You might be surprised, but most commercial dog food is illegal. I go crazy warning people about what goes on. These are only a few of the responses I get from people who I am trying to educate about dog food and health:
“It says ‘natural’ on the label”
“This is a premium brand”
“My dog loves it”
The worst one by far – “My vet recommended it”
The sad fact is that the FDA does not enforce their own laws and regulations. They side with pet food manufacturers. They have very chummy relationships with pet food manufacturers. These relationships are illustrated in the article, Who Does the FDA Meet With? in which an attendance list is shown for several FDA meetings.
The images in the following link illustrate the types of protein sources that are used in producing commercial pet food. WARNING: The images from the following link are graphic.
One Pet Owner’s Rude Awakening
As you read through this article you will understand why I recommend diets that are biologically appropriate and not processed as commercial food is notorious for. These are two recommendations: Barfworld (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) for beginners because it has complete dietary needs and Raw Paws for more advanced raw feeders who will add fruits and veggies to the mix.
When the CVM (the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine) performs investigations, the outcomes highly weighs in the favor of the pet food manufacturers.
There are many laws governing pet food sold in the U.S. However these laws are of no benefit to consumers if they are not enforced. Consumer advocates Susan Thixton, Mollie Morrissette, Dr. Jean Hofve, Dr. Cathy Alinovi and Nina Wolf took a close look at state and federal law (governing pet food). We found lack of enforcement of pet food law to be so big, involving so many different pet foods and treats that it is close to impossible to turn back now.
The American Pet Products Association states in 2015 $23 billion worth of pet food was sold in the U.S. An estimated 30% of those sales were for pet food and treats that legally should not have been sold based on federal and state law against the use of adulterated ingredients.
The FDA prohibits the use of non-slaughtered meats. Non-slaughtered meats are referred to as “4-D meat” in the pet food industry. 4-D meats are meat from dead (not by slaughter for consumption – could be roadkill), dying, diseased or disabled animals. This includes rendered products. Pet food with rendered ingredients is illegal! For more information about rendering plants, you can check out the article Recycling of Slaughterhouses Waste (Rendering Plants).
Here is a video of a rendering plant. BEWARE – VERY GRAPHIC!!!
What is really angering is that many conventional vets are peddling food with illegal ingredients and are clueless about nutrition because the pet food manufacturers dictate curriculum when colleges accept money from them.
The United States Code (law), Title 21, Chapter 9, Subchapter IV, Section 342 (The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act) – states that a food (food would include animal/pet food) is considered adulterated if it is sourced from a non-slaughtered animal (Section 342 a-5). This law is in place to protect consumers and their pets from the risk to consuming diseased or decomposing animal tissues.
Below is a map of the U.S. regarding enforcement of the above federal law. The states with stars (all of them) are states that do not enforce the above law with pet food.
The following map shows 14 states that not only ignore federal regulations, but they disregard their state laws as well.
Below is a chart of some (not all) commonly used pet food meat/animal protein ingredients. Per their legal definition, they are listed in a column that requires them to be sourced from a slaughtered animal (black) or listed in a column that does not require them to be sourced from a slaughtered animal (red). Red/non-slaughtered animal material ingredients are considered adulterated per federal law and state law in 14 states.
In the article Hear Florida Say It, you may listen to a recording of a telephone meeting between Susan Thixton (a fabulous activist) and the Florida Department of Agriculture.
Ok… So to solve this problem we can simply read labels. Right??? WRONG!!!
United States Code (law), Section 343 defines a food whose labeling is false or misleading in ANY manner to be misbranded. A misbranded pet food would be illegal. Again, this federal law is in place to protect consumers and their pets.
The states that are red are those that do NOT follow the branding and labeling laws.
This is an outrage!!! This is the reason why I encourage people to feed their dogs a raw diet to avoid all of these issues and to keep their dogs healthy and safe! To read about Barfworld you check out my article. To read about Raw Paws for more advanced raw feeders check out my article.
Sources:
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Medicine, Center For Veterinary. “CVM Updates – FDA Cautions Pet Owners and Caretakers Not to Feed Certain Evanger’s or Against the Grain Canned Pet Foods Due to Adulteration with Pentobarbital.” US Food and Drug Administration Home Page. Center for Veterinary Medicine, 17 Feb. 2017. Web. 23 Feb. 2017. <https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm542265.htm>. Thixton, Susan. “Hear Florida Say It.” Truth about Pet Food, Susan Thixton, 27 Dec. 2016, <https://truthaboutpetfood.com/hear-florida-say-it/>. Thixton, Susan. “It’s So Bad, All We Can do Now is Warn.” Truth about Pet Food, Susan Thixton, 10 Apr. 2016, <https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/its-so-bad-all-we-can-do-now-is-warn/. Thixton, Susan. “Who Does FDA Meet With?” Truth about Pet Food, Susan Thixton, 11 Apr. 2016, Thixton, Susan. “Who Does FDA Meet With?” Truth about Pet Food, Susan Thixton, 11 Apr. 2016, <https://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/who-does-fda-meet-with/. |
6 thoughts on “Is Your Dog Eating Illegal Food?”
I don’t see why I should feed my dog raw.I’m afraid of raw food getting contained with salmonella,e coli etc. One time I tried to give my puppy raw and he didn’t eat it only when he was hungry he’ll eat it. After that experience I’m heavily disappointed with a raw diet and I think it’s not a good diet. From ,Cherry
Hi Cherry-
Here’s a great article about feeding a biologically appropriate diet. It should help to answer your questions.
Unfortunately, vets are not trained in nutrition. That’s convenient for the giant pet food manufacturers that support veterinary programs. It also paved the way for conventional vets to recommend poor quality food that is over-processed and unhealthy.
The only difference I noticed is that my dogs poop didn’t smell.
I’m not sure to what you are referring. The difference between what and what?
I’m talking about the dog food I made.
As long as you can figure out the correct ratios of bone/calcium, muscle meat, and organ meat and you are able to rotate proteins and as long as you add your own fruit and veggies, and as long as you know how to balance it so as to maintain the correct calcium – phosphorus ratio, you’ll be all set. Personally, that’s a lot for me to figure out so that’s why I stick to a prepared diet. Mine is more detailed as I prefer to add my own whole food supplements.