Is the Government Addressing the Dog Food Issue?

Is the FDA doing anything about the dog food issue?  Why haven’t the shameful practices within the dog food industry?  Why haven’t there been any guidelines created?  The government has put the scare of salmonella into everybody to deflect from the real issue.  If you read my article, “Salmonella: What’s the Truth?” you would understand that salmonella is being used as a distraction.  My article, “About China and Melamine in Pet Food” points out the truth without misleading the public with false information.  The FDA video in that article identifies the ingredient that is responsible for this contaminant in the dog food.  I don’t understand why this information hasn’t been circulated with the same effort as the circulation of false information with regard to salmonella.  It is possible that our government is protecting the enormous pet food conglomerates.

Many pet foods were recently tested for mycotoxins.  To read more about it, check out my article Shocking Dog Food Research Study. The test results were frightening.  Many pet foods have also been contaminated with aflatoxins. To read more about it, check out my article Aflatoxin Poisoning and Dry Dog Foods.  It’s no wonder why dogs are plagued with organ diseases (particularly kidney disease) and cancer.  Pet food is not at thee top of the FDA’s list.  Regulations are left to individual state government officials to enforce.  Of course, they are bombarded with other issues.

In May 2007, a CNN article stated that in 2007, there were reports of 17,000 pets suffering from illnesses. 4,000 of those reports were the deaths of dogs and cats. The FDA determined that the illnesses and deaths were caused by melamine contamination of wheat gluten. By 2008, the FDA discovered the presence of melamine in rice Protein.  A huge concern is kibble.  Kibble contains wheat or rice (or both) and there is no reason whatsoever for a dog to have wheat or rice (NEVER corn) in their daily diets.

According to Reuters, China produces around 80% of chemicals and active ingredients for the pharmaceutical industry here in the USA, I am confused as to why our imports of vitamin premix and pharmaceutical ingredients have increased by almost 200% between 2003 and 2013. Our government has been aware of this pressing issue even before it became such a scare when it came to our pet food. Dogs have been ingesting these toxic chemicals. The effects of the exposure to melamine and cyanuric acid were reported in droves in 2007.  What is China doing with our pet food?

According to an FDA article, our government has only been able to secure visas for 8 FDA inspectors to go to examine the facilities in China. Furthermore, the director of the FDA’s China office, Christopher Hickey has declared that our government is currently working diligently to increase that number to 27 in the “near” future.

The only option to avoid the dog food contamination is to feed your dogs a raw diet, dehydrated, freeze-dried, or lightly cooked homemade dog food.  Stay clear of the large pet food manufacturers.  They have already tried to hop onto the raw food bandwagon, but they cut corners and add toxic ingredients like preservatives that are no longer permitted in human food.  Profits are of utmost importance to them so making a raw diet is very costly so they want to avoid losing the masses of people who are unaware of what is going on.  Personally, when I consider all the money people are spending at the vet to address allergies, skin issues, cancer, kidney disease and a host of other illnesses, the higher price is really a tradeoff.  The solution I have found for my own dogs is explained in my article “What I Have Fed My Own Dogs“

Sources: