Chicken By-Product Meal in dog and cat food

Is it OK for dogs and cats?

Dogs

Yes, for most dogs. 'By-product' describes where the material comes from, not whether it is safe. AAFCO's position is that byproducts can be safely used to provide nutrition. In a 2023 dog study, every diet was well tolerated, including one based on chicken by-product meal. That study did find the by-product meal diet less digestible than a diet based on deboned and dried chicken.

Cats

The digestibility and palatability studies cited here were done in dogs. Cats need taurine, vitamin A and arachidonic acid from their diet, and plant proteins contain no taurine. Cat foods need some animal protein, such as this one, or added taurine. For a cat, what matters is whether the complete food meets cat nutrient needs. AAFCO's by-product rules apply to cat food as to dog food.

How settled this is: A popular concern the sources do not support

What chicken by-product meal is

AAFCO defines byproducts in general as secondary products made alongside the main product: what is left once the intended product has been made. For animals, this includes internal organs and other parts not normally used as human food. AAFCO's consumer guide describes poultry by-product meal as clean parts of slaughtered poultry carcasses, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, that have been rendered and ground. Feathers are excluded except for unavoidable traces. It is the rendered form of poultry by-products, with most of the water and fat removed. Chicken by-product meal is the version made from chicken. A 2023 peer-reviewed study describes it in similar terms, listing heads, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines as examples. Unlike chicken meal, it can include parts other than flesh and skin.

Why it is in pet food

Rendering turns these parts into a dry, concentrated animal protein that can go into dry pet foods. The authors of a 2023 dog study note that by-products, when rendered properly, provide quality protein and trace minerals. In that study, dry dog food made with chicken by-product meal was preferred over foods made with fresh mechanically deboned chicken or dried chicken. Dogs ate it about as readily as a food made with chicken meal. The test used four panels of 25 dogs, mostly beagles, and was funded by a pet-food company.

What it does in the food

Rendering leaves mainly protein and minerals once the water and fat are removed. A 2023 study fed 12 adult beagles four high-protein extruded diets. All four were formulated to meet AAFCO adult maintenance profiles. The main protein sources were deboned chicken (fresh deboned, dried and spray-dried chicken), chicken by-product meal, wheat gluten meal and corn gluten meal. The chicken by-product meal diet had lower organic matter, protein and energy digestibility than each of the other three diets. Its dry matter digestibility was lower than the deboned chicken and wheat gluten diets. The authors concluded that the deboned chicken diet gave the highest-quality protein. It was highly digestible and the only diet that needed no added amino acids. They suggested that high-heat rendering may lower protein quality. They also noted that ash content and protein quality can vary greatly with processing temperature. All diets were well tolerated and the dogs stayed healthy. This study was also funded by a pet-food company. For cats, Merck notes a higher protein minimum than for dogs: 26% against 18% of dry matter for adults (AAFCO). Cats also need taurine from animal protein or a supplement.

Safety and limits

AAFCO's position is that byproducts can be safely used to provide nutrition. AAFCO says raw, unprocessed byproducts may not be used in finished animal feed unless they are heat-treated to kill microbes. Rendering is a cooking process meant to prevent microbial contamination. In the EU, animal material in pet food must, with limited exceptions, come from 'Category 3' animal by-products (Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009, Article 35). This category includes parts of slaughtered animals that are fit for human consumption but are not used as food for commercial reasons. It also includes certain other parts, such as poultry heads, from animals that passed inspection as fit for slaughter for human consumption. The cited sources do not identify a hazard specific to chicken by-product meal. The difference they document is in digestibility, not safety.

What depends on the amount and the recipe

Processing: rendering temperature can affect protein quality, and by-product meals can vary in ash and protein quality. The mix of parts: the definition covers a range of parts (necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, intestines), so the name alone does not tell you the exact mix in a batch. The whole recipe: in the 2023 dog study, all four diets, including the by-product meal diet, were formulated to meet AAFCO adult maintenance profiles and were well tolerated. Species: the feeding studies cited here were in dogs. If your pet has a diagnosed chicken allergy, see the Chicken page.

Not the same as

• Chicken meal — Rendered from flesh and skin, with or without bone. It excludes heads, feet and entrails.
• Chicken — Fresh flesh and skin that has not been rendered and is still high in water.
• Poultry by-product meal — The same type of ingredient, but it may come from any poultry species, not only chicken.
• Chicken by-products — Similar parts that have not been rendered, so they keep their water. AAFCO's poultry by-product examples include heads, feet and viscera.
• Meat by-products — Non-muscle parts of slaughtered mammals, such as lungs, spleen, kidneys and liver, not birds.

Sources

1. What's in the Ingredients List? (poultry by-product meal, poultry by-products, poultry meal, meat by-products) — Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). Poultry by-product meal is ground, rendered clean carcass parts such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, without feathers except unavoidable traces, with most water and fat removed. Poultry by-products are the non-rendered parts (heads, feet, viscera). Poultry meal excludes heads, feet and entrails. Meat by-products come from mammals.
2. Byproducts — Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). Defines byproducts as secondary products left after the main product, such as organs not normally used for human food. Byproducts are not by definition unsafe or lacking nutrition and can be safely used. Model Regulations cover all animal feeds. Raw byproducts are prohibited in finished feed unless heat-treated, and rendering cooks the ingredient to prevent microbial contamination.
3. Shields CJ, Rozzi NL, Aldrich CG, Talavera MJ. Effects of different chicken protein sources on palatability in dry adult dog food. Front Anim Sci 4:1292658. doi:10.3389/fanim.2023.1292658 — Frontiers in Animal Science, 2023. Describes chicken by-product meal as rendered clean poultry parts such as heads, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines. In four 25-dog panels, the chicken by-product meal food was preferred over fresh mechanically deboned chicken and dried chicken foods and was at parity with chicken meal. Properly rendered by-products provide quality protein and trace minerals. Funded by Hill's Pet Nutrition.
4. Sieja KM, Oba PM, Applegate CC, Pendlebury C, Kelly J, Swanson KS. Evaluation of high-protein diets differing in protein source in healthy adult dogs. J Anim Sci 101:skad057. doi:10.1093/jas/skad057 — Journal of Animal Science (via PubMed Central), 2023. In 12 beagles fed diets formulated to AAFCO adult maintenance, the chicken by-product meal diet had lower OM, protein and energy digestibility than the other three diets, and lower DM digestibility than the deboned chicken and wheat gluten diets. The deboned chicken diet (fresh deboned, dried and spray-dried chicken) gave the highest-quality protein without added amino acids. High-heat rendering may lower protein quality, and ash and protein quality vary with processing temperature. All diets were well tolerated. Funded by Champion Petfoods.
5. Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption, consolidated text of 14 December 2019, Articles 10 and 35 — Publications Office of the European Union, 2019. Article 35: pet food may be placed on the market if derived from Category 3 material (other than Article 10(n), (o), (p)), with limited exceptions for imported pet food and specific rules for raw pet food. Article 10: Category 3 includes parts of slaughtered animals fit for human consumption but not intended for it for commercial reasons, and parts such as heads of poultry from animals passed fit for slaughter for human consumption.
6. Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals (S. L. Sanderson), Merck Veterinary Manual, professional version — Merck & Co. / MSD, 2024. Cats need dietary taurine, vitamin A and arachidonic acid, and plant proteins contain no taurine, so cats need some animal protein or supplemental taurine. AAFCO protein minimums are 26% DM for adult cats and 18% DM for adult dogs.

Checked against these sources on 2026-10-15. Definitions are in our own words. This is a reading aid, not veterinary advice: a vet who knows your animal comes first.