difficult to try and explain what is meant by the term 'balanced' when
talking about complete foods, however here goes.
All extruded foods no matter which company manufactures a product will
conform to their own individual formulations and believe me their are
plenty of different types, you only have to look at how many different type
of dog foods are available in the market place. In some ways this holds
true to the ferret food market.
Our formulations were developed by Professor Costa and his knowledge of
Nutritional requirements and in what order they obtain this nutrition are
world class. The growing demand for our ferret food in the UK speaks for
itself. The debate on corn is misunderstood by the average person, which
is why I am trying to help. Corn meal when put through the extrusion
process is cooked at very high temperatures and under a lot of pressure.
This then allows a ferret to digest the Carbohydrates and Fibre required
for optimum gut function with ease. This is partly what is meant by the
term right balance'. Combined with our Chicken Meat, Z-Megamore Plus which
is a great source of Omega3, Omega6, Omega9 oils, Vits & Mins and Trace
Elements, Natural Antioxidants, Lysine, DL-methionine and finally Taurine
you have a great food that is fully balanced. I look forward to many
comments about what I have discussed here today and I hope this goes a
long way to helping the debate about Complete Ferret Foods.
Mark Orvad
Companion's Choice Products Ltd
Unit 18 Garston Business Park
Blackburne Street
Liverpool L19 8JB
United Kingdom
Tel: 44 151 494 9050
Fax: 44 151 427 7130
URL: www.merseyworld.com/companions_choice
[Posted in FML issue 2707]
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