Pet Food Ingredients Can Kill Your Pets

A Texas lab just announced that it has found the pain reliever acetaminophen in some pet foods. Add to that the most recent pet food recall, prompted by the presence of the toxin melamine in wheat gluten, corn gluten, and rice protein concentrate imported from China, and you have more reason to question the quality of commercial pet foods. There's an epidemic in chronic and fatal illnesses in cats and dogs--diseases like cancer, arthritis, hyperthyroidism, obesity, dental disease, heart disease, and diabetes--arguably caused by the questionable ingredients in pet foods.

Is the average store-bought kibble or canned pet food sufficient to maintain good health? And how about those higher priced pet foods that claim to be natural and healthier? Are you aware of what's legally allowed in kibble or canned food, and exactly how they're prepared? Or do you just trust the good name and the warm, fuzzy commercials of popular pet food companies, never questioning the integrity of their products? Did you know that slaughterhouse waste matter, pesticides, sugar, herbicides, empty fillers, drug residues, heavy metal contaminants, artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, and dangerous bacteria produced by spoilage can all be included in the average commercial pet food product? And that until recently euthanized shelter animals and roadkill might be included in the mix?

Animal protein powder, a common pet food ingredient, is made up of a gruesome mix of rendered, rejected cow parts (bone, blood, hooves, intestines, head, horns), meat from 4-D (dead, dying, disabled, diseased) animals, spoiled meat, and fecal material. Other by-products used in pet foods are chicken feather meal, connective tissues, leather meal, horse and cattle hair.

Dogs and cats need carbohydrates, but do sugar, corn syrup, propylene glycol, and moldy grains sound nutritious to you? Rancid fats from animals rejected for human consumption, and fiber from peanut hulls, hair, or newspapers can also be added to the ingredients. If you see a lot of vague, collective names on the list, that's a pretty good sign that the ingredients are not top quality. Some examples: meat, fish, or poultry by-products, dried animal digest, fishmeal, meat by-products, dried liver digest, etc.

High temperatures that are used to sterilize pet foods may also lower the protein value. Vitamins, minerals, and amino acids added by manufacturers to pet foods can be destroyed by heat processing or by interaction with contaminants while on the shelf. Digestive enzymes that are present in raw foods are absent in cooked pet foods. In addition, hormones, growth stimulants, tranquilizers, and antibiotics from slaughtered animals can affect the health of dogs and cats.

Here are some common chemical additives in soft moist as well as other pet foods: propylene glycol, potassium sorbate, propyl gallate, ethoxyquin, potassium sorbate, ammoniated glycyrrhizin, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and sodium nitrite. Impressive multisyllabic names notwithstanding, exactly what harm are they causing our pets? In addition, artificial coloring, synthetic flavorings, and scents are used to make the foods more attractive and smell better. But they have not been adequately tested for safety. And the body can't always detoxify chemicals. They may be stored in body tissues and interact with each other, becoming more toxic.

Another dirty little secret of the pet food industry is that companies like Menu Foods test pet foods on live dogs and cats. The recent pet food recall resulted in a number of painful deaths of these animals, who were deliberately fed the tainted food. Pet food lab animals live isolated lives in metal cages and are often mistreated and neglected.

Given the above facts, are there any guaranteed safe commercial pet foods available to the consumer? The short answer is no. Both low- and high-end pet foods were affected by the latest pet food recall, the eleventh in just twelve years. This is because a handful of multinational corporations have bought up most of the $15 billion pet food market, including Nestlé Purina, Del Monte, Masterfoods, Procter and Gamble, and Colgate-Palmolive, who together own approximately 40 pet food labels. In addition, a few private labelers and co-packers like Menu Foods and Diamond produce pet food for numerous house and brand names. Add to that the reality that free trade policies don't protect consumers from tainted foreign ingredients. So buying your cats and dogs safe and nutritious pet foods has become a game of Russian roulette. The only alternative is to make your own pet food from so-called "human grade" ingredients, being sure to heed the specific nutritional requirements of dogs and cats. It may sound time consuming and expensive, but in the long run, you'll save on vet bills and your pets will have longer and healthier lives.