Chicken/beef/etc "meal"

[Nikki & Charlie]

I'm just curious what the general consensus is around chicken "meal" or any meat meal?

I know what it is from googling it, but I'm wondering why I'm hearing negative things about it, why it isn't reccommended to be in food, what is "bad" about it, etc?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Nikki, I'm not sure where you are seeing negative things, but there is nothing at all bad about "meals", they are preferred ingredients, as long as they are named. You want the exact name of the animal, i.e. "chicken meal", "salmon meal" or "lamb meal", not just "poultry meal", "fish meal" or "meat meal".

The difference between "chicken" and "chicken meal" on an ingredient list is that in the meal, the water has been removed, so you're getting protein, not water. We just had a discussion about "meals" here, I'll try to find a link.

I think it's great that you are doing your own research, but most if not all of the foods we recommend here in this group do contain named meals, and I would hope you don't think we are recommending foods that contain ingredients that are "bad" "negative", or not recommended. The recommendations in this group are based on 6 or 7 years of fact-based, scientifically backed research, not people's opinions. 

And when researching health or nutrition, make sure you are using unbiased fact-based websites and that the people presenting the information have educational credentials. 

[Nikki & Charlie]

No I don't think you are recommending anything bad or negative! I completely trust that the recommended foods come from high quality, reuputable companies.

The reason I'm asking is because of a comment my trainer made to me yesterday. I asked what food he feeds his dog and he said Halo, and then made a comment about how Halo doesn't have any "meal" in it. After researching exactly what "meal" is, I wasn't sure where the negativity comes from about it? In addition, other remarks made from people I've discussed dog food with.

It was just a question coming from curiosity :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Trainers should stick to training, groomers should stick to grooming, and you should not take health or nutritional advice from either one of them. 

When someone makes this type of remark to you and you are curious as to why they are saying that, why not ask them? lol

[Nikki & Charlie]

Point taken! Thanks for the help lol.