Poultry By-Product Meal in dog and cat food

Is it OK for dogs and cats?

Dogs

Poultry by-product meal is a permitted protein source, and AAFCO's position is that by-products can be used safely to provide nutrition. In dog studies it was well accepted and, over the whole gut, was digested about as well as fresh poultry, though fresh poultry was digested slightly better in the small intestine.

Cats

Poultry by-product meal is an animal protein, and cats need some animal-based protein or added taurine. The studies cited here tested dogs and roosters, not cats. A complete cat food must also supply taurine, arachidonic acid and vitamin A.

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

What poultry by-product meal is

AAFCO's consumer guide describes poultry by-product meal as clean parts of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, that have been rendered and ground. Feathers are excluded, apart from small amounts that cannot be avoided. AAFCO says it is equivalent to 'poultry by-products', except that it is rendered so that most of the water and fat are removed. The definition also requires guarantees for protein, fat, fibre, phosphorus and calcium, and it caps calcium at 2.2 times the phosphorus level. On a label, ingredients are listed from most to least by weight.

Why it is in pet food

Raw ingredients are hard to store and handle properly in a pet food plant, so many plants use rendered by-products in meal form. AAFCO describes rendering as cooking that prevents microbial contamination. Rendering also removes most of the water and fat, which concentrates the protein and minerals. AAFCO's position is that by-products are not unsafe or lacking in nutrition simply because they are not the main product.

What it does in the food

Mainly protein and minerals, because rendering removes most of the water and fat. Mineral (ash) content varies from one meal to another. One study tested poultry by-product meals with 7% and 16% ash. Ash level had no consistent effect on how well dogs or roosters digested the amino acids (Johnson et al., 1998). A 1997 dog study compared diets based on poultry by-product meal, fresh poultry, fresh beef or meat and bone meal. All four were digested about equally well over the whole gut. They did better than a soy-flour diet and less well than a whole-egg diet. Rendering seemed to slightly lower how well the poultry was digested in the small intestine (Murray et al., 1997). In a small 2023 study of six dogs, a poultry by-product meal diet was well accepted, digestibility was acceptable and faeces stayed firm, whatever the grinding size (Chuppava et al., 2023).

Safety and limits

AAFCO's position is that by-products can be used safely to provide nutrition. Raw by-products may carry bacteria such as Salmonella or E. coli, so they must be heat-treated before use in finished feed. Commercial dry and canned pet foods are also heat-treated during manufacture. The dog studies cited here measured digestibility and acceptance, not long-term health. For cats, the complete food must also supply nutrients that dogs do not need from their diet, such as taurine, arachidonic acid and vitamin A.

What depends on the amount and the recipe

Which parts go into the meal, and its mineral (ash) content. How the meal is rendered. How the whole recipe is balanced. For cats, whether the complete food meets cat-specific needs such as taurine.

Not the same as

• Chicken by-product meal — Comes from chickens only. Poultry by-product meal does not name the bird species.
• Poultry meal / chicken meal — Rendered from flesh and skin, with or without bone. Heads, feet and entrails are excluded, but by-product meal can include parts such as feet and intestines.
• Poultry by-products — Similar parts, but not rendered into a dry meal.
• Hydrolyzed feather meal — Made from feathers. Poultry by-product meal excludes feathers apart from unavoidable traces.
• Meat by-products — Come from mammals, not birds, and are not rendered.

Sources

1. What's in the Ingredients List? (ingredient definitions explained for consumers) — Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). Definition of poultry by-product meal (parts included, feathers excluded, required guarantees, calcium no more than 2.2 times phosphorus; equivalent to poultry by-products but rendered), plus poultry meal and poultry by-products. Rendering removes most water and fat. Ingredients are listed from most to least by weight.
2. Byproducts (Understanding Pet Food) — Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). AAFCO's position that by-products can be used safely to provide nutrition and are not unsafe just because they are secondary products. Rendering cooks to prevent microbial contamination. Raw by-products may carry Salmonella or E. coli and must be heat-treated. Many plants use rendered meals because raw materials are hard to store and handle.
3. Murray SM et al. Raw and rendered animal by-products as ingredients in dog diets. J Anim Sci 75(9):2497-2505 — Journal of Animal Science, 1997. In dogs, diets with poultry by-product meal, fresh poultry, fresh beef or meat and bone meal had similar total-tract digestibility, higher than soy flour and lower than whole egg. Rendering poultry seemed to slightly lower small-intestinal digestibility.
4. Johnson ML et al. Effects of species raw material source, ash content, and processing temperature on amino acid digestibility of animal by-product meals by cecectomized roosters and ileally cannulated dogs. J Anim Sci 76(4):1112-1122 — Journal of Animal Science, 1998. Poultry by-product meals with 7% and 16% ash were tested. Ash content had no consistent effect on amino acid digestibility in dogs or roosters.
5. Chuppava B et al. Impact of Animal By-Products on Diet Digestibility and Fecal Quality in Beagle Dogs. Life 13(3):850 — Life (MDPI), 2023. In six Beagle dogs, a poultry by-product meal diet was well accepted, with acceptable digestibility and firm faeces. Particle size had no significant effect.
6. Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals — Merck Veterinary Manual, 2024. Unlike dogs, cats need dietary vitamin A, arachidonic acid and taurine. Plant proteins contain no taurine, so cats need some animal-based protein or added taurine.

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.