A by-product is an item that is left over after the primary processing is done. For poultry, common by-products are feathers, beaks, and feet. For beef, the common by-products are intestines, hooves, blood, bone, and fatty tissue. Basically, a by-product is what's left over after the good parts have been used.

Look at the list of ingredients on your current pet food. You can bet that if it says chicken (or beef, or fish) by-products, there isn't much chicken (or beef, or fish) meat in it.

Money!

The cost of by-products is virtually nothing and in most cases, the companies that make the dog foods have holdings in other food processing companies so they get the slaughterhouse waste for pennies.

As a matter of fact, there are laws and they specifically allow for the use of by-products and what they call 'digest'.

The laws are written with room for slippage as well. In the case of beef, the by-products and digest aren't supposed to contain hair, horns, teeth or hooves, but the law give processing plants room for 'error' with the phrase

...except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice and shall be suitable for animal feed.

Chicken is even worse with feet, entire heads, and viscera (the internal organs like intestines, kidneys, spleen, etc.) being allowed.

For more information on what is and is not acceptable in animal foods, look here.

Yes!

Flint River Ranch uses real MEAT in their foods. Chicken meat is the primary meat source, with some lamb and fish added. You won't find any by-products in any of the Flint River Ranch foods.