Nestlé Launches Pet Microbiome Kit

Nestlé has launched the Petivity Microbiome Analysis Kit to help deliver tailored nutrition and supplement recommendations for dogs and cats based on their unique gut profile.

Through science-based sequencing technology of a pet's microbiome, the new analysis kit, available in the US, is designed to unlock key gut health and nutrition information by the analysis of bacteria present in the gut. Nutritionists, behaviorists, veterinarians, and data scientists from Nestlé R&D leveraged their expertise in gut integrity and microbial diversity, showing Nestlé's translational capabilities in pet care.

"With this kit, we are putting the science of the gut microbiome into the hands of pet owners, empowering them to understand their pet's health and nutrition even better. The recommendations made by the tool are based on over 10 years of prebiotic, probiotic, and microbiome research. We are proud to enable the data to be used for predictive knowledge of pet gut health," said Pascal Steiner, director of Petcare Nutrition Science at Nestlé.

Ppet owners submit a small stool sample of their pet to the Purina laboratory, and then are provided with a report showing the status of their pet's microbiome profile and information about their pet's gut health. The report can be shared with their veterinarian and will highlight potential pathogens, unusual bacteria, and if numbers are out of the normal range.

State-of-the-art sequencing technology is used to analyze the bacteria communities present in the gut and provide information on bacterial diversities, a marker of digestive health. Based on the pet's unique profile, the report includes tailored nutrition and supplement recommendations to proactively support gut health and optimize their gut microbiome.

"At Nestlé R&D for Petcare we take a holistic approach to pet nutrition and health. This includes developing science-based nutritional solutions adapted to different pet life stages. With the Petivity Microbiome Analyses Kit we combine Nestlé's research capabilities with novel digital tools and services to create more personalized solutions for our pets," said Sheri Smithey, head of Nestlé Product Technology Center for Petcare.

The new kit is part of the Petivity powered by Purina Petcare ecosystem of smart devices and analysis kits unlocking health insights for dogs and cats. Its mission is to advance nutritional science that will help pets live healthy, happy, and long lives.