Believe it or not but this is actually someone's job! Pet Food Tasters check the nutritional value of pet food, its texture, smell, taste and quality. How do they do this you ask? They taste it!
Don't worry, they don't spend each day tasting food fit for a pampered pet. Most days, they write reports on new recipes as well as judge which brand of pet food is the best and vice versa. Their job is respected so much that, popular pet magazines publish their views and pet owners actually follow their directions. They also think up ideas on how to develop a new line of food. Taste is important, but nutrition is the key to healthy pets.
Although dogs will eat anything, that doesn't mean they should. Pet owners want flavoured, immune-boosting pet food. Smell is also important when choosing the best option. No homeowner wants a house that stinks of fish.
Before you think of doing this job, your knowledge of animals should be vast. Pets can't talk after all, so you need to develop a sense of what animals like. Animal knowledge comes in handy here.
Usually, they are given several different brands of pet food to judge. Using flavor, taste, smell and quality, they adjudge tastes that the pets would enjoy or reject. Once they take a small bite, they check for flavour (if they're saying, “Yuck!” then pets probably are, too), texture and consistency. Then they spit it out and move on to the next flavour. Only the finest foods make it to the store shelves.
The salary for this kind of work is about $20,000 per year. Not so bad is it?
