By: Kelly Marshall
Submitted: 2008-10-13 00:19:51 | Word Count: 496
Many pet owners want the best for our dogs, especially when it comes to what foods our pets eat. We not only want to give them the healthiest food possible but we want to make sure that they will live a long and healthy life. On the other hand, what if the “healthy pet foods” that are being sold on the market today are not dependable anymore?
Pet Food Recall Are Pet Food Manufacturers Purposely Killing Your Pets?
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What is a pet owner to do when we can no longer trust the food manufacturers who is supposed to provide us with safe and healthy foods for our dogs?
What To Do When The Food Is Killing Your Pets, Something Has To Change
The huge recall of pet food has created a great fright to all dog and cat owners who count on commercial brands to feed their pets. All over the US, contaminated pet food has caused many dogs to become deathly ill, while a large percentage of them have died.
In March of this year, Menu foods, a Canadian based manufacturing company, recalled more than 90 brands of “cuts and gravy” moist foods (both dog food and cat food) after more than 14 pets died from eating the contaminates. Weeks later, the same company added 20 more varieties of their brand to be removed from the store shelves.
More or the Story Please
Later on, it was discovered that wheat gluten, an ingredient found in the said pet foods, was contaminated with rodent poison. The high risk of Salmonella contamination has also been the cause of a removal for two brands of pig ear dog treats.
Since December of 2005, there have been cases of toxic pet foods where as several dogs died and dozens fell ill after eating kibble manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods. Later on it was discovered that the food was contaminated with aflatoxin. This is a naturally occurring chemical produced from fungus and can be found on crops such as wheat, corn, rice, and even beans. This chemical is toxic to domestic animals, livestock, and even people. Other pet food recalls during the past 10 years also involve the risk for Salmonella contamination.
Are Pet Food Companies Breaking The Law?
FDA regulations state that pet foods should be manufactured similar to the way our food is manufactured. Pet food should be processed under a sanitary environment, do not contain any harmful ingredients, precisely labeled, and safe for pets to eat.
Pet food manufacturers are expected to obey these regulations to make sure that pet food is safe and healthy for our pets to eat. On the other hand, the FDA can only inspect pet food issues after consumer complaints are made or if the FDA has a reason to believe that there is a threat to animal health – this is due to due to limited resources. A pet food recall is then announced by the FDA or the manufacturer only if a defective product is found.
