What's Really in Your Cat's Food
What's Really in Pet Food?
Article from www.BornFreeUSA.org Updated May 2007
Plump whole chickens, choice cuts of beef, fresh grains, and all the
wholesome nutrition your cat or dog will ever need.
These are the images pet food manufacturers promulgate through the media and
advertising. This is what the $16.1 billion per year U.S. pet food industry
wants consumers to believe they are buying when they purchase their products.
This report explores the differences between what consumers think they are
buying and what they are actually getting. It focuses in very general terms on
the most visible name brands — the pet food labels that are mass-distributed to
supermarkets and discount stores — but there are many highly respected brands
that may be guilty of the same offenses.
What most consumers don’t know is that the pet food industry is an extension
of the human food and agriculture industries. Pet food provides a convenient way
for slaughterhouse offal, grains considered “unfit for human consumption,” and
similar waste products to be turned into profit. This waste includes intestines,
udders, heads, hooves, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal parts.
The Players
The pet food market has been dominated in the last few years by the
acquisition of big companies by even bigger companies. With $15 billion a year
at stake in the U.S. and rapidly expanding foreign markets, it’s no wonder that
some are greedy for a larger piece of the pie.
Nestlé’s bought Purina to
form Nestlé Purina Petcare Company
(Fancy Feast, Alpo, Friskies, Mighty
Dog, Dog Chow, Cat Chow, Puppy Chow,
Kitten Chow, Beneful, One, ProPlan,
DeliCat, HiPro, Kit’n’Kaboodle,
Tender Vittles, Purina Veterinary
Diets).
Del Monte gobbled up Heinz (MeowMix,
Gravy Train, Kibbles ’n Bits,
Wagwells, 9Lives, Cycle, Skippy,
Nature’s Recipe, and pet treats Milk
Bone, Pup-Peroni, Snausages,
Pounce).
MasterFoods owns Mars, Inc.,
which consumed Royal Canin
(Pedigree, Waltham’s, Cesar, Sheba,
Temptations, Goodlife Recipe,
Sensible Choice, Excel).
Other major pet food makers are not best
known for pet care, although many of their
household and personal care products do use
ingredients derived from animal by-products:
Procter and Gamble (P&G) purchased
The Iams Company (Iams, Eukanuba) in
1999. P&G shortly thereafter introduced
Iams into grocery stores, where it did
very well.
Colgate-Palmolive bought Hill’s
Science Diet (founded in 1939) in
1976 (Hill’s Science Diet,
Prescription Diets, Nature’s Best).
Private labelers (who make food for
“house” brands like Kroger and Wal-Mart)
and co-packers (who produce food for
other pet food makers) are also major
players. Three major companies are Doane
Pet Care, Diamond, and Menu Foods; they
produce food for dozens of private label
and brand names. Interestingly, all 3 of
these companies have been involved in
pet food recalls that sickened or killed
many pets.
Many major pet food companies in the
United States are subsidiaries of
gigantic multinational corporations.
From a business standpoint, pet food
fits very well with companies making
human products. The multinationals have
increased bulk-purchasing power; those
that make human food products have a
captive market in which to capitalize on
their waste products; and pet food
divisions have a more reliable capital
base and, in many cases, a convenient
source of ingredients.
The Pet Food Institute — the trade
association of pet food manufacturers —
has acknowledged the use of by-products
in pet foods as additional income for
processors and farmers: “The growth of
the pet food industry not only provided
pet owners with better foods for their
pets, but also created profitable
additional markets for American farm
products and for the byproducts of the
meat packing, poultry, and other food
industries which prepare food for human
consumption.”1
Label Basics
There are special labeling
requirements for pet food, all of which
are contained in the annually revised
Official Publication of AAFCO.2
While AAFCO does not regulate pet food,
it does provide model regulations and
standards that are followed by U.S. pet
food makers.
The name of the food
provides the first indication of the
food’s content. The use of the terms
“all” or “100%” cannot be used “if the
product contains more than one
ingredient, not including water
sufficient for processing,
decharacterizing agents, or trace
amounts of preservatives and
condiments.”
The “95% Rule” applies when the
ingredient(s) derived from animals,
poultry, or fish constitutes at least
95% or more of the total weight of the
product (or 70% excluding water for
processing). Because all-meat diets are
not nutritionally balanced and cause
severe deficiencies if fed exclusively,
they fell out of favor for many years.
However, due to rising consumer interest
in high quality meat products, several
companies are now promoting 95% and 100%
canned meats as a supplemental feeding
option.
The “dinner” product is defined by
the “25% Rule,” which applies when “an
ingredient or a combination of
ingredients constitutes at least 25% of
the weight of the product (excluding
water sufficient for processing)”, or at
least 10% of the dry matter weight; and
a descriptor such as “recipe,”
“platter,” “entree,” and “formula.” A
combination of ingredients included in
the product name is permissible when
each ingredient comprises at least 3% of
the product weight, excluding water for
processing, and the ingredient names
appear in descending order by weight.
The “With” rule allows an ingredient
name to appear on the label, such as
“with real chicken,” as long as each
such ingredient constitutes at least 3%
of the food by weight, excluding water
for processing.
The “flavor” rule allows a food to be
designated as a certain flavor as long
as the ingredient(s) are sufficient to
“impart a distinctive characteristic” to
the food. Thus, a “beef flavor” food may
contain a small quantity of digest or
other extract of tissues from cattle, or
even an artificial flavor, without
containing any actual beef meat at all.
The ingredient list
is the other major key to what’s really
in that bag or can. Ingredients must be
listed in descending order of weight.
The ingredient names are legally
defined. For instance, “meat” refers to
only cows, pigs, goats and sheep, and
only includes specified muscle tissues.
Detailed definitions are published in
AAFCO’s Official Publication,
revised annually, but can also be found
in many places online.
The guaranteed analysis
provides a very general guide to the
composition of the food. Crude protein,
fat, and fiber, and total moisture are
required to be listed. Some companies
also voluntarily list taurine, Omega
fatty acids, magnesium, and other items
that they deem important — by marketing
standards.
Pet Food Standards and Regulations
The National Research Council (NRC)
of the Academy of Sciences set the
nutritional standards for pet food that
were used by the pet food industry until
the late 1980s. The original NRC
standards were based on purified diets,
and required feeding trials for pet
foods claimed to be “complete” and
“balanced.” The pet food industry found
the feeding trials too restrictive and
expensive, so AAFCO designed an
alternate procedure for claiming the
nutritional adequacy of pet food, by
testing the food for compliance with
“Nutrient Profiles.” AAFCO also created
“expert committees” for canine and
feline nutrition, which developed
separate canine and feline standards.
While feeding trials are sometimes
still done, they are expensive and
time-consuming. A standard chemical
analysis may also be used to make sure
that a food meets the profiles. In
either case, there will be a statement
on the label stating which method was
used. However, because of the “family
rule” in the AAFCO book, a label can say
that feeding tests were done if it is
“similar” to a food that was actually
tested on live animals. There is no way
to distinguish the lead product from its
“family members.” The label will also
state whether the product is
nutritionally adequate (complete and
balanced), and what life stage (adult or
growth) the food is for. A food that
says “all life stages” meets the growth
standards and can be fed to all ages.
Chemical analysis, however, does not
address the palatability, digestibility,
or biological availability of nutrients
in pet food. Thus it is unreliable for
determining whether a food will provide
an animal with sufficient nutrients. To
compensate for the limitations of
chemical analysis, AAFCO added a “safety
factor,” which was to exceed the minimum
amount of nutrients required to meet the
complete and balanced requirements.
In 2006, new NRC standards were
published; but it will take several
years for AAFCO’s profiles to be updated
and adopted, let alone accepted by the
states.
The pet food industry loves to say
that it’s more highly regulated than
human food, but that’s just not true.
Pet food exists in a bit of a regulatory
vacuum; laws are on the books, but
enforcement is another story. The FDA
has nominal authority over pet foods
shipped across state lines. But the real
“enforcers” are the feed control
officials in each state. They are the
ones who actually look at the food and,
in many instances, run basic tests to
make sure the food meets its Guaranteed
Analysis, the chart on the label telling
how much protein, fat, moisture, and
fiber are present. But regulation and
enforcement vary tremendously from state
to state. Some, like Texas, Minnesota,
and Kentucky, run extensive tests and
strictly enforce their laws; others,
like California, do neither.
The Manufacturing Process: How Pet
Food Is Made
Dry Food
The vast majority of dry food is made
with a machine called an extruder.
First, materials are blended in
accordance with a recipe created with
the help of computer programs that
provide the nutrient content of each
proposed ingredient. For instance, corn
gluten meal has more protein than wheat
flour. Because the extruder needs a
consistent amount of starch and low
moisture to work properly, dry
ingredients — such as rendered
meat-and-bone-meal, poultry by-product
meal, grains, and flours — predominate.
The dough is fed into the screws of
an extruder. It is subjected to steam
and high pressure as it is pushed
through dies that determine the shape of
the final product, much like the nozzles
used in cake decorating. As the hot,
pressurized dough exits the extruder, it
is cut by a set of rapidly whirling
knives into tiny pieces. As the dough
reaches normal air pressure, it expands
or “puffs” into its final shape. The
food is allowed to dry, and then is
usually sprayed with fat, digests, or
other compounds to make it more
palatable. When it is cooled, it can be
bagged.
Although the cooking process kills
bacteria in the ingredients, the final
product can pick up more bacteria during
the subsequent drying, coating, and
packaging process. Some experts warn
that getting dry food wet can allow the
bacteria on the surface to multiply and
make pets sick. Do not mix dry
food with water, milk, canned food, or
other liquids.
A few dog foods are baked at high
temperatures (over 500°F) rather than
extruded. This produces a sheet of
dense, crunchy material that is then
broken into irregular chunks, much like
crumbling crackers into soup. It is
relatively palatable without the
sprayed-on fats and other enhancers
needed on extruded dry food.
Semi-moist foods and many pet treats
are also made with an extruder. To be
appealing to consumers and to keep their
texture, they contain many additives,
colorings, and preservatives; they are
not a good choice for a pet’s primary
diet.
Wet Food
Wet or canned food begins with ground
ingredients mixed with additives. If
chunks are required, a special extruder
forms them. Then the mixture is cooked
and canned. The sealed cans are then put
into containers resembling pressure
cookers and commercial sterilization
takes place. Some manufacturers cook the
food right in the can.
Wet foods are quite different in
content from dry or semi-moist foods.
While many canned foods contain
by-products of various sorts, they are
“fresh” and not rendered or processed
(although they are often frozen for
transport and storage). Wet foods
usually contain much more protein, and
it’s often a little higher quality, than
dry foods. They also have more moisture,
which is better for cats. They are
packaged in cans or pouches.
Comparing Food Types
Because of the variation in water
content, it is impossible to directly
compare labels from different kinds of
food without a mathematical conversion
to “dry matter basis.” The numbers can
be very deceiving. For instance, a
canned food containing 10% protein
actually has much more protein than a
dry food with 30% protein.
To put the foods on a level playing
field, first calculate the dry matter
content by subtracting the moisture
content given on the label from 100%.
Then divide the ingredient by the dry
matter content. For example, a typical
bag of dry cat food contains 30% protein
on the label, but 32% on a dry-matter
basis (30% divided by its dry matter
content, 100-6% moisture = 94%). A can
of cat food might contain 12% protein on
the label, but almost 43% on a
dry-matter basis (12% divided by its dry
matter content, 100-72% moisture = 28%).
Dry food typically contains less than
10% water, while canned food contains
78% or more water.
Pet Food Ingredients
Animal Protein
Dogs and cats are carnivores, and do
best on a meat-based diet. The protein
used in pet food comes from a variety of
sources. When cattle, swine, chickens,
lambs, or other animals are slaughtered,
lean muscle tissue is trimmed away from
the carcass for human consumption, along
with the few organs that people like to
eat, such as tongues and tripe.
However, about 50% of every food
animal does not get used in human foods.
Whatever remains of the carcass — heads,
feet, bones, blood, intestines, lungs,
spleens, livers, ligaments, fat
trimmings, unborn babies, and other
parts not generally consumed by humans —
is used in pet food, animal feed,
fertilizer, industrial lubricants, soap,
rubber, and other products. These “other
parts” are known as “by-products.”
By-products are used in feed for poultry
and livestock as well as in pet food.
The nutritional quality of
by-products, meals, and digests can vary
from batch to batch. James Morris and
Quinton Rogers, of the University of
California at Davis Veterinary School,
assert that, “[pet food] ingredients are
generally by-products of the meat,
poultry and fishing industries, with the
potential for a wide variation in
nutrient composition. Claims of
nutritional adequacy of pet foods based
on the current Association of American
Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutrient
allowances (‘profiles’) do not give
assurances of nutritional adequacy and
will not until ingredients are analyzed
and bioavailability values are
incorporated.”3
Meat or poultry “by-products” are
very common in wet pet foods. Remember
that “meat” refers to only cows, swine,
sheep, and goats. Since sheep and goats
are rare compared to the 37 million cows
and 100 million hogs slaughtered for
food every year, nearly all meat
by-products come from cattle and pigs.
The better brands of pet food, such
as many “super-premium,” “natural,” and
“organic” varieties, do not use
by-products. On the label, you’ll see
one or more named meats among the first
few ingredients, such as “turkey” or
“lamb.” These meats are still mainly
leftover scraps; in the case of poultry,
bones are allowed, so “chicken” consists
mainly of backs and frames—the spine and
ribs, minus their expensive breast meat.
The small amount of meat left on the
bones is the meat in the pet food. Even
with this less-attractive source, pet
food marketers are very tricky when
talking about meat, so this is explained
further in the section on “Marketing
Magic” below.
Meat meals, poultry meals, by-product
meals, and meat-and-bone meal are common
ingredients in dry pet foods. The term
“meal” means that these materials are
not used fresh, but have been rendered.
While there are chicken, turkey, and
poultry by-product meals there is no
equivalent term for mammal “meat
by-product meal” — it is called
“meat-and-bone-meal.” It may also be
referred to by species, such as
“beef-and-bone-meal” or
“pork-and-bone-meal.”
What is rendering? As defined by
Webster’s Dictionary, to render is
“to process as for industrial use: to
render livestock carcasses and to
extract oil from fat, blubber, etc., by
melting.” In other words, raw materials
are dumped into large vat and boiled for
several hours. Rendering separates fat,
removes water, and kills bacteria,
viruses, parasites, and other organisms.
However, the high temperatures used
(270°F/130°C) can alter or destroy
natural enzymes and proteins found in
the raw ingredients.
Because of persistent rumors that
rendered by-products contain dead dogs
and cats, the FDA conducted a study
looking for pentobarbital, the most
common euthanasia drug, in pet foods.
They found it. Ingredients that were
most commonly associated with the
presence of pentobarbital were
meat-and-bone-meal and animal fat.
However, they also used very sensitive
tests to look for canine and feline DNA,
which were not found. Industry
insiders admit that rendered pets and
roadkill were used in pet food some
years ago. Although there are still no
laws or regulations against it, the
practice is uncommon today, and pet food
companies universally deny that their
products contain any such materials.
However, so-called “4D” animals (dead,
dying, diseased, disabled) were only
recently banned for human consumption
and are still legitimate ingredients for
pet food.
Vegetable Protein
The amount of grain and vegetable
products used in pet food has risen
dramatically over time. Plant products
now replace a considerable proportion of
the meat that was used in the earliest
commercial pet foods. This has led to
severe nutritional deficiencies that
have been corrected along the way,
although many animals died before
science caught up.
Most dry foods contain a large amount
of cereal grain or starchy vegetables to
provide texture. These high-carbohydrate
plant products also provide a cheap
source of “energy” — the rest of us call
it “calories.” Gluten meals are
high-protein extracts from which most of
the carbohydrate has been removed. They
are often used to boost protein
percentages without expensive
animal-source ingredients. Corn gluten
meal is the most commonly used for this
purpose. Wheat gluten is also used to
create shapes like cuts, bites, chunks,
shreds, flakes, and slices, and as a
thickener for gravy. In most cases,
foods containing vegetable proteins are
among the poorer quality foods.
A recent fad, “low-carb” pet food,
has some companies steering away from
grains, and using potatoes, green peas,
and other starchy vegetables as a
substitute. Except for animals that are
allergic to grains, dry low-carb diets
offer no particular advantage to pets.
They also tend to be very high in fat
and, if fed free-choice, will result in
weight gain. Canned versions are
suitable for prevention and treatment of
feline diabetes, and as part of a weight
loss program, as well as for
maintenance.
Animal and Poultry Fat
There’s a unique, pungent odor to a
new bag of dry pet food — what is the
source of that smell? It is most often
rendered animal fat, or vegetable fats
and oils deemed inedible for humans. For
example, used restaurant grease was
rendered and routed to pet foods for
several years, but a more lucrative
market is now in biodiesel fuel
production.
These fats are sprayed directly onto
extruded kibbles and pellets to make an
otherwise bland or distasteful product
palatable. The fat also acts as a
binding agent to which manufacturers add
other flavor enhancers such as “animal
digests” made from processed
by-products. Pet food scientists have
discovered that animals love the taste
of these sprayed fats. Manufacturers are
masters at getting a dog or a cat to eat
something she would normally turn up her
nose at.
What Happened to the
Nutrients?
Cooking and other processing of meat
and by-products used in pet food can
greatly diminish their nutritional
value, although cooking increases the
digestibility of cereal grains and
starchy vegetables.
To make pet food nutritious, pet food
manufacturers must “fortify” it with
vitamins and minerals. Why? Because the
ingredients they are using are not
wholesome, their quality may be
extremely variable, and the harsh
manufacturing practices destroy many of
the nutrients the food had to begin
with.
Proteins are especially vulnerable to
heat, and become damaged, or
“denatured,” when cooked. Because dry
foods ingredients are cooked twice —
first during rendering and again in the
extruder — problems are much more common
than with canned or homemade foods.
Altered proteins may contribute to food
intolerances, food allergies, and
inflammatory bowel disease.
Additives in Processed Pet
Foods
Many chemicals are added to
commercial pet foods to improve the
taste, stability, characteristics, or
appearance of the food. Additives
provide no nutritional value. Additives
include emulsifiers to prevent water and
fat from separating, antioxidants to
prevent fat from turning rancid, and
artificial colors and flavors to make
the product more attractive to consumers
and more palatable to their companion
animals.
A wide variety of additives are
allowed in animal feed and pet food, not
counting vitamins and minerals. Not all
of them are actually used in pet food.
Additives can be specifically approved,
or they can fall into the category of
“Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS).
Anticaking agents
Antigelling agents
Antimicrobial agents
Antioxidants
Color additives
Condiments
Curing agents
Drying agents
Emulsifiers
Essential oils
Flavor enhancers
Flavoring agents
Grinding agents
Humectants
Leavening agents
Lubricants
Palatants
Pelleting agents and binders
Petroleum derivatives
pH control agents
Preservatives
Seasonings
Spices
Stabilizers
Sweeteners
Texturizers
Thickeners
Chemical vs. Natural
Preservatives
All commercial pet foods must be
preserved so they stay fresh and
appealing to our animal companions.
Canning is itself a preserving process,
so canned foods need little or no
additional help. Some preservatives are
added to ingredients or raw materials by
the suppliers, and others may be added
by the manufacturer. The U.S. Coast
Guard, for instance, requires fish meal
to be heavily preserved with ethoxyquin
or equivalent antioxidant. Evidently,
spoiling fish meal creates such intense
heat that ship explosions and fires
resulted.
Because manufacturers need to ensure
that dry foods have a long shelf life
(typically 12 months) to remain edible
through shipping and storage, fats used
in pet foods are preserved with either
synthetic or “natural” preservatives.
Synthetic preservatives include
butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and
butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), propyl
gallate, propylene glycol (also used as
a less-toxic version of automotive
antifreeze), and ethoxyquin. For these
antioxidants, there is little
information documenting their toxicity,
safety, interactions, or chronic use in
pet foods that may be eaten every day
for the life of the animal. Propylene
glycol was banned in cat food because it
causes anemia in cats, but it is still
allowed in dog food.
Potentially cancer-causing agents
such as BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin are
permitted at relatively low levels. The
use of these chemicals in pet foods has
not been thoroughly studied, and long
term build-up of these agents may
ultimately be harmful. Due to
questionable data in the original study
on its safety, ethoxyquin’s
manufacturer, Monsanto, was required to
perform a new, more rigorous study. This
was completed in 1996. Even though
Monsanto found no significant toxicity
associated with its own product, in July
1997 the FDA’s Center for Veterinary
Medicine requested that manufacturers
voluntarily reduce the maximum level for
ethoxyquin by half, to 75 parts per
million. While some pet food critics and
veterinarians believe that ethoxyquin is
a major cause of disease, skin problems,
and infertility in dogs, others claim it
is the safest, strongest, most stable
preservative available for pet food.
Ethoxyquin is approved for use in human
food for preserving spices, such as
cayenne and chili powder, at a level of
100 ppm — but it would be very difficult
for even the most hard-core spice lover
to consume as much chili powder every
day as a dog would eat dry food.
Ethoxyquin has never been tested for
safety in cats. Despite this, it is
commonly used in veterinary diets for
both cats and dogs.
Many pet food makers have responded
to consumer concern, and are now using
“natural” preservatives such as Vitamin
C (ascorbate), Vitamin E (mixed
tocopherols), and oils of rosemary,
clove, or other spices, to preserve the
fats in their products. The shelf life
is shorter, however — only about 6
months.
Individual ingredients, such as fish
meal, may have preservatives added
before they reach the pet food
manufacturer. Federal law requires fat
preservatives to be disclosed on the
label; however, pet food companies do
not always comply with this law.
Danger Ahead
Potential Contaminants
Given the types of things
manufacturers put in pet food, it is not
surprising that bad things sometimes
happen. Ingredients used in pet food are
often highly contaminated with a wide
variety of toxic substances. Some of
these are destroyed by processing, but
others are not.
Bacteria.
Slaughtered animals, as well as
those that have died because of
disease, injury, or natural causes,
are sources of meat, by-products,
and rendered meals. An animal that
died on the farm might not reach a
rendering plant until days after its
death. Therefore the carcass is
often contaminated with bacteria
such as Salmonella and
E. coli. Dangerous E. Coli
bacteria are estimated to
contaminate more than 50% of meat
meals. While the cooking process may
kill bacteria, it does not eliminate
the endotoxins some bacteria produce
during their growth. These toxins
can survive processing, and can
cause sickness and disease. Pet food
manufacturers do not test their
products for bacterial endotoxins.
Because sick or dead animals can be
processed as pet foods, the drugs
that were used to treat or euthanize
them may still be present in the end
product. Penicillin and
pentobarbital are just two examples
of drugs that can pass through
processing unchanged. Antibiotics
used in livestock production are
also thought to contribute to
antibiotic resistance in humans.
Mycotoxins.
Toxins from mold or fungi are called
mycotoxins. Modern farming
practices, adverse weather
conditions, and improper drying and
storage of crops can contribute to
mold growth. Pet food ingredients
that are most likely to be
contaminated with mycotoxins are
grains such as wheat and corn, and
fish meal.
Chemical Residue.
Pesticides and fertilizers may leave
residue on plant products. Grains
that are condemned for human
consumption by the USDA due to
residue may legally be used, without
limitation, in pet food.
GMOs.
Genetically modified plant products
are also of concern. By 2006, 89% of
the planted area of soybeans, 83% of
cotton, and 61% of maize (corn) in
the U.S. were genetically modified
varieties. Cottonseed meal is a
common ingredient of cattle feed;
soy and corn are used directly in
many pet foods.
Acrylamide.
This is a carcinogenic compound
formed at cooking temperatures of
about 250°F in foods containing
certain sugars and the amino acid
asparagine (found in large amounts
in potatoes and cereal grains). It
is formed in a chemical process
called the Maillard reaction.4,
5 Most dry pet foods contain
cereal grains or potatoes, and they
are processed at high temperatures
(200–300°F at high pressure during
extrusion; baked foods are cooked at
well over 500°F); these are perfect
conditions for the Maillard
reaction. In fact, the Maillard
reaction is considered desirable
in the production of pet food
because it imparts a palatable
taste, even though it reduces the
bioavailability of some amino acids,
including taurine and lysine.6
The content and potential effects of
acrylamide formation in pet foods
are unknown.
Pet Food Recalls
When things go really wrong and
serious problems are discovered in pet
food, the company usually works with the
FDA to coordinate a recall of the
affected products. While many recalls
have been widely publicized, quite a few
have not.
In 1995, Nature’s Recipe recalled
almost a million pounds of dry dog
and cat food after consumers
complained that their pets were
vomiting and losing their appetite.
The problem was a fungus that
produced vomitoxin contaminating the
wheat.
In 1999, Doane Pet Care recalled
more than a million bags of
corn-based dry dog food contaminated
with aflatoxin. Products included Ol’
Roy (Wal-Mart’s brand) and 53 other
brands. This time, the toxin killed
25 dogs.
In 2000, Iams recalled 248,000
pounds of dry dog food distributed
in 7 states due to excess DL-Methionine
Amino Acid, a urinary acidifier.
In 2003, a recall was made by
Petcurean “Go! Natural” pet food due
to circumstantial association with
some dogs suffering from liver
disease; no cause was ever found.
In late 2005, a similar recall by
Diamond Foods was announced; this
time the moldy corn contained a
particularly nasty fungal product
called aflatoxin; 100 dogs died.
Also in 2005, 123,000 pounds of
cat and dog treats were recalled due
to Salmonella
contamination.
In 2006, more than 5 million cans
of Ol’ Roy, American Fare, and other
dog foods distributed in the
southeast were recalled by the
manufacturer, Simmons Pet Food,
because the cans’ enamel lining was
flaking off into the food.
Also in 2006, Merrick Pet Care
recalled almost 200,000 cans of “Wingalings”
dog food when metal tags were found
in some samples.
In the most deadly recall of
2006, 4 prescription canned dog and
cat foods were recalled by Royal
Canin (owned by Mars). The culprit
was a serious overdose of Vitamin D
that caused calcium deficiency and
kidney disease.
In February 2007, the FDA issued
a warning to consumers not to buy
“Wild Kitty,” a frozen food
containing raw meat. Routine testing
by FDA had revealed Salmonella
in the food. FDA specifically warned
about the potential for illness in
humans, not pets. There were no
reports of illness or death of any
pets, and the food was not recalled.
In March 2007, the most lethal
pet food in history was the subject
of the largest recall ever. Menu
Foods recalled more than 100 brands
including Iams, Eukanuba, Hill’s
Science Diet, Purina Mighty Dog, and
many store brands including
Wal-Mart’s. Thousands of pets were
sickened (the FDA received more than
17,000 reports) and an estimated 20%
died from acute renal failure caused
by the food. Cats were more
frequently and more severely
affected than dogs. The toxin was
initially believed to be a
pesticide, the rat poison “aminopterin”
in one of the ingredients. In April,
scientists discovered high levels of
melamine, a chemical used in
plastics and fertilizers, in wheat
gluten and rice protein concentrate
imported from China. The melamine
had been purposefully added to the
ingredients to falsely boost their
protein content. Subsequent tests
revealed that the melamine-tainted
ingredients had also been used in
feed for cows, pigs, and chickens
and thousands of animals were
quarantined and destroyed. In early
May, scientists identified the cause
of the rapid onset kidney disease
that had appeared in dogs and cats
as a reaction caused by the
combination of melamine and cyanuric
acid, both unauthorized chemicals.
The fallout from this recall is
ongoing as of May 2007 so please be
sure to
check the FDA website for the
most recent updates.
Nutrition-Related Diseases
The idea that one pet food provides
all the nutrition a companion animal
will ever need for its entire life is a
dangerous myth.
Today, the diets of cats and dogs are
a far cry from the variable meat-based
diets that their ancestors ate. The
unpleasant results of grain-based,
processed, year-in and year-out diets
are common. Health problems associated
with diet include:
Urinary tract disease.
Plugs, crystals, and stones are more
common in cats eating dry diets, due
to the chronic dehydration and
highly concentrated urine they
cause. “Struvite” stones used to be
the most common type in cats, but
another more dangerous type, calcium
oxalate, has increased and is now
tied with struvite. Manipulation of
manufactured cat food formulas to
increase the acidity of urine has
caused the switch. Dogs can also
form stones as a result of their
diet.
Kidney disease.
Chronic dehydration associated with
dry diets may also be a contributing
factor in the development of kidney
disease and chronic renal failure in
older cats. Cats have a low thirst
drive; in the wild they would get
most of their water from their prey.
Cats eating dry food do not drink
enough water to make up for the lack
of moisture in the food. Cats on dry
food diets drink more
water, but the total water
intake of a cat eating canned
food is twice as great.7
Dental disease.
Contrary to the myth propagated by
pet food companies, dry food is not
good for teeth.8 Given
that the vast majority of pets eat
dry food, yet the most common health
problem in pets is dental disease,
this should be obvious. Humans do
not floss with crackers, and dry
food does not clean the teeth.
Obesity.
Feeding recommendations or
instructions on the packaging are
sometimes inflated so that the
consumer will end up feeding — and
purchasing — more food. One of the
most common health problems in pets,
obesity, may also be related to
high-carb, high-calorie dry foods.
Both dogs and cats respond to low-carb
wet food diets. Overweight pets are
more prone to arthritis, heart
disease, and diabetes. Dry cat food
is now considered the cause of
feline diabetes; prevention and
treatment include switching to a
high protein, high moisture, low-carb
diet.
Chronic digestive
problems. Chronic vomiting,
diarrhea, constipation, and
inflammatory bowel disease are among
the most frequent illnesses treated.
These are often the result of an
allergy or intolerance to pet food
ingredients. The market for “limited
antigen” or “novel protein” diets is
now a multi-million dollar business.
These diets were formulated to
address the increasing intolerance
to commercial foods that pets have
developed. Even so, an animal that
tends to develop allergies can
develop allergies to the new
ingredients, too. One twist is the
truly “hypoallergenic” food that has
had all its proteins artificially
chopped into pieces smaller than can
be recognized and reacted to by the
immune system. Yet there are
documented cases of animals becoming
allergic to this food, too. It is
important to change brands, flavors,
and protein sources every few months
to prevent problems.
Bloat. Feeding
only one meal per day can cause the
irritation of the esophagus by
stomach acid, and appears to be
associated with gastric dilitation
and volvulus (canine bloat). Feeding
two or more smaller meals is better.
Heart disease.
An often-fatal heart disease in cats
and some dogs is now known to be
caused by a deficiency of the amino
acid taurine. Blindness is another
symptom of taurine deficiency. This
deficiency was due to inadequate
amounts of taurine in cat food
formulas, which in turn had occurred
due to decreased amounts of animal
proteins and increased reliance on
carbohydrates. Cat foods are now
supplemented with taurine. New
research suggests that some dog
breeds are susceptible to the same
condition. Supplementing taurine may
also be helpful for dogs, but as yet
few manufacturers are adding extra
taurine to dog food.
Hyperthyroidism.
There is also evidence that
hyperthyroidism in cats may be
related to diet. This is a
relatively new disease that first
surfaced in the 1970s. Some experts
theorize that excess iodine in
commercial cat food is a factor. New
research also points to a link
between the disease and pop-top
cans, and flavors including fish or
“giblets.” This is a serious
disease, and treatment is expensive.
Many nutritional problems appeared
with the popularity of cereal-based
commercial pet foods. Some have occurred
because the diet was incomplete.
Although several ingredients are now
supplemented, we do not know what
ingredients future researchers may
discover that should have been
supplemented in pet foods all along.
Other problems may occur from reactions
to additives. Others are a result of
contamination with bacteria, mold,
drugs, or other toxins. In some diseases
the role of commercial pet food is
understood; in others, it is not. The
bottom line is that diets composed
primarily of low quality cereals and
rendered meals are not as nutritious or
safe as you should expect for your cat
or dog.
Pet Food Industry Secrets
Co-Packing
The 2007 Menu Foods recall brought to
light some of the pet food industry’s
dirtiest secrets.
Most people were surprised — and
appalled — to learn that all Iams/Eukanuba
canned foods are not made by The Iams
Company at all. In fact, in 2003 Iams
signed an exclusive 10-year contract for
the production of 100% of its canned
foods by Menu.
This type of deal is called
“co-packing.” One company makes the
food, but puts someone else’s label on
it. This is a very common arrangement in
the pet food industry. It was first
illustrated by the Doane’s and Diamond
recalls, when dozens of private labels
were involved. But none were as large or
as “reputable” as Iams, Eukanuba,
Hill’s, Purina, Nutro, and other
high-end, so-called “premium” foods.
The big question raised by this
arrangement is whether or not there is
any real difference between the
expensive premium brands and the
lowliest generics. The recalled products
all contained the suspect ingredient,
wheat gluten, but they also all
contained by-products of some kind,
including specified by-products such as
liver or giblets.
It’s true that a pet food company
that contracts with a co-packer can
provide its own ingredients, or it can
require the contractor to buy particular
ingredients to use in its recipes. But
part of the attraction of using a
co-packer is that it can buy ingredients
in larger bulk than any one pet food
maker could on its own, making the
process cheaper and the profits larger.
It’s likely that with many of the
ingredients that cross all types of pet
foods, those ingredients are the same.
Are one company’s products — made in
the same plant on the same equipment
with ingredients called the same name
— really “better” than another’s? That’s
what the makers of expensive brands want
you to think. The recalled premium
brands claim that Menu makes their foods
“according to proprietary recipes using
specified ingredients,” and that
“contract manufacturers must follow
strict quality standards.” Indeed, the
contracts undoubtedly include those
points. But out in the real world,
things may not go according to plan. How
well are machines cleaned between
batches, how carefully are ingredients
mixed, and just how particular are
minimum-wage workers in a dirty smelly
job going to be about getting everything
just perfect?
Whatever the differences are between
cheap and high-end food, one thing is
clear. The purchase price of pet food
does not always determine whether a pet
food is good or bad or even safe.
However, the very cheapest foods can be
counted on to have the very cheapest
ingredients. For example, Ol’ Roy,
Wal-Mart’s store brand, has now been
involved in 3 serious recalls.
Menu manufactures canned foods for
many companies that weren’t affected by
the recall, including Nature's Variety,
Wellness, Castor & Pollux, Newman's Own
Organics, Wysong, Innova, and EaglePack.
It’s easy to see from their ingredient
lists that those products are made from
completely different ingredients and
proportions. Again, the issue of
cleaning the machinery out between
batches comes up, but hopefully nothing
so lethal will pass from one food to
another.
Animal Testing
Another unpleasant practice exposed
by this recall is pet food testing on
live animals. Menu's own lab animals,
who were deliberately fed the tainted
food, were the first known victims.
Tests began on February 27 (already a
week after the first reports); animals
started to die painfully from kidney
failure a few days later. After the
first media reports, Menu quickly
changed its story to call these
experiments “taste tests.” But Menu has
done live animal feeding, metabolic
energy, palatability, and other tests
for Iams and other companies for years.
Videotapes reveal the animals’ lives in
barren metal cages; callous treatment;
invasive experiments; and careless
cruelty.
Although feeding trials are not
required for a food to meet the
requirements for labeling a food
“complete and balanced,” many
manufacturers use live animals to
perform palatability studies when
developing a new pet food. One set of
animals is fed a new food while a
“control” group is fed a current
formula. The total volume eaten is used
as a gauge for the palatability of the
food. Some companies use feeding trials,
which are considered to be a much more
accurate assessment of the actual
nutritional value of the food. They keep
large colonies of dogs and cats for this
purpose, or use testing laboratories
that have their own animals.
There is a new movement toward using
companion animals in their homes for
palatability and other studies. In 2006,
The Iams Company announced that it was
cutting the use of canine and feline lab
animals by 70%. While it proclaims this
moral victory, the real reasons for this
switch are likely financial. Whatever
the reasons, it is a very positive step
for the animals.
Finally, it is important to remember
that the contamination that occurred in
the Menu Foods recall could have
happened anywhere at any time. It was
not Menu’s fault; the toxin was unusual
and unexpected. All companies have
quality control standards and they do
test ingredients for common toxins
before using them. They also test the
final products. However, there is a
baseline risk inherent in using the raw
materials that go into pet foods. When
there are 11 recalls in 12 years, it’s
clear that “freak occurrences” are the
rule, not the exception.
Marketing Magic
A trip down the pet food aisle will
boggle the mind with all the wonderful
claims made by pet food makers for their
repertoire of products. Knowing the
nature of the ingredients helps sort out
some of the more outrageous claims, but
what’s the truth behind all this hype?
Niche claims.
Indoor cat, canine athlete, Persian,
7-year old, Bloodhound, or a pet
with a tender tummy, too much flab,
arthritis, or itchy feet — no matter
what, there’s a food “designed” just
for that pet’s personal needs. Niche
marketing has arrived in a big way
in the pet food industry. People
like to feel special, and a product
with specific appeal is bound to
sell better than a general product
like “puppy food.” The reality is
that there are only two basic
standards against which all pet
foods are measured: adult and
growth, which includes gestation and
lactation. Everything else is
marketing.
“Natural” and “Organic”
claims. The definition of
“natural” adopted by AAFCO is very
broad, and allows for artificially
processed ingredients that most of
us would consider very unnatural
indeed. The term “organic”, on the
other hand, has a very strict legal
definition under the USDA National
Organic Program. However, some
companies are adept at evading the
intent of both of these rules. For
instance, the name of the company or
product may be intentionally
misleading. Some companies use terms
such as “Nature” or “Natural” or
even “Organic” in the brand name,
whether or not their products fit
the definitions. Consumers should
also be aware that the term
“organic” does not imply anything at
all about animal welfare; products
from cows and chickens can be
organic, yet the animals themselves
are still just “production units” in
enormous factory farms.
Ingredient quality
claims. A lot of pet foods
claim they contain “human grade”
ingredients. This is a completely
meaningless term — which is why the
pet food companies get away with
using it. The same applies to “USDA
inspected” or similar phrases. The
implication is that the food is made
using ingredients that are passed by
the USDA for human consumption, but
there are many ways around this. For
instance, a facility might be
USDA-inspected during the day, but
the pet food is made at night after
the inspector goes home. The use of
such terms should be viewed as a
“Hype Alert.”
“Meat is the first
ingredient” claim. A claim
that a named meat (chicken, lamb,
etc.) is the #1 ingredient is
generally seen for dry food.
Ingredients are listed on the label
by weight, and raw chicken weighs a
lot, since contains a lot of water.
If you look further down the list,
you’re likely to see ingredients
such as chicken or poultry
by-product meal, meat-and-bone meal,
corn gluten meal, soybean meal, or
other high-protein meal. Meals have
had the fat and water removed, and
basically consist of a dry,
lightweight protein powder. It
doesn’t take much raw chicken to
weigh more than a great big pile of
this powder, so in reality the food
is based on the protein meal, with
very little “chicken” to be found.
This has become a very popular
marketing gimmick, even in premium
and “health food” type brands. Since
just about everybody is now using
it, any meaning it may have had is
so watered-down that you may just as
well ignore it.
Special ingredient
claims. Many of the
high-end pet foods today rely on the
marketing appeal of people-food
ingredients such as fruits, herbs,
and vegetables. However, the amounts
of these items actually present in
the food are small; and the items
themselves may be scraps and rejects
from processors of human foods — not
the whole, fresh ingredients they
want you to picture. Such
ingredients don’t provide a
significant health benefit and are
really a marketing gimmick.
Pet food marketing and advertising
has become extremely sophisticated over
the last few years. It’s important to
know what is hype and what is real to
make informed decisions about what to
feed your pets.
What Consumers Can Do
Write or call pet food companies
and the Pet Food Institute and
express your concerns about
commercial pet foods. Demand that
manufacturers improve the quality of
ingredients in their products.
Print out a copy of this report
for your veterinarian to further his
or her knowledge about commercial
pet food.
Direct your family and friends
with companion animals to this
website, to alert them of the
dangers of commercial pet food.
Print out copies of our Fact Sheet
on
Selecting a Good Commercial Food.
(You may also
download this fact sheet as a
pdf.)
Stop buying commercial pet food;
or at least stop buying dry food.
Dry foods have been the subject of
many more recalls, and have many
adverse health effects. If that is
not possible, reduce the quantity of
commercial pet food and supplement
with fresh, organic foods,
especially meat. Purchase one or
more of the many books available on
pet nutrition and make your own
food. Be sure that a veterinarian or
a nutritionist has checked the
recipes to ensure that they are
balanced for long-term use.
If you would like to learn about
how to make healthy food for your
companion animal, read up on "Sample
Pet Diets," which contains
simple recipes and important
nutritional information.
Please be aware that Born Free
USA is not a veterinary hospital,
clinic, or service. Born Free USA
does not and will not offer any
medical advice. If you have concerns
about your companion animal’s health
or nutritional requirements, please
consult your veterinarian.
Because pet food manufacturers
frequently change the formulations of
their products and Born Free USA would
not have conducted the necessary
testing, we are unable to offer
endorsements for particular brands of
pet food. Many of our staff choose to
make their own pet food or to purchase
natural or organic products found in
most feed and specialist stores but we
cannot recommend brands that would be
right for your companion animal or
animals.
For Further Reading about Animal
Nutrition
Born Free USA recommends the
following books (listed in alphabetical
order by author), many of which include
recipes for home-prepared diets:
Michelle Bernard. 2003.
Raising Cats Naturally — How to Care
for Your Cat the Way Nature Intended.
Available at
www.raisingcatsnaturally.com.
Chiclet T. Dog and Jan Rasmusen.
2006. Scared Poopless: The
Straight Scoop on Dog Care.
Available at www.dogs4dogs.com.
ISBN-10: 0977126501, ISBN-13:
978-0977126507.
Rudi Edalati. 2001. Barker’s
Grub: Easy, Wholesome Home-Cooking
for Dogs. ISBN-10: 0609804421,
ISBN-13: 978-0609804421.
Jean Hofve, DVM. 2007. What
Cats Should Eat. Available at
www.littlebigcat.com.
Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM, and
Susan Hubble Pitcairn. 2005. Dr.
Pitcairn’s New Complete Guide to
Natural Health for Dogs and Cats.
Rodale Press, Inc. ISBN-10:
157954973X, ISBN-13: 978-1579549732.
Note: The recipes for cats were not
revised in this new edition and date
back to 2000; they may contain too
much grain, according to recent
research.
Kate Solisti. 2004. The
Holistic Animal Handbook: A
Guidebook to Nutrition, Health, and
Communication. Council Oaks
Books. ISBN-10: 1571781536, ISBN-13:
978-1571781536.
Donald R. Strombeck. 1999.
Home-Prepared Dog & Cat Diets: The
Healthful Alternative. Iowa
State University Press. ISBN-10:
0813821495, ISBN-13: 978-0813821498.
Note: Veterinary nutritionists have
suggested that the taurine and
calcium are too low in some of these
recipes. Clam juice and sardines are
poor sources of taurine; use taurine
capsules instead.
Celeste Yarnall. 2000,
Natural Cat Care: A Complete Guide
to Holistic Health Care for Cats;
and 1998, Natural Dog Care: A
Complete Guide to Holistic Health
Care for Dogs. Available at
www.celestialpets.com.
The books listed above are a fraction
of all the titles currently available,
and the omission of a title does not
necessarily mean it is not useful for
further reading about animal nutrition.
Please note: Born
Free USA is not a bookseller, and cannot
sell or send these books to you. Please
contact your local book retailer or an
online bookstore, who can supply these
books based on the ISBN provided for
each title.
Who to Write
AAFCO Pet Food Committee
David Syverson, Chair
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
Dairy and Food Inspection Division
625 Robert Street North
St. Paul, MN 55155-2538
www.aafco.org
FDA — Center for
Veterinary Medicine
Sharon Benz
7500 Standish Place
Rockville, MD 20855
301-594-1728
www.fda.gov/cvm/
Pet Food Institute
2025 M Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
202-367-1120
202-367-2120 fax
References
Association of American Feed Control
Officials Incorporated. Official
Publication 2007. Atlanta: AAFCO,
2007.
Case LP, Carey DP, Hirakawa DA.
Canine and Feline Nutrition: A Resource
for Companion Animal Professionals.
St. Louis: Mosby, 1995.
FDA Enforcement Reports, 1998-2007.
www.fda.gov.
Hand MS, Thatcher CD, Remillard RL,
et al., eds. Small Animal Clinical
Nutrition, 4th Edition. 2002.
Topeka, KS: Mark Morris Institute.
Logan, et al., Dental Disease, in:
Hand et al., ibid.
Mahmoud AL. Toxigenic fungi and
mycotoxin content in poultry feedstuff
ingredients. J Basic Microbiol,
1993; 33(2): 101–4.
Morris JG, and Rogers QR. Assessment
of the Nutritional Adequacy of Pet Foods
Through the Life Cycle. Journal of
Nutrition, 1994; 124: 2520S–2533S.
Mottram DS, Wedzicha BL, Dodson AT.
Acrylamide is formed in the Maillard
reaction. Nature, 2002 Oct 3;
419(6906): 448–9.
Pet Food Institute. Fact Sheet
1994. Washington: Pet Food
Institute, 1994.
Phillips T. Rendered Products Guide.
Petfood Industry,
January/February 1994, 12–17, 21.
Roudebush P. Pet food additives.
J Amer Vet Med Assoc, 203 (1993):
1667–1670.
Seefelt SL, Chapman TE. Body water
content and turnover in cats fed dry and
canned rations. Am J Vet Res,
1979 Feb; 40(2): 183–5.
Strombeck, DR. Home-Prepared Dog
and Cat Foods: The Healthful Alternative.
Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1999.
Tareke E, Rydberg P, Karlsson P, et
al. Analysis of acrylamide, a carcinogen
formed in heated foodstuffs. J Agric
Food Chem, 2002 Aug 14; 50(17):
4998–5006.
Zoran D. The carnivore connection to
nutrition in cats. J Amer Vet Med
Assoc, 2002 Dec 1; 221(11):
1559–67.
Notes
Pet Food Institute. Fact
Sheet 1994. Washington: Pet
Food Institute, 1994.
Association of American Feed
Control Officials. Official
Publication, 2007. Regulation
PE3, 120–121.
Morris, James G., and Quinton R.
Rogers. Assessment of the
Nutritional Adequacy of Pet Foods
Through the Life Cycle. Journal
of Nutrition, 124 (1994):
2520S–2533S.
Tareke E, Rydberg P, Karlsson P,
et al. Analysis of acrylamide, a
carcinogen formed in heated
foodstuffs. J Agric Food Chem,
2002 Aug 14; 50(17): 4998–5006.
Mottram DS, Wedzicha BL, Dodson
AT. Acrylamide is formed in the
Maillard reaction. Nature,
2002 Oct 3; 419(6906): 448–9.
Hand MS, Thatcher CD, Remillard
RL, et al., eds. Small Animal
Clinical Nutrition, 4th Edition.
2002. Topeka, KS: Mark Morris
Institute.
Seefelt SL, Chapman TE. Body
water content and turnover in cats
fed dry and canned rations. Am J
Vet Res, 1979 Feb; 40(2):
183–5.
Logan, et al., Dental Disease,
in: Hand et al., eds., Small
Animal Clinical Nutrition, Fourth
Edition. Topeka, KS: Mark
Morris Institute, 2000.
Information
on Reprints:
Born Free USA receives many requests
to reprint all or portions of our
"What’s Really in Pet Food" report in
newsletters, on websites, and elsewhere.
Permission is usually granted under
the following conditions:
Full acknowledgment is made to
Born Free USA as the source of the
material.
Born Free USA’s copyright is
preserved.
Our URL — www.bornfreeusa.org —
is included in the reprint.
Under no circumstances is the
reprint to be used for fundraising
of any kind.
We appreciate a copy of the final
piece if possible
If you are using the report in a
book or other item that will be sold
for a profit, we ask you to consider
donating a percentage of the sales
to Born Free USA. We are a
non-profit 501(c)(3) organization,
so contributions made to us are
tax-deductible.
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