Petfood Forum recently sat down with James Templeman, Ph.D., companion animal nutritionist with Primal Pet Foods, to learn more about his 2023 Petfood Essentials presentation. Templeman will present nutritional research on minimally processed pet diets on Monday, May 1. Register here to learn from Templeman and 20+ other industry experts.
Over the last year, Dr. Templeman and the Primal Pet Foods R&D team have been working collaboratively with Drs. Patrícia Massae Oba and Kelly Swanson from University of Illinois’ Department of Animal Sciences to conduct a series of studies designed to better understand the benefits and begin to explain the anecdotal results seen when feeding a freeze-dried raw or gently cooked diet to our pets.
Petfood Forum: What is the single, most important concept or piece of information you hope attendees will learn from your presentation?
Templeman: That there is indeed emerging research to investigate and support the often-anecdotal claims regarding the performance, healthfulness, and safety of alternative, minimally processed formats of feeding, but that more attention and resources are needed in this area of research as these diet formats continue to gain popularity with consumers.
Petfood Forum: Please explain the significance of this concept or information to the pet food industry and your organization:
Templeman: As more and more consumers introduce alternative diet formats to their pet’s bowls, whether the primary balanced component or as a high value treat or topper, it is imperative that the claims and characteristics associated with these diets be supported by empirical evidence so as to develop trust and build confidence between manufacturers, regulators and consumers.
As a leading manufacturer of minimally processed diets, it is essential that we help lead the charge when it comes to supporting research that furthers our understanding of the nutritional benefits of these alternative formats of feeding.
Petfood Forum: What are potential next developments or stages in this specific field? Where do you hope future development or research takes it, or how you plan to progress it?
Templeman: We are really only scraping the surface when it comes to nutrition-related research on minimally processed diets, and still have an enormous void to fill with peer-reviewed, empirical research. For example, while there have been studies reporting improved digestibility of protein and amino acids in minimally processed diets when compared to extruded diets (largely believed to be a result of the effects of heat processing on these nutrients), little has been done to examine the potential downstream effects that these differences in digestibility may have on the animal.
Petfood Forum: What pets rule your household?
Templeman: I live in Guelph, Ontario with my wife and our 3 cats: Hubert (left), Harper (middle), and Cy (right). Hubert and Harper are siblings and are very much attached to me and my wife, respectively, while Cy is our most recent (and final, according to my wife) foster failure who provides endless entertainment and affection.
About Petfood Essentials
Petfood Essentials, scheduled for May 1, 2023, is an interactive, informal educational pre-conference seminar, held the day prior to the opening of Petfood Forum. During Petfood Essentials experts will discuss the unique benefits and challenges of producing and marketing alternative pet foods in key areas like nutrition, processing, packaging, distribution, retailing, safety and testing.
