Among all commercially available brands of pet foods, those that are certified organic are probably the most nutritious and health-promoting choices. Why do I say that?

Certified organic ingredients contain much lower amounts of pesticide residues than conventionally produced, non-organic ingredient. They have significantly higher nutrient levels (e.g., antioxidants, minerals, vitamins). And, of course, the actual production of certified organic ingredients is significantly less toxic and far less damaging to the environment).

Organic certification assures that the production or manufacturing facility operates without use of toxins, such as conventional cleaning and sterilizing agents. This supports the safety of ingredients and final food products, as well as the health of animals and the environment. In conventional, non-organic certified, manufacturing sites, food and ingredient storage areas are often fumigated and treated with other highly toxic pest control measures. Moreover, toxic sanitizing chemicals are commonly used in the food preparation and storage areas of such facilities (and this also applies to factories where human foods are produced). In contrast to such less-than-healthy production environments, it is a real joy for me to work in my company’s certified organic facility, which is both toxin-free and clean as a whistle!

Organic certification includes an annual inspection of the manufacturing facility, as well as inspections of all ingredients used and records kept during the previous year. All records must be readily available (and scrupulously maintained) for inspection for a total of five years from the time of initial inspection. The inspection for organic certification assures that ingredients are indeed organic, as claimed by the manufacturer (records must include a current organic certificate for each ingredient used), and that each ingredient’s organic status is maintained as such (e.g., no addition of toxins; no synthetic ingredients which are used in the manufacture of conventional, or non-certified organic, pet foods; no ingredients which are known to be unhealthy, such as artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives). Furthermore, the use of ill-defined and untraceable ingredients, such as ‘byproducts,’ ‘animal protein,’ ‘vegetable oil,’ ‘chicken meal,’ is unthinkable for certified organic products because none of these can be sourced to their initial origin (not to mention the fact that these particular ingredients, by their very nature, are pretty unhealthy to begin with).\r\n\r\nOrganic certification also assures that no genetically modified organism (GMO)-based ingredients are included in the organic product you’re purchasing. Most importantly, the omission of GMOs avoids certain potential health issues and detrimental environmental practices associated with these ingredients.

Organic certification alone is no guarantee that the pet food you’re purchasing is actually healthy for your pet. Why do I say that?

It’s certainly possible to use certified organic ingredients that are unhealthy for animals. For example, refined organic flour is, like its conventional counterpart, simply unhealthy, especially if consumed on a regular basis. Refining of ingredients including flour can lead to a marked loss of nutrients, and is known to contribute to many major diseases in the industrialized world, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, certain allergies, immune suppression, and certain forms of cancer. The very same health problems that human populations face as a result of poor food choices are now beginning to take hold among our pets. This isn’t surprising, given that we”ve adopted many of the same practices used in human food processing for the production of cheap and readily available pet foods.

Even if we add fiber or other supplements to our animals’ foods, the reality is that these isolated nutrients can never substitute for what has been lost through the separation of components from natural, whole foods; this applies to vitamins and minerals, as well. Moreover, simply adding supplemental vitamins and minerals out of context to foods (many of which may already contain the same nutrients to begin with) can actually have negative effects on the health of both humans and animals.

Pet food products that are both certified organic and contain whole food ingredients aren’t necessarily nutritious or healthy. Why do I say that?

Even if you chose the right ingredients, you can damage their nutritional properties if you over-process them with heat. Heat destroys all enzymes, denatures most proteins, and can even alter the molecular structure of fiber, rendering hard, or even impossible, for the body to digest or absorb. Heat also destroys many vitamins and antioxidants. Even if you supplement foods with minerals or vitamins after heating (i.e., through pressurized spraying after baking or cooking), isolated nutrients will never function as well, or in the same way, as naturally occurring food-based nutrients.

So, the most gentle preparation method would involve preparing foods fresh (i.e., on a par with ‘home-made’ foods), dehydrating products at appropriately low temperatures to guarantee the integrity of constituent ingredients, or flash-freezing.

Canning is one of the least desirable food preparation methods also because there is little understanding of the potentially negative health effects of certain canning materials that are known to leach out over time.

What to look for on the label and/or packaging of a good, commercially available, certified organic food product: I recommend paying more for good quality, certified organic, pet foods. They are more expensive than conventional, non-certified organic pet foods for a reason: certified organic ingredients are considerably more expensive than their conventional and less healthy counterparts. This is money well spent, as you’ll be supporting your animal’s health and reducing almost-certain future expenses for veterinary care (how many friends do you know with overweight, or even diabetic, cats?). Investing in high-quality organic pet foods and avoiding poor diet and its physical and behavioral consequences will make for a happier and ultimately, more satisfying pet-guardian relationship.

Certified organic foods contain at least 95% organic ingredients; the remaining content must be both GMO-free and free of a number of unhealthy additives or ingredients. The certified organic status of a given product or ingredient is indicated by the USDA Organic seal, as well as the name of a USDA-accredited organic certifying agency, such as Quality Assurance International (QAI) or Oregon Tilth (OTCO). Products that contain more than 70% (but less than 95%) organic ingredients cannot bear the USDA organic seal, but must nevertheless display the name of the USDA-accredited organic certifying agency. In this case, you”ll see the phrase, “made with such-and-such organic ingredient,” on the package. These clear labeling protocols are meant to protect the consumer from any misleading use of the term ‘organic’ by some, less-than-scrupulous, companies. Such protocols also allow the consumer to determine what percentage of ingredients is actually certified organic or conventional.

Organic claims without the USDA organic seal or the name of an organic certifying agency may, or may not, contain the organic ingredients that are claimed by the manufacturer. In any event, in such instances, it really comes down to plain and simple trust, since no third-party certifier is verifying the organic claims of a company whose products do not bear a USDA organic seal or the name of a certifying agency. It would be nice to think that governmental regulations and laws could keep up with, and effectively discourage, the deceptive practices—marketing and otherwise— of companies determined to make a buck by praying on ill-informed consumers. Unfortunately, the reality is much more complicated.

What else should the educated consumer and pet guardian look for?

Never buy a food—even if it’s unrefined, certified organic, raw, frozen, or gently dehydrated—if its ingredients don’t make sense to you. For example, I’ve come across herbivore foods that contain animal proteins and/or fat. Now, why would you feed your herbivorous pet meat or animal fat? Also, ask yourself: does it make sense to feed grains, as major staples—to cats or dogs—animals that evolved to exploit animal protein and fat or omnivorous resources, respectively? The manufacture of grain-based foods for dogs and—especially—cats makes no sense to me, as a zoologist, a pet guardian, and, most of all, an animal lover. Despite the common knowledge that grain, gluten, rice, corn, and soy are allergens for dogs, many pet food manufacturers continue to include these ingredients in their dog food products. The reason for this is that these particular ingredients are inexpensive, plain and simple. To knowingly add something that can cause allergic responses in many dogs is just beyond the scope of my understanding.

‘Balanced’ foods or ‘complete diets?’

Whether the nutrient levels that are required to call foods ‘balanced’ or ‘complete,’ are ideal for animal health has become a major point of contention among experts. First, there are issues concerning how these levels are determined in the first place (What breed of dog or cat is used? In what kinds of condition were the experimental animals kept? What were the ages of the animals studied? How long were these studies conducted? What data are collected?). In many cases, the required nutrient levels for balanced, or complete, foods are achieved by adding mostly synthetic mineral vitamin mixes to food. As I said earlier, the addition of synthetic nutrients is unlikely to be supportive of animal health.

Although some nutrients may really prevent certain deficiencies (especially in cases where animals don’t receive a fresh diet that provides a variety of natural food-based nutrients), others might actually do some harm. Personally, I prefer to stay away from synthetic supplements, and would recommend that other pet owners add appropriate high quality, naturally occurring, supplements to their pet’s foods at home (there are some commercially available ones). Of course, the best solution would be to provide foods that contain high-quality, naturally occurring nutrients in the first place; this can often be achieved by simply providing a diverse variety of high-quality foods.

Human-grade ingredients

I would never buy a product that contains something other than human-grade ingredients for my animals. Quite simply, even if something that contains ‘animal feed-grade’ ingredients is certified organic, it wouldn’t be good enough for my animals because the distinction ‘animal feed-grade’ implies a lower-grade quality of ingredient. For example, I don’t understand how an egg could possibly be classified as either ‘human-grade’ or ‘feed-grade’ quality; an egg is either produced under humane, healthy, and environmentally sustainable circumstances, or it isn’t!

Out-sourcing of production

It’s important to determine if a given pet food manufacturer produces products in it’s own facility, or if they’ve contracted another company to manufacture their products. Generally speaking, quality control is often better when products are manufactured in-house. If production is outsourced—even in the same town, state, or country—the pet food manufacturer cannot have complete control over quality assurance, and in any case cannot determine the state of the manufacturing facility at all times.

Such outsourcing might also ignore the status of employees at a third-party manufacturer, who may or may not be well-treated by their employer. This is not to say that outsourcing can’t yield a good product manufactured with the highest quality and ethical standards; it simply indicates that third-party manufacturing warrants much greater scrutiny, both by the consumer and the first-party manufacturer.

Size of the pet food company
I”m generally more partial to smaller companies, as I believe such companies are better able to check their equipment, food storage areas, and manufacturing areas. Unlike such trappings of large-scale manufacturing as silos, huge open storage containers, and enormous mixers, a smaller operation has few, if any, such quality assurance ‘blind spots.’ By their nature, smaller manufacturing companies tend to have better quality control than large multinational corporations. The common practices of small food manufacturers—smaller batches, lower risk, and careful sourcing of ingredients that can be readily inspected by employees—all likely make for better quality products.

Beware of unregulated terminology
‘Natural’ is a term that is not regulated; nor is the term ‘holistic.’ But, as the Green Seal organization recently indicated to me, the USDA organic label is certainly the best and most credible certification for pet and human food products. It’s also a good indicator of the ‘green’ status of a food.

Unfortunately, all unregulated terms can be used—and abused—to their legal limit. Moreover, very misleading marketing and advertising can be used to boost sales at the expense of unwary consumers and their pets. Such practices are, of course, unfair— first, to the consumer who is paying extra for a product she thinks is organic; second, to the true manufacturers of certified organic products who often work hard and responsibly to create quality foods; and finally, to the pets we all love.

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