👻 The Most Haunted Ingredients in Pet Food - and Why We Never Use Them

🕯️ The Most Haunted Ingredients in Pet Food

Some pet food ingredients should’ve stayed buried long ago. Learn which haunted ingredients still lurk in pet food — and why Identity Pet Nutrition keeps them out of every recipe.

Not All Monsters Go Bump in the Night — Some Hide on Pet Food Labels

Some ingredients in pet food are truly frightening — not because they glow in the dark, but because of what they hide behind marketing words like “natural,” “wholesome,” or “complete.”

At Identity Pet Nutrition, we believe in transparency. This Halloween season, we’re pulling back the curtain on the ingredients that still haunt the pet food industry — and why we’ve sworn never to use them.

Here are the six haunted ingredients we’ll never let near your pet’s bowl:

👻 1. Rendered Meat Meals & MDM/MSM Meat, Poultry, or Fish

The ghost of mystery meat past. Rendered meat meals sound innocent, but they’re often made from leftovers, scraps, and parts not fit for human food. These ingredients can vary from batch to batch, making them inconsistent and nutritionally unstable.

At Identity, we use only fresh, human-grade meats that are fit for your dinner plate - not the rendering plant.

🧪 2. Artificial Preservatives (BHA, BHT, Ethoxyquin)

These synthetic chemicals were originally developed for industrial use — to preserve rubber and fuel, not food. While they extend shelf life, they add no nutritional value and can degrade ingredient quality over time.

Our gently cooked and canned foods rely on natural preservation through cooking and proper packaging, never chemical shortcuts.

🌾 3. Corn, Wheat & Soy Fillers

Cheap carb fillers that haunt your pet’s digestion and energy levels.

These cheap carbohydrate fillers pad profit margins, not nutrition labels.
They’re used to bulk up recipes, but they can cause digestive stress, inflammation, and energy crashes for dogs and cats.

Identity’s recipes are low-carb and high-protein, delivering real energy through meat - not starch.

🫛 4. Peas, Lentils & Legumes

They may look harmless and “natural,” but peas, legumes and "plant proteins" can disrupt amino acid balance in true carnivores and contribute to starch overloads.

While popular in plant-based and grain-free formulas, they don’t belong in a biologically appropriate diet. We skip them entirely — choosing real meat and species-appropriate ingredients instead.

🪔 5. Seed Oils (Canola, Sunflower, Soybean)

When heated, they oxidize - releasing inflammatory compounds that quietly damage cells over time. When exposed to high heat, seed oils can create inflammatory compounds that can quietly harm your pet’s cells. These oils are cheap and common, but they have no place in a premium pet diet.

At Identity, we’re proudly seed oil-free - using only healthy animal fats naturally found in meat and coconut oil from the flesh of virgin coconuts.

💀 6. Artificial Flavor Palatants & “Natural Flavors" & Colors

If it needs to pretend to be meat, it probably isn’t.

True nutrition doesn’t need a disguise - and we think your pet deserves transparency over trickery.

Think of these ingredients as “perfume for pet food.” Palatants and/or natural flavorings and colors are sprayed on to make low-meat formulas smell like meat - tricking your pet’s senses while adding no real nutrition.

Our food doesn’t need fake flavor; pets love it because it’s real.

🎃 The Trick or Treat Test

Before you fill your pet’s bowl, run this simple test:

🕵️ If you can’t pronounce it, it’s a trick — not a treat.
🍖 If you’d eat it yourself, it’s a treat.

That’s why at Identity Pet Nutrition, we keep it real:

• 95% meat

• No seed oils

• No legumes, peas or carb fillers

• No mystery meals or MDM/MSM ingredients

• Just clean, human-grade, gently cooked food your pet can thrive on

At Identity, we create foods you can recognize, pronounce, and trust - with 95% real meat, no legumes, no seed oils, and no scary additives.

Why “Clean” Isn’t Just a Trend — It’s a Commitment

Clean labels matter. Ingredient integrity matters. That’s why every batch of Identity is made with human-grade meats, traceable sourcing, and AAFCO compliance to ensure complete nutrition, without compromise.

If you wouldn’t feed it to your family, why feed it to your pet?

🐾 Real Food. Real Nutrition. No Tricks.

Give your pet something to truly celebrate this Halloween.

Ready to Ditch the Haunted Ingredients?

Discover what un-haunted nutrition really tastes like.
Shop our gently cooked and canned foods — made for pets who deserve better than “industry standard.”

👉 Shop Gently Cooked Dog Meals

👉 Shop Gently Cooked Cat Meals