Chicken Meal

A meal is what’s left when meat is rendered: cooked to kill bacteria, with most of the water and fat removed, then ground into uniform particles. It’s mainly protein and minerals, so it carries more protein by weight than fresh meat, which is mostly water.

Quality depends on the raw material and the process. In a study in dogs, rendering poultry slightly lowered digestibility in the small intestine, but not overall, and diets based on animal by-products were more digestible than one based on soy flour. A named meal, like chicken meal, says more than “meat meal”.