21st Jun 2009
Pet Food Quality, Pet Food Recalls
Since our company, Onesta Organics, manufactures (certified organic) pet food products, I know what immense responsibility this business bears. I feel with every pet and her guardian who may be negatively affected by any (commercial or homemade) product we humans provide for them.
I have yet to see a study that vouches for the quality of all nutrient premixes that are used to achieve AAFCO recommended nutrient levels. Some sources suggest that such nutrients are not bioactive for a long time after they leave a manufacturing site; and of course, many of these nutrients already have been destroyed during the manufacturing process.
Few consumers are fully aware of the true quality of the pet foods they purchase. The used ingredients alone can cause many of the diseases that so many of our pets nowadays develop (and that despite the fact that most of our pets are fed ‘complete’ diets that contain the AAFCO recommended nutrient levels).
Regulatory loopholes don”t make it easy for the consumer to interpret pet food labels and marketing materials. For example, only certified organic (“USDA organic”) pet food claims are regulated and enforced by US law, while all other (non-certified) organic claims are not. Of course, some manufacturers will abuse this lack of regulation to their marketing advantage.
The organic status of ingredients greatly affects the quality of the pet food ingredient: (certified) organic ingredients are more nutrient-dense, they are free of GMOs (which are implicated in both health problems and of course in environmental problems), and free of clearly toxic residues (from both agriculture and processing).
If pet foods contain ingredients that clearly promote chronic diseases, such as contaminated ingredients, allergens, refined ingredients or sugars (including honey), how can we be surprised that our pets develop diseases, especially when we’re feeding them such foods year after year?
The problem is also that it is not always clearly understood why certain ingredients are chosen in particular pet foods. More often than not, this comes down to cost vs. profit calculations by bean counters at pet food manufacturers. Just some examples: Grains and gluten are cheaper sources of protein than meat. Certified organic ingredients are much more expensive than non-organic ones. US-grown ingredients are more expensive than imported ones. Feed-grade ingredients are cheaper than human-grade (“USDA”) ones. Organic, humanely raised or grass-fed meats are much more expensive than even USDA meats for human consumption. Refined ingredients are cheaper than whole food ingredients. Heat-treated pet food products are cheaper than those treated at low temperatures.
Lack of tight regulations allows deceptive marketing which makes it hard for consumers to judge the quality of the pet food they purchase. If consumers are not aware of quality differences among the choices, they will certainly opt for products that are cheaper, but marketed with similar—or even the same—claims as, pet food products of truly high quality. This often leaves pet food manufacturers which strive to provide optimum foods on the sidelines. In the end, consumer demand determines what is offered on the market; until legislation for pet food claims catches up, consumers have to do their homework to choose what they want to see on the shelves.
