Podcast: Debunking Food Ingredient Myths for People and Pets

Most pet parents have learned to fear ingredients like salt, cellulose, gums, and artificial ingredients, but as food scientist Dr. Abbey Thiel explains, many of these so-called villains are the very things keeping our food safe, nutritious, palatable, and shelf stable. In this new episode of Barking Mad, we dig into the surprising truth behind the ingredients we love to hate and the science that makes them essential.

This conversation is a breath of fresh air for pet parents feeling overwhelmed by pet food labels. Inside the episode, Dr. Thiel breaks down how cellulose is simply plant fiber (not sawdust!), why salt is vital for health and preservation, how flavorings help pets actually enjoy their food, and why natural flavors and colors often carry heavier environmental costs than their synthetic counterparts. Bottom line: ingredients aren’t inherently good or bad; context, function, and dose matter far more than fear-based marketing would have you believe.

What You’ll Learn 🔍

• Why ingredients like cellulose, salt, flavorings, and gums serve essential nutritional and functional roles
• What palatants actually are—and why pets need them
• How natural vs. artificial debates often overlook environmental and safety trade-offs
• Why fear-based marketing results in ingredient myths and consumer confusion
• How to read labels with greater confidence and less panic

If you’ve ever wondered whether you should worry about an ingredient name you can’t pronounce, this episode will reshape the way you see your grocery cart and your pet’s bowl. Listen, learn, and rethink the assumptions we’ve all inherited from online food fear.

🎧 Find Barking Mad on the BSM Partners website, as well as on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, and Podlink.

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About the Author

Jordan Tyler is the Director of Media at BSM Partners and co-host of the Barking Mad podcast. She has more than five years of experience reporting on trends, best practices and developments in the North American pet nutrition industry. Jordan resides in Bentonville, Arkansas, with her husband and their four furry family members.