Dog of the Day - German Shepard

These are the images pet food manufacturers promulgate through the media and advertising. This is what the $11 billion per year U.S. pet food industry wants consumers to believe they are buying when they purchase their products.

This report explores the differences between what consumers think they are buying and what they are actually getting. It focuses in very general terms on the most visible name brands — the pet food labels that are mass-distributed to supermarkets and discount stores — but there are many highly respected brands that may be guilty of the same offenses.

What most consumers don’t know is that the pet food industry is an extension of the human food and agriculture industries. Pet food provides a market for slaughterhouse offal, grains considered “unfit for human consumption,” and similar waste products to be turned into profit. This waste includes intestines, udders, esophagi, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal parts.

Three of the five major pet food companies in the United States are subsidiaries of major multinational companies: Nestlé (Alpo, Fancy Feast, Friskies, Mighty Dog, and Ralston Purina products such as Dog Chow, ProPlan, and Purina One), Heinz (9 Lives, Amore, Gravy Train, Kibbles-n-Bits, Nature’s Recipe), Colgate-Palmolive (Hill’s Science Diet Pet Food). Other leading companies include Procter & Gamble (Eukanuba and Iams), Mars (Kal Kan, Mealtime, Pedigree, Sheba, Waltham’s), and Nutro. From a business standpoint, multinational companies owning pet food manufacturing companies is an ideal relationship. The multinationals have increased bulk-purchasing power; those that make human food products have a captive market in which to capitalize on their waste products, and pet food divisions have a more reliable capital base and, in many cases, a convenient source of ingredients.

There are hundreds of different pet foods available in this country. And while many of the foods on the market are similar, not all of the pet food manufacturing companies use poor quality or potentially dangerous ingredients.

Ingredients

Although the purchase price of pet food does not always determine whether a pet food is good or bad, the price is often a good indicator of quality. It would be impossible for a company that sells a generic brand of dog food at $9.95 for a 40-lb. bag to use quality protein and grain in its food. The cost of purchasing quality ingredients would be much higher than the selling price.

The protein used in pet food comes from a variety of sources. When cattle, swine, chickens, lambs, or other animals are slaughtered, the choice cuts such as lean muscle tissue are trimmed away from the carcass for human consumption. However, about 50% of every food-producing animal does not get used in human foods. Whatever remains of the carcass — bones, blood, intestines, lungs, ligaments, and almost all the other parts not generally consumed by humans — is used in pet food, animal feed, and other products. These “other parts” are known as “by-products,” “meat-and-bone-meal,” or similar names on pet food labels.

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The nation’s peanut butter salmonella scare is now leading to a pet food recall. A dog food manufacturer is recalling seven products over fears of possible contamination from the same tainted peanut butter affecting dozens of human products.

Pet Food Recall: Dog Biscuits
The pet food recall is over PetSmart Grreat Choice Dog Biscuit products. Seven variations of the products are said to include peanut paste made by the Peanut Corp of America. PetSmart has pulled all the products from its shelves and is advising anyone who has the dog food to stop using it right away.

The dog food recall includes the following Grreat Choice Dog Biscuits, sold between August 21, 2008 and January 19, 2009:

• Small Assorted 32 oz., UPC 73725702900
• Small/Medium Assorted 4 lb., UPC 73725700601
• Small/Medium Assorted 8 lb., UPC 73725700605
• Small/Medium Assorted 10 lb., UPC 73725702755
• Large Assorted 8 lb., UPC 73725700638
• Extra Large Assorted 8 lb., UPC 73725700779
• Peanut Butter 4 lb., UPC 73725700766

If you have any of those items, you can return them to any PetSmart for a refund or exchange. You can also find more information here or by calling 1-888-839-9638.

Shanghai Yidi Pet Co. said it stopped selling Optima brand dog food last week and notified its customers not to feed it to their pets. The sickened dogs were believed to be suffering from aflatoxin poisoning. Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring chemical in a fungus sometimes found on corn and other grains that can cause liver damage. The company said it was unclear how the dog food might have been contaminated, but indicated that it might have spoiled in storage before reaching shops, AP said.

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