![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sta.uwi.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2023\/11\/dr_siobhan-bridglalsingh.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe history of commercially processed pet food began with the advent of the Industrial Revolution. It then increased in the middle class during the 19th century, which led to keeping dogs and cats as companions instead of working animals. English businessman James Spratt created the first commercial pet food in the form of a dog biscuit using wheat meals, vegetables, beetroot and beef blood. Later, in the early 1900s, an abundance of horse meat led to the production of the first canned dog food in the United States. During World War II, both tin and meat became scarce, forcing pet food manufacturers to explore a shelf-stable product that could be stored in cereal-type boxes. By 1956, the first dry kibble dog food was produced by a process called extrusion. Canned dog food eventually returned to the market by another process known as retorting.<\/p>\n
Both extrusion and retorting are processing methods that require high-temperature cooking. This type of cooking is similar to the ultra-processed human foods consumed in the \u201cWestern Diet,\u201d thought to be associated with several inflammatory and degenerative diseases in human beings. The \u201cWestern Diet\u201d is characterized by pre-packaged foods containing high sugar and fat, processed meats, refined grains, and fried foods. The \u201cMediterranean Diet,\u201d on the other hand, includes large amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds with olive oil as the primary fat source and lesser quantities of dairy, meats and poultry. As pet owners become aware of the harmful effects of consuming significant amounts of highly processed human foods, there is a demand for pet foods that are moderately\/minimally processed using low temperatures or raw.<\/p>\n
Research both in humans and rodents has revealed the formation of a group of compounds called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). These are Maillard Reaction products formed between simple sugars and another compound, usually protein, during high-temperature cooking characteristic of the Western diet, such as frying, grilling, roasting and broiling. This reaction is critical to chefs and food connoisseurs since the final products, melanoidins, bring dark brown colour, flavour and aroma to food, making it palatable and appetizing. This colour is similar to the brown colour seen in coffee, bread crusts and char on grilled steaks. While the Maillard Reaction is desirable in cooking, the AGEs also produced can be harmful. High dietary intake is associated with diseases such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, Parkinson\u2019s Disease, cardiovascular disease, kidney failure and even cancer in human beings. The Maillard Reaction proceeds to a greater extent in pet food products subjected to high-temperature processing methods, such as extrusion and retorting, than with low-temperature methods used for commercial fresh food diets, dehydrated\/freeze-dried pet foods, home-cooked and raw (stored frozen) diets.<\/p>\n
Studies on the long-term effects of AGE consumption in pet dogs and cats have been scarce. Current research is geared towards determining AGEs in pet foods and quantifying AGEs in the blood or urine of dogs and cats when they consume diets with varied amounts of AGEs. This marks the foundation for future prospective studies investigating the association and, even more ambitiously, the identification of AGEs as the cause of diseases in both human and animal medicine. The goals would be first to determine if AGEs pose a significant threat to our beloved companions and, secondly, to thwart that threat by implementing preventative measures to protect them from any harmful effects. This means avoidance of high AGE-containing diets while encouraging intake of minimally processed foods.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, the aim is to question the evolutionary process of veterinary nutrition as our human counterparts continue to make positive changes that have been guided by thorough research in the field. Political and socioeconomic events have certainly influenced pet food processing in the past to provide our dogs and cats with complete and balanced, shelf-stable, safe pet food products. The Caribbean companion animal population has historically eaten foods common to the household with addition of commercially processed pet foods. In our society, pets enjoy a combination of processed\/raw food types that may result in reduced dietary AGE intake. This population of animals provides a unique subject pool for research and offers contrast to North American pets that consume only ultra-processed foods. The Caribbean pet nutrition lifestyle may offer solutions to the \u201cAGE problem\u201d and the School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of the West Indies is committed to future research in this region to \u201cdo better\u201d for ourselves and the global companion animal community.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dr Bridglalsingh is a board-certified veterinary nutritionist, graduate of the School of Veterinary Medicine at The UWI STA with a PhD, as a Fulbright Scholar, from The University of Georgia, USA. She also completed the clinical nutrition residency programme and the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) Nutrition Specialty Examination.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The history of commercially processed pet food began with the advent of the Industrial Revolution. It then increased in the middle class during the 19th century, which led to keeping dogs and cats as companions instead of working animals. English businessman James Spratt created the first commercial pet food in the form of a dog […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":1122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"The history of commercially processed pet food began with the advent of the Industrial Revolution. It then increased in the middle class during the 19th century, which led to keeping dogs and cats as companions instead of working animals. English businessman James Spratt created the first commercial pet food in the form of a dog biscuit using wheat meals, vegetables, beetroot and beef blood. Later, in the early 1900s, an abundance of horse meat led to the production of the first canned dog food in the United States. During World War II, both tin and meat became scarce, forcing pet food manufacturers to explore a shelf-stable product that could be stored in cereal-type boxes. By 1956, the first dry kibble dog food was produced by a process called extrusion. Canned dog food eventually returned to the market by another process known as retorting.\r\n\r\nBoth extrusion and retorting are processing methods that require high-temperature cooking. This type of cooking is similar to the ultra-processed human foods consumed in the \u201cWestern Diet,\u201d thought to be associated with several inflammatory and degenerative diseases in human beings. The \u201cWestern Diet\u201d is characterized by pre-packaged foods containing high sugar and fat, processed meats, refined grains, and fried foods. The \u201cMediterranean Diet,\u201d on the other hand, includes large amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds with olive oil as the primary fat source and lesser quantities of dairy, meats and poultry. As pet owners become aware of the harmful effects of consuming significant amounts of highly processed human foods, there is a demand for pet foods that are moderately\/minimally processed using low temperatures or raw.\r\n\r\nResearch both in humans and rodents has revealed the formation of a group of compounds called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). These are Maillard Reaction products formed between simple sugars and another compound, usually protein, during high-temperature cooking characteristic of the Western diet, such as frying, grilling, roasting and broiling. This reaction is critical to chefs and food connoisseurs since the final products, melanoidins, bring dark brown colour, flavour and aroma to food, making it palatable and appetizing. This colour is similar to the brown colour seen in coffee, bread crusts and char on grilled steaks. While the Maillard Reaction is desirable in cooking, the AGEs also produced can be harmful. High dietary intake is associated with diseases such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, Parkinson\u2019s Disease, cardiovascular disease, kidney failure and even cancer in human beings. The Maillard Reaction proceeds to a greater extent in pet food products subjected to high-temperature processing methods, such as extrusion and retorting, than with low-temperature methods used for commercial fresh food diets, dehydrated\/freeze-dried pet foods, home-cooked and raw (stored frozen) diets.\r\n\r\nStudies on the long-term effects of AGE consumption in pet dogs and cats have been scarce. Current research is geared towards determining AGEs in pet foods and quantifying AGEs in the blood or urine of dogs and cats when they consume diets with varied amounts of AGEs. This marks the foundation for future prospective studies investigating the association and, even more ambitiously, the identification of AGEs as the cause of diseases in both human and animal medicine. The goals would be first to determine if AGEs pose a significant threat to our beloved companions and, secondly, to thwart that threat by implementing preventative measures to protect them from any harmful effects. This means avoidance of high AGE-containing diets while encouraging intake of minimally processed foods.\r\n\r\nIn conclusion, the aim is to question the evolutionary process of veterinary nutrition as our human counterparts continue to make positive changes that have been guided by thorough research in the field. Political and socioeconomic events have certainly influenced pet food processing in the past to provide our dogs and cats with complete and balanced, shelf-stable, safe pet food products. The Caribbean companion animal population has historically eaten foods common to the household with addition of commercially processed pet foods. In our society, pets enjoy a combination of processed\/raw food types that may result in reduced dietary AGE intake. This population of animals provides a unique subject pool for research and offers contrast to North American pets that consume only ultra-processed foods. The Caribbean pet nutrition lifestyle may offer solutions to the \u201cAGE problem\u201d and the School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of the West Indies is committed to future research in this region to \u201cdo better\u201d for ourselves and the global companion animal community.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_767\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"500\"]![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sta.uwi.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/02\/Dr-Siobhan-Bridglalsingh.jpg\")
Dr Siobhan Bridglalsingh[\/caption]\r\n\r\nDr Bridglalsingh is a board-certified veterinary nutritionist, graduate of the School of Veterinary Medicine at The UWI STA with a PhD, as a Fulbright Scholar, from The University of Georgia, USA. She also completed the clinical nutrition residency programme and the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) Nutrition Specialty Examination.","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uwi-scientists-speaks"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n