What commercial food item is used in accredited zoos to supplement fresh produce and ensure nutritional completeness year-round?
Answer
Commercially prepared primate chow
Modern, accredited zoos structure the captive diet to replicate wild nutritional requirements while mitigating seasonal deficiencies. Fresh produce like celery, carrots, and greens are provided, but they are supplemented with commercially prepared primate chow. This chow is essential because it is specifically formulated to deliver a consistent baseline of necessary minerals and vitamins, thereby preventing any nutritional gaps that might occur if the diet relied solely on seasonal fresh produce.

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