What are pellet binders in pet food?
All dry pet food (kibble) needs something to hold it together, otherwise it would crumble.
This is the reason most pet foods have a significant amount of starch ingredients like corn, rice, or potato (which also serves to keep production cost down significantly).
A pet food made entirely of animal or whole-prey ingredients cannot be bound into what we recognize as kibble.
Sometimes we find an ingredient listed on a pet food as pellet binder or some variation on the theme. Sometimes unrecognizable as an ingredient used to bind a kibble.
So what is a pellet binder?
In dog or cat food, and also stock feed, various binders are used to form a kibble. Some common pellet binders used in dog food include:
- Starches: Corn, rice, and potato starch are often used to bind pet food ingredients together, although there are many other starches which serve the same purpose.
- Gelatin: A by-product of collagen, gelatin is a protein often used as a binder.
- Glycerin: A sweet, syrupy liquid that can be used to bind ingredients together and add moisture to the food. Glycerin has the added benefit of enticing your pet to eat a food made of ingredients which they may otherwise turn their nose up.
- Soy protein: A plant-based protein that can be used as a binder in dog food as well as increase the protein percentage as an alternative to meat proteins.
- Blood meal: A dried and ground by-product of slaughterhouses that is high in protein and can be used as a binder in dog food.
It’s important to note that the type of binder used can affect the quality and nutritional value of a dog food (or cat food), so it’s important to choose a product made with high-quality, safe, and nutritious binders.
