>Please remember that you should AVOID BY-PRODUCTS. This means it can be >made from tissue of dead, diseased, dying or disabled animals. Consists >mainly of hooves, hair, hide, beaks, feet, feathers, urine, fecal matter. > >Liz T This is not a true statement about by-products, I am sure it it isn't bad,. In fact, in the wild the ferret would be eating the whole animal, getting bone, skin some intestine, or brain, and so on. It can not contain diseased animals, or contaminates, these are simply false statements perpetuated by people who have agendas against the pet food industry. If you want you can search for the info through the regulatory agencies who set the standards. Don't rely on the web sites that are preaching you not to feed processed pet food, or the one's set up by the pet food industry, look for one's that are non-biased or the government agency pages. Also, not all chicken is the same grade, and you can't assume it is better just because it isn't chicken meal or by-product, you just have to trust the company by their reputation, and the quality control they use. "By-products, simply put, are the parts of animals people do not normally eat.For example, if a chicken were raised for its white meat then the remaining meat would be considered a by-product. The by-products used in pet food are an important source of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids. Like all pet food ingredients, by-products from animals or grains are safe, nutritious and approved for use in pet food by federal and state government agencies. " from http://www.petfoodreport.com/ and "POULTRY BY-PRODUCT MEAL contains such clean parts as feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines, where CHICKEN MEAL doesn't contain such parts. BONEHEAD advocates the consumer's right-to-know, changing from by-product to protein is a misguided attempt to mislead the public. It is also BONEHEAD's objective to provide a clear understanding of petfood. The CHICKEN MEAL guys bashing of POULTRY BY-PRODUCT MEAL is just marketing. POULTRY BY-PRODUCT MEAL is an excellent petfood ingredient. Since chickens are not raised to make petfood, it's highly likely that the demand outstrips the supply, resulting in poor quality or adulterated chicken meal". for more http://hometown.aol.com/lifegard/petfood/index.htm Patty [Posted in FML issue 3721]