Korean Journal of Agricultural Science ISSN:2466-2402(Print) 2466-2410(Online) 농업과학연구

Plant-based, grain-free, and gluten-free diets have been the focus of recent research, as part of the premiumization trend in dog food. However, the lack of comprehensive information regarding carbohydrates in dog food makes it difficult to produce nutritionally balanced meals. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the nutritional value of carbohydrate ingredients commonly used in commercial dog foods. First, using data from Euromonitor, we investigated the trends in the dry dog food industry and analyzed the annual volume of dry dog food sales, as well as the dog population from 2010 to 2021 in Korea. The growth of the market was greatest in 2021, when the total value of sales of premium dry dog food was 254.3 billion KRW (Korean won) more than in 2010. In addition, sales of dry dog food by age category were marked by a significant increase (404.8%) in the market for dry food for senior dogs. Second, we examined the frequency of carbohydrate ingredients used in dry dog food and conducted a proximate analysis of the top 10 most frequently used ingredients. Subsequently, we analyzed the crude protein, crude fat, and nitrogen-free extract in the carbohydrate ingredients based on dry matter (DM) and calculated the ratio of metabolic energy content supplied from each nutrient in the carbohydrate ingredients. The ratio of metabolic energy content in the carbohydrate ingredients indicated that mung beans had the highest crude protein content (31.3%), whereas oats exhibited the highest crude fat content (23.3%). Sweet potatoes had the highest nitrogen-free extract content, measuring at 93.6%. The results of this study are expected to provide a valuable foundation for the growth and development of the domestic dog food industry, while also contributing to a deeper understanding of the specific role of each ingredient as a carbohydrate source.