Turkey Meal

Turkey meal is turkey that has been cooked, dried and ground into a protein powder. AAFCO explains that meals are rendered with heat and pressure, which removes most of the water and fat. It is a common protein in dry cat food, and the label names the bird. If your cat has a poultry allergy or another medical condition, ask your veterinarian.

Source: aafco.org

Turkey meal is a concentrated protein made from turkey meat with the water removed. It packs more protein per pound than fresh turkey and blends easily into kibble. Since the bird is named, it is easier to track than a general poultry meal. On Pettings it appears in 15 dry foods.

Not better, just more concentrated. Fresh turkey is mostly water, while turkey meal has most of its water removed. AAFCO requires ingredients to be listed from most to least by weight, so fresh turkey can appear first on a label even if turkey meal supplies more protein. The guaranteed analysis is a better guide to total protein than ingredient order.

Source: aafco.org

Meals suit dry food production. Tufts veterinary nutritionists describe rendered meals as a dry, high-protein powder that is easy to store, transport and mix into dry pet foods. Fresh meat adds water, which has to be cooked off during kibble making. Many recipes use both, with fresh turkey for flavor and turkey meal for protein.

Source: sites.tufts.edu

Pettings gives turkey meal 5 out of 5 and lists it as a named animal protein. It appears on 16 of the 149 dry cat foods we list. It earns the top score as a named animal protein. Each food's page shows how the whole recipe scores overall.