Would You Taste Test Pet Food?

March 6, 2008

Even though I once accidentally ate one of North's P-Nuttiers, I can't imagine nibbling some kibble or spooning up some stinky wet food. That's not the case with this gentleman, though. Simon Allison is a senior food technologist at British retailer Marks & Spencer . . . and that fancy title means he has the lucky(?) job of taste testing pet food to carry in their stores. "I’m looking for a patè texture, almost to the point where you could spread it on crusty bread," Allison says, and counts amongst his favorites, the organic luxury chicken dinner with vegetables for cats. "It has the taste and aroma of chicken and some of what you call the red flavors — things like heart and liver; gutsy, savory notes." Ummm, yuck?! Granted, I don't even care for the consistency or contents of real patè, so I'm counting myself out but would you willingly (and knowingly) sample your pet's yums?

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15 Comments

brista 4 years

I purposely buy pet food that is only made with people-grade ingredients and no creepy "byproducts" -- so, in theory!, I could eat it. But I sure am not going to do that. 1) It's expensive! and 2) I don't eat meat.

emmebeth 5 years

My aunt has jars of dog and cat food on her counter near their dishes. One day a family friend walked by and stuck her hand into one of the jars and grabbed a handful of "snacks". It took her a while to realize that it was cat food.

Pepper 5 years

No, just thinking about it is making me nauseous.

Kiki tee 5 years

As a baby I spent my first Christmas in hospital because I whipped an almost empty can of dog food out of the bin and licked it clean! Nearly killed myself, and my poor mother! But these days I wouldn't be so keen! I mentioned on a previous post about pet food that I'm looking for a food for my cat which uses high quality, human-grade ingredients and doesn't test on animals... would anyone using such a product care to give a recommendation?

ALSW 5 years

Gotta go with no.

aurora2615 5 years

Why Why Why?? I'm quite sure the companies taste test their food on animals, so why in the world would they need a human to do it again? Have they had complaints from dogs??

cubadog 5 years

Cuba is on raw so no way. I use a mix, liver, and raw meat gross.

deanMartin 5 years

We pretend to eat his food whenever he gets finicky and he gets all panicky that we really are going to eat his food. it is hilarious. reminds me though of the lady who had a picky eater and she actually tried some first when the dog food recall was going on and she got sick too!!

Schaianne 5 years

Y'know, if it paid enough, sure. As long as it didn't make me sick or kill me, ahha.

spaghetina 5 years

I might take a tiny taste of wet food and then spit it out, but in my defense, both my cat and dog eat really high quality canned food made with all human-grade ingredients. They're not your typical, grocery store fare, and when you open them, they're not immediately gag-inducing like Alpo and Fancy Feast, and that sort of crap.

As far as dry treats, I've actually tasted my dog's cookies before, and I'd actually eat them in a pinch. I buy him cookies that look just like Fig Newtons from Trader Joe's, and all the ingredients are regular baked good ingredients, except that there's carob to replace cocoa, etc. They're sweet and molasses-y, not delicious... but not horrible. I've also seen a lot of pet store employees stealing the creme sandwich cookies from the bulk bins to snack on themselves. The stuff they put in those things is the same stuff they put in cookies, sugar included, which I always found weird.

brandi797 5 years

My mother actually teethed me on milk bone dog biscuits when I was an infant! I would eat dry dog food without a problem, but I could NEVER put any canned food in my mouth!

LeahWright 5 years

Depends.. how much does the job pay? :D

wakeupandora 5 years

actually - interesting tidbit - ellen degenerous just became an owner in HALO foods which she herself has tried because of the quality of ingredients! http://www.itchmo.com/ellen-degeneres-becomes-owner-of-halo-pet-food-company-4838#more-4838

wakeupandora 5 years

one of my friends boyfriends tries all of the dog treats she buys for their dog before its given to the dog. c-r-a-z-y! He says he wouldn't give anything to the dog unless it tasted good. i can see trying a homemade apple cookie or something but not pupperoni and all that crap!

Lovely_1 5 years

That is disgusting :sick: Even the smell makes me gag! I never could!

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