It’s autumn in the northern hemisphere, and while the leaves change and temperatures cool, students head off to school.
If you’re beginning - or continuing – your nutrition education, you may be considering formulation tools. Obviously, we hope you’ll choose ADF! But in any case, here are some features to look for.
- Accessibility: is the tool compatible with both Windows and Mac? Is there a mobile option if you need to formulate on the go?
Some of the other tools currently available require Windows to operate, or if you have a Mac, you’ll need a virtual machine to run the formulation program. ADF can be used on the Web or on a downloadable app, using either Mac or Windows. And it’s also available on mobile apps.
- Diet standards: can you select FEDIAF, AAFCO, or NRC nutrient profiles?
One popular “recipe generator tool” used by pet parents, nutritionists, and veterinarians, as well as another formulation tool geared toward commercial users, limits users to AAFCO nutrient profiles only. Since only FEDIAF established nutrient standards for less active pets, it’s close to impossible to create recipes to meet the needs of less active pets when using these tools.
Another software option provides only NRC nutrient profiles. While this allows users to formulate tailored recipes for early and late growth stages (AAFCO lacks this level of detail, too, while FEDIAF provides this delineation), it still assumes only one activity level, and therefore caloric intake, for adult pets. ADF offers users the choice of nutrient standards.
- Formulation method: can you formulate on a caloric basis, a dry matter basis, or both? What about metabolic formulation?
While fresh food diets need to be formulated on a caloric basis, many therapeutic nutrient targets are expressed in dry matter values. So presenting a nutritional profile in both formats is helpful for many users. ADF is among a few tools that offer both caloric and dry matter values.
But what about pets whose activity level and recommended calorie intake does not match the one AAFCO profile, the one NRC profile, or either of the two FEDIAF profiles? Metabolic formulation allows users to formulate a completely customized diet, precisely matched to the caloric needs of the dog or cat. In other words, it ensures that nutrient needs are met even when a pet needs to eat fewer calories than the diet standards assume. ADF has this feature: Professional and Commercial users will find this tool in the “Weight Loss” program – but don’t let that name fool you, it works just as well for pets who need to gain or maintain weight! This tool tailors the minimum nutrient levels based on the number of calories the pet will consume.
- Cooking methods: can you account for nutrients lost in various cooking techniques?
While several formulation tools include cooked ingredients in their database, only ADF has cooking methods that apply USDA-based nutrient retention factors to account for nutrient loss during various processes, such as slow-cooking, sauteing, and baking, as well as dehydrating and freeze-drying. This allows users to formulate recipes using raw ingredients – so that the amount needed of each raw ingredient is clearly indicated – and determine how cooking affects nutrient levels, final recipe weight, and caloric density.
- Ingredients: is the ingredient database robust? Can you add your own custom ingredients?
Formulation tools vary widely in their ingredient databases. Some include only USDA data, which is often incomplete (chloride, choline, and especially iodine values are notoriously absent), based on one or very few samples, and often decades old. Others include only cooked ingredients. ADF includes both raw and cooked ingredients, supplements, ingredients from USDA, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and other national food databases, and our ADF Typicals. The latter are ingredients where multiple data points are available, and complete data is included, to provide a more comprehensive representation of the food.
Another important consideration is whether any bone-in ingredients are included, as these feature prominently in many pets’ diets. ADF and one other formulation tool include these ingredients.
Most – with one notable exception: the “recipe generator tool” – allow users to add custom ingredients.
We do want to note that one of our colleague-competitors in this formulation tool arena has a feature that ADF doesn’t – yet! We saw, while investigating this what-to-look-for article, that one of the spreadsheet formulation tools offers the option to import ingredients directly from USDA. We thought they were brilliant for incorporating this feature, so we’re working on adding it for our users, too!
- Comparison: can you line up ingredients side-by-side to compare nutrient values? How about recipes?
This is an ADF-exclusive feature among the formulation tools useful to Individual and Professional version users. Tools geared toward formulation of animal-feed rations sometimes offer this option.
- Can you choose whether you wish to use supplements vs formulate a whole foods diet?
One major disadvantage with the recipe generator tool currently in wide use is its default to include a synthetic vitamin/mineral premix (sold by the owners of the recipe generator tool) in every recipe it generates. While this ensures no micronutrient deficiencies, it is also not tailored to the foods in the recipe and their contributions to the micronutrient content. So pets are often eating more synthetic minerals and vitamins than they need. In the case of some micronutrients, more is not necessarily better. This approach also prevents tailoring to individuals.
Other tools do allow for formulation with or without premixes or individual supplements (for targeted nutrient fortification, as opposed to the blanket approach in a premix), including ADF. However, some still generate a recipe within constraints you choose, which may force undesired ingredient selections. ADF allows total control over ingredients that go into a recipe, and the auto-adjust tool helps users find ingredients to meet specific nutrient needs.
- Batch resizing: can you size up or down?
Most – but not all! – of the available formulation tools allow this. ADF allows you to resize according to the desired weight of the recipe, the number of calories it provides, or the number of days it will feed a specific dog or cat.
- Estimators: when no nutrient data is available for your ingredient, can you estimate the nutrient levels?
ADF and one other option provide this valuable feature. This allows you to use animal protein sources in your recipes - even if USDA or other databases don’t provide an exact match - greatly increasing your options for formulation. (And resulting in huge cost savings over performing lab testing of all essential nutrients! With this tool, commercial users can test macronutrients only, then use that data in the estimator tool to generate an estimated complete nutritional analysis for that ingredient.)
- Save recipe as ingredient: is this tool available?
Some of your formulation tool options (like ADF) include this valuable feature, which allows you to create a recipe, then save it as one collective ingredient that can then be added to other recipes.
Commercial users will find this helpful when creating supplement mixes, fruit and veggie mixes, or any other recurring combination for inclusion in multiple recipes.
Individual and Professional users will enjoy how this feature facilitates balancing a pet’s typical (but incomplete) diet in endless combinations of add-ins to meet nutrient needs.
- Cost tracking: can you see how changes to your recipe will affect the cost of making the recipe?
Commercial formulators benefit from tracking costs associated with their recipes. ADF and a few other tools offer this feature.
- Labels: can you create a label for your commercial product?
The formulation tools geared toward commercial pet food production offer this feature. ADF is developing this tool for our commercial users – stay tuned!
- Tiers: can you use a version of the tool customized specifically for your needs?
Some formulation tools offer a one-size-fits-all approach, which often doesn’t fit anyone well. Many of the formulation software tools do offer versions tailored toward the user experience, including ADF.
No matter which tool you use, we hope you’ve found this feature list helpful. At ADF, our mission is to provide resources for feeding animals well. That includes not only our software – which we continually strive to improve and enhance to better achieve our mission – but education and community, too. We’d love to hear from you: what features would you like to see in ADF to help YOU feed animals well?