The more processed our food has become, the more nervous we should be about just what is in our food. This extends to pet food as well. There are some great commercial pet foods on the market today, and there are some that are, well, not so great. Some cheap dog foods are even downright scary! Take a look at this list of scary ingredients that may be found in dog food, and ways to avoid them.
Tainted Gluten
In 2007 there was a huge pet food scare and recall centered around tainted gluten. Shipments of vegetable proteins from China were found to contain melamine, a chemical used in the production of plastics and pesticides. The pet food made from this product was responsible for several animal deaths. To make matters worse, those pet foods were in some cases fed to fish, which were then sold for human consumption. This particular pet food scare highlights the dangers of importing processed food products from other countries where our government has little control over production and safety considerations. Many pet food companies use products like wheat gluten because it is cheaper than making their foods with high-quality carbohydrate sources.
Propylene Glycol
Many pet food manufacturers use highly synthetic chemicals for solvents and preservatives. Propylene glycol is used to control moisture content and as a solvent for food coloring. Some moist foods and those with lots of dyes contain propylene glycol. In large amounts, it can increase body acidity and produce toxicity. To avoid it, stay away from foods with lots of dyes. Not only are the dyes dangerous, but the chemicals used to put the dyes in the food are harmful as well.
Chemical Preservatives
Dog foods need some preservatives to stay safe for your dog to eat. Rancid fat can cause some serious health problems, so we obviously want some kind of stabilizer to make sure that the food doesn’t go bad on the shelf. However, many conventional manufacturers use synthetic chemicals to increase the shelf life of dog food up to a year. These preservatives include BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), or ethoxyquin. The FDA has determined that these chemicals are safe in the quantities used in dog food, but many vets are wary of side effects. Ethoxyquin has been linked to skin allergies, cancer and liver damage in dogs. The FDA asked dog food manufacturers to halve the allowed amount of ethoxyquin allowed in dog food because of these side effects.
Some dog food manufacturers have gone away from using synthetic chemicals for food preservatives and instead rely on vitamins and plant extracts. Vitamin E , vitamin C (ascorbic acid), and extracts of various plants such as rosemary are natural food preservers. The disadvantage is that they do not keep food fresh for as long as their synthetic counterparts, so make sure to carefully check the “best by” date on your dog food before buying or feeding it to your pet.
Pentobarbital
This drug is used to euthanize livestock including cattle and horses. If products from these animals are included in your dog’s food, they may be ingesting this drug. Having it in your pet’s food can cause a host of health problems. Since it is a sedative, unregulated ingestion can cause lethargy and loss of coordination. It also puts extra demands on the liver and can cause damage in combination with other drugs. To avoid pentobarbital, you should only buy dog food that lists specific meat items and byproducts. For example, “chicken byproduct” is probably fine, but “meat byproduct” or “meat meal” could be any meat, including parts of horse euthanized with pentobarbital.
Synthetic Vitamins
In general, vitamins are a good thing. But many vitamins cause toxicity if the doses are too high and they cannot be flushed from the body. Synthetic vitamins can also be dangerous because they don’t interact with the body in the same way as their natural counterparts. An example of this is meladione, or Vitamin K3. It is not as effective as real vitamin K, and builds up in the body. Because of this, it is known for its high toxicity levels and has been banned for over the counter sale by the FDA. With vitamins, more is not always better. Conventional dog food producers may add vitamins just to add them, thinking that it looks better on the label to uninformed consumers.
Sources:
http://www.fda.gov/animalveterinary/safetyhealth/recallswithdrawals/ucm129575.htm
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