Protein Slurry

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Some dog food producers enjoy making claims like "Real meat is the first ingredient" and "1st ingredient: fresh meat".  Manufacturers that do no invest in state-of-the-art refrigeration to efficiently store and process fresh/frozen meat must rely on a process called Protein Slurry.  Slurry is an amalgamation of meat sources in a semi-liquid or dry state that does not require refrigeration. At the start, it can consist of as much as 65% water. Since ingredients are listed in descending order by their weight - including the water weight - it allows companies to put "meat" or "poultry" as the first ingredient. In other words, if this ingredient were listed by its' ending dry weight, it would be listed much further down in the ingredients list.  Therefore it is important to inquire with the manufacturer specifically about how they process "fresh meat".  Is it a marketing ploy or real meat?

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