Ingredient Choices That Matter: How Science Shapes Our Recipes

We invite you to explore Big Country Raw - a fresh approach for nourishing your pet’s health. Our commitment is to support health and longevity through carefully sourced, science-driven nutrition, industry-leading food safety, and a customer experience unlike any other. Health-conscious pet parents are embracing fresh, raw diets at an unprecedented rate. As raw diets become mainstream, research-based science is deepening our understanding of fresh food nutrition. We use this data to guide how we make our recipes, for the health of your pets, and ours. 

Bioavailability matters

Our aim is to bring as much nutrition as possible from fresh, whole food ingredients and this is where ingredient selection matters.  

To illustrate, let’s compare the zinc content of pork liver and beef liver. While both are considered excellent sources, pork liver contains up to 8mg per 100g, compared to beef which has between 4-6 mg per 100g. Pork liver also contains more selenium and iron than beef. The use of pork liver means recipes can rely less on chelated minerals to meet nutritional requirements. 

Following along using the same example, liver should not be the only source of zinc in a raw food recipe because liver is also very high in vitamin A. Organs like liver are nutrient dense, but liver should make up no more than 5% of a dog’s diet to reduce the risk of hypervitaminosis A (Vitamin A toxicity). 

They say: “The dose makes the poison” so we use vitamins and minerals to bridge the gap between deficiency and toxicity. The most commonly used zinc supplement in commercial pet food manufacturing is zinc oxide – it’s inexpensive but also has low absorption. The danger here is that on paper, the recipes may be “complete and balanced”, but bioavailability is poor, and ultimately the nutrient just passes through with no benefit. 

Our Dinner and XL recipes contain chelated organic minerals in the form of a specific amino acid and peptide blend. This is important because in this form, the nutrients are highly digestible and protected from interacting with other nutrients the food contains. Specifically, we use Zinc proteinate, Manganese proteinate, and Copper proteinate – three essential nutrients not readily found in meat or plant products in concentrations necessary for balanced nutrition.  

A ratio diet (eg. 80/10/10) containing only meat, bone, organ meats, and fruits and vegetables requires targeted supplementation to be nutritionally complete. Creating complete and balanced recipes is more than nuance or “balance over time” – it’s science.  Knowing the nutritional content and adequacy of any single ingredient is just the beginning - bioavailability, interactions, and the effect on the resulting recipe is the only way to ensure nutrient minimums are being met and safe upper levels aren’t exceeded.  

Differentiating between Dinners and XL 

DINNER RECIPES 

• Multi-protein recipes. 
• Contain organs from beef and/or pork, depending on the recipe. 
• Fruit and vegetable ingredients: cranberries, spinach, broccoli, zucchini, and blueberries. 
• Contain Cod Liver Oil for Vitamin D and DHA in the form of marine algae is the omega-source 

XL RECIPES 

• Multi-protein recipes. 
• Contain organs from beef and/or pork, depending on the recipe  
• Fruit and vegetable ingredients: carrots, green beans, cucumber, spinach, and cranberries. 
  Cucumber as a source of Vitamin K and carrots for beta-carotene. 
• Recipes have an extremely low-glycaemic index (GI) rating of less than 4. A traditional low-GI canine diet should have a GI of less than 55. 

Conclusion 

We aim to have our recipes deliver the best nutrition where it matters most - through highly bioavailable, whole-food ingredients. From meat, fish, and poultry of the highest quality, naturally mineral-rich pork and beef organs, and a fruit and vegetable blend delivering fiber and essential nutrients. We consider ingredient availability and sustainability without compromising quality or affordability and continue to be guided by science, transparency, and what’s best for the long-term health and longevity of your pets, and ours. All this allows Big Country Raw to continue to raise the standard for raw nutrition.