Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product

Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product is a dried culture of a lactic acid bacterium used as a probiotic in pet food and pet probiotic supplements. Tufts veterinary nutritionists say there is not yet evidence that probiotics improve overall wellness in animals without illness, and that results are often strain specific. If your cat is ill or immunocompromised, talk with your veterinarian before choosing a probiotic food.

Source: sites.tufts.edu

Enterococcus faecium is added as a probiotic. Makers usually add it after cooking, because the heat of extrusion would kill it. They include it on the idea that it supports gut balance and stool quality. A benefit from probiotic foods over foods without them has not been shown.

Source: sites.tufts.edu

Enterococcus faecium is a lactic acid bacterium that normally lives in the intestines of animals and people. Probiotic products use selected strains of it. On a cat food label it appears as dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, which means the bacteria were grown and dried, then added as a culture. The label rarely tells you which strain was used.

Diarrhea is the most studied use of probiotics in pets, according to Tufts veterinary nutritionists. They also note that results are often strain specific and that product quality varies, with only 2 of 15 pet probiotics in one study matching their labels. Diarrhea in a cat can have many causes, so a veterinarian should check a cat with ongoing loose stool.

Source: sites.tufts.edu

Pettings gives dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product 4 out of 5 and lists it as a probiotic or enzyme ingredient. It appears on 17 of the 149 dry cat foods we list. The ingredient score reflects the ingredient alone, not the amount in any one recipe. Each food's page shows how it scores overall.