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Insects can serve as a novel high-quality protein source for pet foods. However, there is an absence of research investigating the use of insects in pet food. The study objective was to evaluate the apparent total tract digestibility and possible health effects of diets containing graded levels of cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus) meal fed to healthy adult dogs. Thirty-two adult Beagles were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments: 0%, 8%, 16%, or 24% cricket meal. Dogs were fed their respective diet for a total of 29 d with a 6-d collection phase. Fecal samples were collected daily during the collection phase to measure total fecal output as well as apparent total tract digestibility for dry matter (DM), organic matter, crude protein, fat, total dietary fiber, and gross energy. Blood samples were taken prior to the study and on day 29 for hematology and chemistry profiles. Data were analyzed in a mixed model including the fixed effects of diet and sex. Total fecal output increased on both an as-is (P = 0.030) and DM basis (P = 0.024). The apparent total tract digestibility of each nutrient decreased (P < 0.001) with the increasing level of cricket meal inclusion. All blood values remained within desired reference intervals indicating healthy dogs. Slight fluctuations in blood urea nitrogen (P = 0.037) and hemoglobin (P = 0.044) levels were observed but were not considered of biological significance. Even with the decrease in digestibility with the inclusion of cricket meal, diets remained highly digestible at greater than 80% total apparent digestibility. In conclusion, crickets were demonstrated to be an acceptable ingredient for dog diets.

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Objective: Nonanoic acid (NA) is one of a series of straight-chain aliphatic alcohols, aldehydes, acids and their derivatives with a well-documented history of use as a synthetic flavoring in human food. As part of a safety evaluation of NA for use as a flavoring in animal feed, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the ability of turkeys to tolerate NA at levels relevant to practical feeding practices. Materials and Methods: A total of 594-day-old BUT Premium turkeys (300 males and 294 females) were allocated at random to 40 floor pens containing either 15 males or 13 to 15 females. Poults were fed one of 4 treatment diets in crumble (0 to 14 days) or pellet (15 to 59 days) form containing 0 (control), 100, 300 or 1000 mg NA/kg complete feed for 59 days. General health and performance were monitored for the duration of the study. At days 57 and 59 of age, blood samples were taken and birds were sacrificed and necropsied for histopathological examination of the digestive tract. Significant differences were considered at P ≤ 0.05 and near-significant trends at P ≤ 0.10. Results: NA had no effect on mortality (Pχ 2 = 0.54), average daily feed intake (ADFI) (P = 0.11), average daily gain (ADG) (P = 0.12) or feed conversion ratio (FCR) (P = 0.45) in poults over the 56-day feeding period. No treatment-related effects on blood parameters or tissue pathology were observed. Conclusion: The results of the study support the safety and tolerance of NA to turkeys at dietary levels of up to 1000 mg/kg which will provide a considerable margin of safety compared to anticipated practical conditions of use as a feed flavoring.

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