LAWRENCEVILLE, GA. — 5Strands Affordable Testing, a health testing service, launched three new pet food tests — General Assessment, Pet Food Intolerance and Raw Food Intolerance — on April 12. The tests use bioresonance technology on pet hair, which can help identify food intolerances in dogs and cats.

The General Assessment test focuses on various food and environmental pet intolerances, the Pet Food Intolerance can be used for pets fed commercial pet foods, and the Raw Food Intolerance Test can be used for pets who are fed raw diets.

“Unlike an allergy, intolerances do not involve the immune system,” said Austin Collins, chief executive officer, 5Strands. “Dietary intolerances occur within the body’s digestive system. When our pets lack the digestive enzymes to break down food, that can then manifest in a large variety of symptoms. Some of the most common intolerances for dogs and cats include upset stomach, paw biting, constant scratching, hair loss, and head shaking.”

Marketed toward pet parents, all tests rely on non-invasive sample collections involving dog or cat hair. Pet parents can collect a sample from their pets and ship the sample to 5Strands for complete evaluation.

The Pet Food Intolerance test can be used to evaluate the effect of different proteins, grains, vegetables, fruits, additives, preservatives that may be present in commercial pet foods. 5Strands will test a pet’s hair based on exposure to more than 275 ingredients and report the levels of severity for each ingredient to pet parents.

The Raw Food Intolerance Test is specifically designed for pets fed a raw food diet. The test covers more than 300 ingredients, including meats, seafood, bones, fruits, vegetables, oils and grains, and will help pet parents determine if their companion is intolerant to certain ingredients in these diets.

The General Assessment Test includes the Pet Food Intolerance Test and a Pet Environmental Intolerance Test that can be used to test fabrics, cleaning supplies and more.

“The process couldn’t be easier,” Collins added. “You simply go online, purchase a kit, register the kit, collect a hair sample, and send it back to us. You will then receive the test results in one week. By using these results, pet owners can remove or avoid items that are causing their pet’s discomfort. This is a holistic approach that will help find answers to problems that were previously considered unsolvable.”

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