2012年9月12日星期三
Keep Your Clear Of The Next Pet Food Recall - Here Are The 'Red Flags' Of Pet Food
Last year turned out to be the worst in history for pet food recalls. While there is no way to be 100% certain that a pet food is not tainted or will be recalled, there are some red flags to look for when selecting your dog's or cat's food. Avoiding these common pet food ingredients can greatly improve your odds in purchasing a healthy, safe pet food.
Judging the safety or the nutritional value of a pet food starts by ignoring the advertising, the price of the pet food, and ignoring the front of the bag. The real signs to the safety of a dog food or cat food lie on the back or side of the bag or can in the 'Ingredient Listing'. Regardless of what marketing terms ('choice', 'premium', and so on) are on the front of the bag or can of pet food, a pet owner cannot determine the quality or how safe the food is unless they look at the ingredients. With dry foods there can be 90 different ingredients (or more), with canned foods there can be 50 or more different ingredients. But don't panic...you don't have to understand hundreds of different pet food ingredients! You just need to be aware of a few key ingredients...pet food ingredients that you do NOT want to see in a dog food or cat food (or treats).
'Wheat Gluten', 'Corn Gluten', or 'Rice Gluten'. These three ingredients were the bad boy pet food ingredients of 2007. Tainted glutens were found to be the cause of thousands of dogs and cats becoming ill and dying. It is not that glutens themselves are toxic to pets - these ingredients have been used in pet foods for years. The problem was the source or manufacturer of the glutens - imported from countries with far less quality standards than in the US. (The majority of glutens used in the US pet foods are from imported sources.) These imported glutens contained added chemicals that caused crystals to form in the kidneys of dogs and cats.
Not only is it important to avoid dog foods and cat foods (and dog and cat treats) that contain glutens because of the possibility of dangerous added chemicals, it is important because they add no real quality nutrition to the food. Glutens are used as a thickener AND as a source of protein in pet food. Adult maintenance dog foods must provide a minimum of 18% protein, adult maintenance cat foods must provide a minimum of 26% protein. If the meat source of the pet food does not provide enough protein, glutens are often added to boost the protein level of the pet food. The best nutrition for your pet comes from a meat protein pet food not from a gluten protein. Avoid dog foods and cat foods (and treats) that contain 'corn gluten', 'wheat gluten', or 'soy gluten'.
'By Products'. By-products have never been the cause of a pet food recall, but they are definitely ingredients you want to avoid feeding your pet. To give you an understanding of by-products, I'd like to compare this pet food ingredient to pies - you know, the dessert! How many different types of pies you can think of? There are apple pies, cherry pies, chocolate pies, meringue pies, meat pies, mud pies, pie in math, cow pies (yuck!) - I think you get my point. Now imagine if you purchased yourself a prepared ravioli dinner at the grocery and you looked at the ingredients and you see 'pie' listed as the first ingredient in your dinner. Hmmm, pie in ravioli - what kind of pie? You wouldn't know if it was apple pie or mud pie or even cow pie. All you would know is that your dinner contained 'pie'. Considering 'pie' could be anything from apple pie to cow pie - my guess is that you wouldn't be having ravioli for dinner. Same thing with by-products in pet food.
AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials - the organization responsible for all animal feed manufacturing rules and regulations) defines by-products as "meat by-products is the non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals. It includes, but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low temperature fatty tissue, and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth, and hoofs. It shall be suitable for use in animal food. If it bears name descriptive of its kind, it must correspond thereto."
So, with respect to pet food - a by-product is a catch-all ingredient name. All left over meat materials from the human food industry are clumped into one ingredient name - by-product. There is NO certainty of what you are feeding - one batch of pet food might be more intestine by-products while the next batch of pet food might be more liver or bone by-products. There is NO way of knowing what is actually contained in the pet food ingredient by-product (the pet food manufacturers themselves couldn't tell you exactly). Avoid dog foods and cat foods (and treats) that contain By-products of any kind...Chicken By-Products, Beef By-Products, Chicken By-Product Meal, Beef By-Product Meal, and so forth.
'Meat Meal', 'Meat and Bone Meal', or 'Animal Digest'. These three ingredients are similar to by-products. AAFCO defines Meat and Bone Meal as "the rendered product from mammal tissues, including bone, exclusive of any added blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents, except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably to good processing practices." Again, a catch all ingredient name for the left-over parts of animals used for human food. No consistency to what is contained in these ingredients (all three of these pet food ingredient definitions are similar) - no way of knowing what is actually in your pet's food. Avoid dog foods, cat foods, and dog and cat treats that contain 'meat meal', 'meat and bone meal', or 'animal digest'.
'Animal Fat'. In 2002 the FDA tested many different brands of dog food (cat food was not tested) for the presence of the drug pentobarbital. Many brands of dog food tested positive to contain the drug. Pentobarbital is the drug used to euthanize dogs, cats, cattle, and horses.
How can the drug that is used to euthanize animals be found in pet food? The answer - euthanized animals are rendered (cooked) and the end ingredients are placed in pet food. It has long been rumored that euthanized dogs and cats (from animal shelters and veterinarian offices) is the major source of the pentobarbital in pet food. However no one has been able to prove or disprove this rumor to date. The FDA/CVM (Center for Veterinary Management) developed testing methods on two separate occasions to determine the species source of the drug. No results have ever been determined. The pet food manufacturers adamantly deny they use rendered dogs or cats - but NO clinical evidence has ever been released to confirm the pentobarbital is from euthanized cattle and horses in pet food as they claim.
However, the one thing the FDA/CVM has determined through their testing is the pet food ingredient 'animal fat' is the most common ingredient to contain pentobarbital. In other words, if you are feeding a dog food or cat food (or treats) with the ingredient 'animal fat' in the ingredient listing - you are (more than likely) feeding your pet euthanized animals. Not every batch of pet food tested that contained the ingredient 'animal fat' has proved to contain pentobarbital - but why would any pet owner want to take the chance? Avoid dog foods, cat foods, and dog and cat treats that contain the ingredient 'animal fat'.
'BHA', 'BHT', 'TBHQ', and 'Ethoxyquin'. These pet food ingredients are chemical preservatives and you might have to look through the entire ingredient list to find them. It is worth the look because there is plenty of clinical evidence to associate all four of these chemical preservatives with cancer and tumors (simply do a Google search on any one of these chemicals). All four of these chemical preservatives are rarely used to preserve human food and if so, are used in quantities far less than what is allowed in pet food. Avoid any dog food, cat food, or dog and cat treat that contains 'BHA', 'BHT', 'TBHQ', and 'Ethoxyquin' on the label.
'Corn', 'Wheat', 'Soy'. While there is no scientific evidence that proves these ingredients are dangerous to pets - they are potentially dangerous ingredients associated with recalls in the past (1995, 1999, and 2005). These grains are highly prone to a deadly mold (aflatoxin). It is suggested (by AAFCO) that all pet food manufacturers test grains for the mold, but as recalls of the past have proven - that doesn't always happen. I do not think these ingredients are as risky as others mentioned above, but they are ingredients I avoid for my own pets.
There is more to selecting a true healthy pet food for your dog or cat than avoiding the above mentioned ingredients. This is just a start - based on pet food history, AAFCO ingredient definitions, science and opinion of many pet food experts including myself. There are many quality pet foods available that do NOT use the above ingredients and that add health promoting ingredients to their foods and treats. Continue to learn as much as you can about what you are feeding your pet and ALWAYS read the labels!
Susan Thixton has worked in the pet industry for over 20 years helping thousands of pet owners to enjoy their pets. She's produced an internationally distributed dog training video, authored the tell all book Truth About Pet Food, and recently has begun publication of a one-of-a-kind pet owning consumer report Petsumer Report. For more information please visit http://www.TruthAboutPetFood.com
Evolution Dog Food & Dog Food Trends
Nutritional Research Boosts Development of Dog Food
Evolution in dog food has come a long way and new dog food trends emerge every year. As knowledge about dog nutrition increases more and more specific dog foods hit the market place. Veterinary nutrition has become a mature science that strives at discovering the essential food nutrients and their optimum dosage.
It is believed that the life span of our beloved pets has increased due to the revolution in cat and dog food. Estimates are that the life expectancy of dogs has increased by 3 years in the last 15 years because of the developments in dog food.
Nowadays we have breed specific dog food, health stage specific dog food, prescription dog food and natural and holistic dog food. Dog food history shows us the evolution from table scraps to ultra-premium dog food based on the dog's personal DNA profile (the latest addition).
Objectives of Dog Food Change in Time
The very basic objective of dog food is to sustain and maintain your dog's body. Dog food should contain at least contain the minimum amounts of amino acids, minerals, vitamins and fats to comply with this objective. To also deliver energy to your dog so he can run and play there must be sufficient amounts of carbohydrates and fats present. The very first commercial dog food (beginning 19th century) did nothing more than that as it was high in sugar and starch.
In the nineties dog food was developed based on physiological differences between the different dog breeds. Also size, age and activity level was taken into account. In this century dog food has become more advanced. The dog genome has been sequenced and more knowledge is gained about the relation between food nutrients and disease or between calorie restriction and life span. More knowledge is gained about breed specific diseases and nutritional requirements. And as we also see in the human food business, health food is big business. Health and wellness is a dog food trend driver in itself. Nutraceuticals gain more attention and the development of these has not stopped.
On top of the basic objectives (sustain the body + deliver energy) we want dog food nowadays to help prevent certain diseases. Manufacturers enrich dog food with supplements such as anti oxidants, prebiotics for dogs, probiotics for dogs, glucosamine, omega-3 and omega-6.
Marketing Tactics Come Into Play and Drive Dog Food Trends
As more and more different dog food products hit the market, competition grows and marketing becomes very important for a food manufacturer. Buzz words and health claims are printed on dog food bags, with beautiful pictures of healthy happy dogs running in the woods towards a bowl of dog food with fresh peas and risotto. Dog food has become big business. The millions of dollars are to be divided by the top dog food companies whereas niche players are trying to get a bite of this by delivering super premium dog food or specialized dog food for dogs with health problems.
The marketing department is greatly inspired by the trend of pet humanization or anthropomorphism. Dog owners start calling themselves pet parents and are treating their canine companion as little humans with fur. This is all fine of course as long as everybody's happy. Though there are risks involved. Amongst others: Dogs will be dogs and they have different nutritional needs than humans. That pizza that you love is certainly not the best meal for your furry friend. So ignore dog food names such as 'Chinese take out with vegetables and chicken' and turn around the bag to read the dog food label.
Dog Food Trends where Science is the Driver
The most recent step in dog food evolution is the approach to speed up recovery from specific illnesses. Certain nutrients are now added or removed from the dog food recipe. So with prescription dog food and curative dog food, the evolution of dog food has progressed one step further since we got from feeding to prevention.
Dog Food Trends where 'Back to Nature' is the Driver
Another recent trend in commercial dog food is the development of natural dog food and holistic dog food. A lot of emphasis is displayed for the human-grade ingredients that are used. Holistic dog food is about looking after the well-being of the whole animal and not just the individual parts.
Perhaps the biggest competitor for commercial dog food is home made diets. In emerging markets most dogs are still fed table scraps as their main diet. However, in developed markets the food penetration levels are between 50 and 75% when one looks at the proportion of calories that are coming from commercial dog food. This means that there is still growing potential for ready made dog food as convenience is also a big market driver. Home-cooked meals and leftovers will continue to compete against commercial dog food especially with the big recall of March 2007 in mind. A lot of concerned dog owners turned to the art of canine cuisine and even dog food cooking classes emerged.
And we will probably continue to see new dog food trends. Science continues, the market changes, new dog food ingredients are developed and dog food recalls and environmental awareness change the dog food landscape.
For more information about dog allergies visit http://www.Best-Dog-Food-Guide.com Here you will find much more dog food related information. Subscribe to the e-zine to receive the free e-book 'A bit of Tender, Love and Care for Dogs'.
To stay tuned to dog food news and trends please pay a visit to http://www.dog-food-blog.com
All the best, Barbara.
Seven Secrets To Choosing A Safe, Healthy Pet Food
Do you choose canned food or dry food? What brand? There are so many different brands, all shapes and sizes of pet food to choose from and pet owners are provided with very little information to base your decisions on (other than advertising) - it can get so confusing! Well, buckle your seatbelt depending on how much you know of the pet food industry, this could be a bumpy ride! You are about to learn seven secrets - well kept secrets - of pet food. Sit back, brace yourself, and keep reading.
Beneful says it's 'Premium Dog Food for a Happy, Healthy Dog' and sells for around $18.00 for a 31 lb. bag, Science Diet "promises" 'precisely balanced nutrition through continuous research and the highest quality food backed by your Vets endorsement' and sells for around $21.00 for only a 20 lb bag. Then there are numerous pet foods that make the very same statements - 'Premium Dog Food, Highest Quality' - that sell for $30.00 or more for a 20 lb bag. And the same holds true for cat owners...Do you choose Whiskas that states 'Everything we do is about making cats happy!' or do you choose one of those high end cat foods that make the very same claim of a happy, healthy cat but cost 3 times as much?
Now with the on-going pet food recall pet owners have questions such as 'Has this food been recalled?' or 'Is this food the next one to be recalled?'...'Is my pet safe?' Wow this is confusing! And scary too! What exactly is a pet owner to do? How about learning a few secrets! Equipped with the knowledge of a few secrets of pet food, it's not nearly as confusing.
Secret #1...
All pet foods use descriptive words like choice and premium, though few of them actually use premium or choice ingredients in their food. The 'secret' is that per the rules of the pet food industry, no pet food can make any claims or references on their label or advertising as to the quality or grade of ingredients. You see, the word 'premium' when it's related to pet food DOES NOT mean that the ingredients in the food are premium. With pet foods, premium does not (can not) describe the food nor does it (can it) describe the quality of the food. It is a marketing term and that is all. Per the pet food industries own rules and regulations, "There are no references to ingredient quality or grade" (regulation PF5 d 3). So, words like premium, or choice, or quality are just marketing or sales terms. They should not be interpreted as terms describing the quality of the food.
Now why wouldn't a pet food label be allowed to tell a prospective customer the quality of their ingredients? Doesn't a pet owner deserve to know what they are buying? This leads me to the next secret...
Secret#2...
If I can compare 'people' food to pet food for just a second, we all know there are different qualities of people food. There is White Castle (I'm guilty here, I love the little guys!) and there is Outback Steak House (another favorite). Both restaurants serve meat and potatoes. At White Castle for under $3.00 you can get a couple of hamburgers and an order of fries. While at Outback you can get a steak and baked potato for around $16.00. Both serve beef and potato - yet you already realize that there are huge nutritional differences between a fast food hamburger and a steak...right?
The problem in the pet food industry - is that most pet owners don't think in the same terms when it comes to pet food. They don't think in terms that there are fast food types of pet foods and there are sit down restaurant more nutritious types of pet foods. In fact, several years ago a young man tried this very experiment with his own diet - eating nothing but fast food for 30 days. In just one month of eating fast food three meals a day, he gained a great deal of weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels sky-rocketed. Now, imagine your pet eating this type of food its' entire lifetime.
OK, so back to our two meals...if a chemical analysis of your meal at White Castle was compared to a chemical analysis of your meal at Outback - both would analyze with a percentage of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Regardless whether you consider a steak at Outback a higher quality of protein than the burger - it would still analyze as protein. The analysis doesn't measure quality of protein.
So here is the secret...All pet foods come with a Guaranteed Analysis stating the percentage of protein, fat, fiber and moisture in the food. The REAL secret lies in the quality of the percentages of protein, fat, and so on.
In a chemical analysis of a pet food - chicken feet would analyze as protein, although granted it provides very little nutrition. And as well, a cow that was euthanized (put to sleep) because of a disease that made it unfit for human consumption - would analyze as protein although that could be considered dangerous for consumption. Both of those things - chicken feet and a euthanized cow - are allowable ingredients and commonly used in pet food. You see the secret within the pet food industry is manufacturers have a WIDE OPEN door to where they obtain their ingredients. The only strict rule they must follow is an adult dog food must analyze with 18% protein and an adult cat food must analyze with 26% protein. Sources to acquire those particular percentages range from a 'human grade' meat, to chicken feet, to euthanized animals, to grain proteins, to even man made chemical proteins and many variations in between.
Pet food labels do not have to tell - are not allowed to tell - the sources they use to obtain that required 18% or 26% protein. And to make matters worse...quality minded pet food manufacturers - the companies that use 100% human grade ingredients - are not allowed to tell customers or potential customers that their products are quality, human grade ingredients.
So how can you know if your pet's food uses chicken feet or euthanized cows or if it contains human grade ingredients?
Secret #3...
If the words premium and choice mean basically nothing with regards to the quality of pet food, and if some pet foods use chicken feet and euthanized animals in their food - how can a pet owner know what they are getting in their pets' food?
This big secret is found in ingredient definitions. Unlike 'people' food where you can pretty much look at the food to determine the quality, pet food is far different. All 'people' food must meet particular USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) guidelines. The same is not true for pet food. Chicken feet and euthanized cows are NOT allowed in people food for obvious reasons - they have no nutritional value or they could be dangerous to consume. The same is NOT true for pet food. The only way to know if those chicken feet or euthanized cows are in your pet's food is to know what ingredients they can be used in.
The common pet food ingredient 'Meat and Bone Meal' is basically a combination of many different discarded left-overs from the human food industry. Components of 'meat and bone meal' can be anything from cow heads, stomachs, and intestines, to (horrifying but true) euthanized animals including cows, horses and dogs and cats from veterinarian offices, animal shelters, and farms. And along with those euthanized animals the pet food also contains the drug pentabarbitol that was used to euthanize the animal. 'Meat and bone meal' can also contain left-over restaurant grease, and diseased (including cancerous) meat tissues cut away from slaughtered animals. In other words, this commonly used ingredient is a mix of highly inferior and potentially dangerous left-overs from the human food industry.
The pet food ingredient 'Meat By-Product' or 'Meat By-Product Meal' is pretty much the same thing as 'meat and bone meal'. It is a highly inferior pet food ingredient containing literally who-knows-what.
Another similar ingredient to the above is 'Animal Digest'.
As to the chicken feet I mentioned earlier - this item can be found in the ingredients 'Chicken By-Product' or 'Poultry By-Product' or 'Chicken By-Product Meal' or 'Poultry By-Product Meal'. Any left-overs in the chicken or poultry division - including but not limited to chicken feet, skin including some feathers, chicken or poultry heads, and intestines are found in these ingredients. It does NOT matter as to the health of the bird - sick, healthy, dead, dying...all is included in these ingredients.
So here is what you need to do...BEFORE you purchase any pet food, flip the bag over and closely examine the list of ingredients. The above mentioned ingredients would be listed within the first five or ten ingredients. If you see ANY of those ingredients - it is my suggestion to NOT purchase that food. Remember - chicken feet and euthanized animals do analyze as protein. That is all that is required in pet food - just the correct analysis.
Another little trick some pet food manufacturers use in this category is using grains and chemical additives to grain products to boost the protein percentages. Which is exactly the cause of the pet food recall that began in March 2007 - chemical proteins. Two different chemical additives - that have NO nutritional value to pets, but that analyzed as protein - were added to a grain product (wheat gluten, corn gluten, or rice gluten) solely to provide a cheap protein. Thousands of pets died and countless others became ill because no one counted on the problem of the combination of these two chemicals would cause kidney and urinary blockage. Again, their secret is the product has to analyze as having a particular amount of protein - no one is required to provide a quality meat protein.
While you are looking at the ingredient listing - you should also take note of how many grains (corn, wheat, rice) and/or how many grain products (corn gluten, whole corn, ground corn, whole wheat, ground wheat, wheat gluten, rice, brown rice, brewers rice, soy, and on and on) are listed within the first five or so ingredients. If you find more than one grain listed in the first five ingredients - that is telling you this pet food is acquiring some of its protein from grains.
Why is protein obtained from grains important for you to know? Several reasons - first off science proves that cats and dogs alike require and thrive on a meat protein. If a pet food is obtaining protein from grain sources, the pet is not getting the meat that it needs to thrive. Second, if the grain products are a corn gluten, wheat gluten, or rice gluten you take the risk of chemicals such as melamime added to it used strictly to boost the protein analysis. By the way, melamime is one of the chemicals found to be the cause of the March 2007 pet food recall. And there is one more concern with grains - aflatoxin. Aflatoxin is a deadly mold that is common to corn, wheat, and soy and it's responsible for several other pet food recalls you probably never heard about. In December 2005, Diamond Pet Food contained moldy grains that killed over 100 pets before the product was recalled - all due to aflatoxin.
It is my recommendation to avoid any pet food that contains corn, wheat, or soy in ANY variation. The risk is simply too high.
Secret #4...
I've got more suggestions for you to look for in the ingredient listings...chemical preservatives. A very well kept secret of the pet food industry is their common use of chemical preservatives. BHA/BHT are very popular chemical preservatives used in pet food and science has linked them to tumors and cancer. Another common preservative is ethoxyquin which has known risks to cancer. Ethoxyquin is ONLY allowed in human food in some spices because of the very tiny proportions. However it is allowed in much higher proportions in pet food.
If you scan the ingredient listings, you will be looking for BHA/BHT and ethoxyquin listed anywhere. Commonly BHA/BHT is used to preserve the fat in the food which usually is found higher on the list. And also look for any of these chemicals towards the end of the ingredient listing. Personally, I wouldn't touch a pet food that contained these chemical preservatives. You want a pet food that is preserved naturally - common natural preservatives are 'natural mixed tocopherols' or 'vitamin E'.
Secret #5...
The very best food to provide to your pet is a well made food using human grade ingredients. That should be simple enough...How do you find that? You already know that pet food manufacturers are NOT allowed to make any statement as to quality or grade of ingredients, the only way you can find out the grade or quality of your pets' food is to call the manufacturer and ask them.
Now, let's say you call the ABC pet food company and ask the question "Is your Premium dog food and Premium cat food made using human grade ingredients?" It could be that you get the response yes, we use human grade ingredients - when actually only a couple of ingredients are human grade. Here's the trick to asking...ask them if they are APHIS European certified.
Pet food manufacturers that are APHIS European certified assures you that ALL ingredients in their pet food are human grade. APHIS - Animal Plant Health Inspection Services - is a division of the USDA. APHIS European certification provides this pet food manufacturer with the opportunity to ship their foods/treats to Europe. When importing pet foods from the US, European countries demand that all ingredients are human grade and thus require this certification. Most pet food manufacturers that have APHIS European certification do not ship their products to Europe - they simply use this as a means to assure their customers to the higher quality of their ingredients.
Again, you WON'T see this listed on the label - it's not allowed. You must call the manufacturer and ask. Often times the representative of the pet food won't even know what you are talking about when you ask about APHIS certification - if that's the case, you can assume they are not APHIS European certified. APHIS European certification is a bonus to pet owners - it is not required or even suggested that any pet food manufacturer go through the extra steps to obtain this. This is a special effort some pet foods go through to tell their customers they REALLY CARE about the quality of their products. Personally, I would NOT buy a pet food that doesn't have it.
And by the way, if you can't reach the pet food manufacturer, or they do not return your call within a short time frame, lose their number! Any company that does not place a priority on answering customers questions - doesn't deserve your business!
Secret #6...
Minerals are a required ingredient in human diets as well as diets for our pets. Copper, Iron and Zinc are common minerals found in pet foods. Just as they are - copper, iron, and zinc are basically rocks, very difficult for anyone or any pet to utilize. Science has developed several ways to introduce minerals into the body (human and pet) for better absorption thus benefiting the individual far more. This scientific development is called chelating or proteinating and it's been around for years. Through the chelating or proteinating process minerals are absorbed about 60% better than just the minerals alone.
This secret is spotting the minerals in your pet food to see if they are chelated or proteinated. Notice the minerals on your pet food label, way down on the list of ingredients. You are looking for minerals that read 'copper proteinate' or 'chelated copper'. If you see just the mineral listed, your pet is sort of like Charlie Brown at Halloween saying 'I got a rock'. If you want your pet to have the best, chelated or proteinated minerals are part of the best foods!
Secret #7...
This secret is called 'friendly bacteria'. Although 'friendly bacteria' sounds a little scary, the reason for it lies in your pets' intestinal system. A large portion of your pets' immune system is found within the intestinal system. Keeping the immune system healthy helps to keep the animal itself healthy. This friendly bacteria is similar to what's found in yogurt, however in pet food it is introduced in a fashion so that the cooking process doesn't destroy it. Looking at the fine print on your pet food label, this time you are looking for lengthy, scientific words like Lactobacillus Acidophilus or Bifidobacterium Thermophilum. If you do NOT see these words or some very similar, that pet food is not addressing the care of your pets' immune system. And again, if you want your pet to have the best, you want 'friendly bacteria' in their food.
There are your seven very secrets to help you find the absolute healthiest and best pet food for your four-legged friend. Armed with those secrets - you now have the knowledge to find your pet the best food possible! A pet food that can extend their life and prevent early aging and disease. If you don't want to bother doing the homework involved, I urge you to subscribe to my monthly magazine Petsumer Report(TM). Through Petsumer Report(TM) I've done all the homework for you - each month I review and rate over 40 different pet foods, treats, toys, and various other pet supplies. It's the ONLY publication of its' kind providing pet owners with the information they need to know regarding their pet product purchases.
I want to share just a couple more things...
It's best to feed an adult dog or adult cat two meals a day. The nutrition they consume with two meals is better utilized than with just one meal a day. If you are currently feeding your pet one meal a day, split that same amount into two meals and feed in the AM and PM.
You should know that all canned or moist pet foods are anywhere between 70% to 85% moisture. This means that 70% to 85% of that can or pouch of food is useless nutrition - its water. Granted our pets need water, cats especially tend not to drink enough water. But since all canned or moist foods are mostly water, they do not provide adequate nutrition to be fed strictly a canned or moist diet. Use a canned or moist product to supplement your pet's diet - not as the only food.
The best pet foods are preserved naturally (secret #4) - but there is a concern with naturally preserved pet foods...freshness. Take notice of the expiration date on your pets food label - typically with naturally preserved dry pet foods (not as much of a concern with soft foods because of canning - very little need of preservatives) the expiration date is one year to 18 months from the date it was manufactured. Let's say the pet food you are considering to purchase on July 1, 2007 has a 'Best if Used by' date of January 1, 2008. This would tell you that this particular bag of pet food is already 6 months old. While it is still 'good' a fresher food - a bag that is only 2 or 3 months old - is better. Naturally preserved pet foods lose nutritional potency with time. Always try to find a very fresh bag.
If you are considering changing your pets food, ALWAYS consult with your Veterinarian first. You should always keep your veterinarian advised of any changes you make with your pet. Don't take chances. And if you do switch pet food, make the change over very slowly. I always recommend to pet owners ¼ new food to ¾ old food for 4 to 7 days, ½ to ½ for another 4 to 7 days, and so on. Switching food quickly can cause intestinal disorder! Its short term, but we don't want intestinal disorder!!!
One last thing, as you are already aware dogs and cats have a far better sense of smell than humans. Their food bowl can be a wealth of smells - both good and bad. Some times a pet will refuse to eat simply because he or she smells a previous food in their bowl. Plastic food and water bowls retain odors the worst. And surprisingly so does stainless steel bowls. The best type of food and water bowl is a ceramic one. They retain odors the least.
"Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms." George Eliot.
I completely agree!
Susan Thixton has worked in the pet industry for over 20 years helping thousands of pet owners to enjoy their pets. She's produced an internationally distributed dog training video, authored the tell all book Truth About Pet Food, and recently has begun publication of a one-of-a-kind pet owning consumer report Petsumer Report. For more information please visit http://www.TruthAboutPetFood.com
Susan Thixton
Pet Behavior and Nutrition Consultant
Truth About Pet Food
Petsumer Report™
http://www.TruthAboutPetFood.com
The Pet Food Ingredient Game
About 25 years ago I began formulating pet foods at a time when the entire pet food industry seemed quagmire and focused on such things as protein and fat percentages without any real regard for ingredients. Since boot leather and soap could make a pet food with the "ideal" percentages, it was clear that analytical percentages do not end the story about pet food value. I was convinced then, as I am now, that a food can be no better than the ingredients of which it is composed. Since this ingredient idea has caught on in the pet food industry, it has taken on a commercial life that distorts and perverts the meaning of the underlying philosophy of food quality and proper feeding practices. Is health reducible to which ingredients a commercial product does or does not have? As contradictory as it may seem to what I have just said, no it is not. Here's why.
AAFCO Approval
The official Publication of the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) gives wide latitude for ingredients that can be used in animal foods. As I have pointed out in my book, The Truth About Pet Foods, approved ingredients can include*:
dehydrated garbage
undried processed animal waste products
polyethylene roughage replacement (plastic)
hydrolyzed poultry feathers
hydrolyzed hair
hydrolyzed leather meal
poultry hatchery by-product
meat meal tankage
peanut hulls
ground almond shells
(*Association of American Feed Control Officials, 1998 Official Publication)
Simultaneously, this same regulatory agency prohibits the use of many proven beneficial natural ingredients that one can find readily available for human consumption such as bee pollen, glucosamine, L-carnitine, spirulina and many other nutraceuticals. It would be easy to conclude that reason does not rule when it comes to what officially can or cannot be used in pet foods.
From the regulators’ standpoint, they operate from the simplistic nutritional idea that the value of food has to do with percentages and that there is no special merit to any particular ingredient. They deny the tens of thousands of scientific research articles proving that the kind of ingredient and its quality can make all the difference in terms of health. They also are silent about the damaging effect of food processing and the impact of time, light, heat, oxygen and packaging on nutritional and health value.
The 100% Complete Myth
Consumers are increasingly becoming alert to the value of more natural foods. Everyone intuitively knows that the closer the diet is to real, fresh, wholesome foods, the better the chance that good health will result. Unfortunately, people do not apply this same common sense to pet foods. Instead they purchase "100% complete" processed foods, perhaps even going the extra mile and selecting "super premium" or "natural" brands, thinking they are doing the best that can be done. They surrender their mind to a commercial ploy (100% completeness) and do to their pets what they would never do to themselves or their family - eat the same packaged product at every meal, day in and day out. No processed food can be "100% complete" because there is not a person on the planet who has 100% knowledge of nutrition. The claim on its face is absurd. Understanding this simple principle is more important than any pet food formulation regardless of the merits of its ingredients. Everything that follows will begin with that premise, i.e., no food should be fed exclusively on a continuous basis no matter what the claims of completeness or ingredient quality.
Genetics Is The Key
Pets need the food they are biologically adapted to. It's a matter of context. Just as a fish needs to be in water to stay healthy, a pet needs its natural food milieu to be healthy. All creatures must stay true to their design. What could be more obvious or simple? For a carnivore the correct genetic match is prey, carrion and incidental fresh plant material, and even some fur and feathers, as well as the occasional surprise of unmentionables found in decaying matter. It's not a pretty picture to think that "FiFi" with her pink bow and polished toenails would stoop to such fare, but that is precisely the food she is designed to eat. Since that is her design, matching food to that design (minus the more disgusting and unnecessary elements) is also the key to her health.
The Disease Price
We may prefer to feed a packaged, sterile, steam- cleaned, dried, farinaceous chunk cleverly shaped like a pork chop, but let's not kid ourselves, that is not the food a pet is designed for....regardless of the claims about ingredients on the label making one think it is five-star restaurant fare. Pets may tolerate such food for a time, but in the end nature calls to account. The price to be paid is lost health in the form of susceptibility to infections, dental disease, premature aging, obesity, heart and organ disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis and other cruel and painful chronic degenerative diseases. Because our pets are not out in the rigors of nature where they would quickly succumb to such conditions and end their misery, they languish in our protected homes and under veterinary care that does not usually cure but merely treats symptoms and extends the time of suffering. That suffering begins with the way in which we are feeding our pets, not the ingredients in a supposed 100% complete pet food.
The Perfect Food
What is the solution? It is simple and something I have been preaching for the past 25 years. Return pets to their environmental roots. They need - daily - interesting activity, fresh air, clean water, romps in nature, lots of love, and food as close to the form they would find in the wild as possible. Fresh, whole natural foods fit for a carnivore and fed in variety are as good as it can get. Anything less than that is a compromise. Compromise the least if health is the goal. (Same principle applies to you and your family.) To get a packaged food as close as possible to that goal requires the right starting philosophy of feeding (described above) and the expertise to design and manufacture such foods.
Enter The Profiteers
Elements of these principles (often distorted or misunderstood) have been taken up by an endless line of pet food entrepreneurs. The low fat craze led to low fat pet foods. The high fiber craze led to high fiber pet foods. The "no corn, wheat or soy" craze led to no corn, wheat or soy pet foods. The "omega- 3" craze led to pet foods with fish oil. The “variety” craze led to pet foods supposedly offering variety. The "four food groups" craze led to all four bundled into a package. The "raw" craze has led to raw frozen pet foods. The list is endless and the race for pet owner dollars is at a fever pitch.
One can only feel sympathy for a concerned pet owner as they stroll along the huge array of pet food options in pet food aisles. Unfortunately, armed with only sound bites and lore they may have heard from a friend, breeder, veterinarian or on a commercial, they make choices that not only do not serve the health of their pet but may directly contribute to weakened immunity and disease.
The first thing consumers should keep in mind is the ideal diet for pets as described above. No packaged product regardless of its wild claims is ever going to equal that. The next best thing is to home prepare fresh meals. (Contact Wysong for recipes and instruction.) If that is not always possible, then products should be selected that are as close to the ideal as possible. (More suggestions below.)
Raw Frozen Pet Food Dangers
At first glance, considering the perfect feeding model I have described - raw, natural, whole - the best food may seem to be one of the raw frozen pet foods now clamoring to capture the "raw" craze. I'm sorry to say that some of these purveyors even use my books and literature to convince pet owners that their frozen products are on track. They take bits and pieces of good information and distort it into something that pretty much misses the point and misleads consumers. Also, these exotic frozen mixtures of ingredients of unknown origin, manufacturing and freezing conditions are most certainly not economical nor the best choice. They may, because of the water content and raw state, be outright dangerous.
Human Grade
Then there are claims about "USDA approved" ingredients, "human grade" ingredients and ingredients purchased right out of the meat counter at the grocery store. Again, at first glance - and superficiality is what marketers like to deal with - it may seem that such foods would have merit over others. But such labels only create a perception of quality. People would not consider the food pets are designed for in the wild - whole, raw prey and carrion - "human grade" or "USDA approved." Because something is not "human grade" does not mean it is not healthy or nutritious. For example, chicken viscera is not "human grade" but carries more nutritional value than a clean white chicken breast. Americans think that chicken feet would not be fit for human consumption but many far eastern countries relish them. On the other hand, "human grade" beef steaks fed to pets could cause serious nutritional imbalances and disease if fed exclusively. Pet foods that create the superficial perception of quality (USDA, human grade, etc.) with the intent of getting pet owners to feed a particular food exclusively is not what health is about.
Pet Nutrition Is Serious Health Science
Pet nutrition is not about marketing and who can make the most money quickly. Unfortunately an aspiring pet food mogul off the street can go to any number of private label manufacturers and have a new brand made. These manufacturers have many stock formulas that can be slightly modified to match the current market trend. Voilà! A new pet food wonder brand is created.
Pet foods are about pet nutrition, and nutrition is a serious health matter. There is an implied ethic in going to market with products that can so seriously impact health. But the ethic is by and large absent in the pet food industry. Starting with the 100% claim and on to all the fad driven brands that glut the shelves, health is not being served. Nobody other than our organization is teaching people the principles I am discussing here. Instead, companies headed by people with no real technical, nutritional, food processing or health skills put themselves out to the public as serious about health ... because that is what the public wants to hear and what sells. Never mind whether producers really understand or can implement healthy principles. The façade sells and selling is the game. Ingredients are important, true, but not less important than the expertise and principles of the producer who is choosing them, preparing, storing, processing and packaging them. Consumers place a lot of trust that nondescript processed nuggets are what consumers are being led to believe they are. Many a slip can occur between the cup and the lip. There are many slips that can occur between the cup of commercial claims and what ends up in the lips of the pet food bowl.
Consumer Blame
The consumer is not without guilt in this unfortunate - steady diet of processed pet food - approach to pet feeding. They want everything easy and inexpensive. They don't want to learn or have to expend too much effort, and they want something simple to base decisions on like: "corn, wheat and soy are evil," or "USDA approved," or "human grade" or "organic is good." They also want something for nothing and think they can get it in a pet food. People want prime choice meats, organic and fresh foods all wrapped up tidy in an easy open, easy pour package, hopefully for 50 cents a pound. They may even pay $1 or a little more if the producer can convince them about how spectacular their product is or how much cancer their pet will get if they choose another brand.
Are By-Products Evil?
In the processing of human foods there are thousands of tons of by-products that cannot be readily sold to humans. Does that make them useless or even inferior? No. Such by-products could include trimmings, viscera, organs, bones, gristle and anything else that humans do not desire. Should these perfectly nutritious items be buried in a landfill? As I mentioned above, while Earth's resources continue to decline and people starve around the globe, should we feed our pets only "human grade" foods and let perfectly edible - and sometimes even more nutritious - by-products go to waste? How is that conscionable or justifiable for either the consumer or the producer?
Road Kill and Euthanized Pets
This shift to "human grade" for pet foods is partly due to a variety of myths that have gotten much stronger legs than they deserve. Lore has spread in the marketplace that road kill and euthanized pets are used in pet foods. I have never seen the proof for this outrageous claim and after twenty years surveying ingredient suppliers I have never found a supplier of such. However, fantastic myths easily get life and the more fantastic they are the more life they have. It's the intellectually lazy way and what lies at the root of so much misery. Sloppy superficial thinking is what leads to racism, sexism, religious persecution and wars. People would like to think the world is sharply divided into right-wrong, good-evil, black-white. Marketers capitalize on this by trying to create such sharp distinctions for consumers to easily grab on to: human grade = good/all others = evil; organic = right/all others = wrong; rice = white/corn and wheat = black. Such simplistic and naïve distinctions are quick and simple for advertisers and salespeople to use to sway public opinion. But nobody stepping back and using common sense would ever think that something as complex as health could ever come from what is or is not in a processed bag of food. Reality is not black or white; it is in shades of gray. Grayness requires some knowledge, judgment and discernment before making choices. It's a little more work but is what we all must do if the world is ever to be a better place and people and pet health are to improve.
What To Do
How do concerned pet owners wanting to cut through all the marketing clutter negotiate a path? It is very simple if the basic principles I have discussed above are kept in mind. Here are tips on how to implement an intelligent health and feeding philosophy:
1. Learn how to feed fresh food. Alternate these with honest processed foods fed in variety, and complement these foods with well- designed supplements.
[How To Apologize To Your Pet]
http://www.wysong.net/PDFs/apology_pamphlet.pdf
Don't get all particular and paranoid about balancing nutrients and ingredient do's and don'ts. Rotate, vary, mix it up and fast once in a while. Trust in nature, not some marketing hype. (Use the same principles for yourself and your family if you want optimal health as well.)
2. If you must have human grade or organic foods for your pet, go buy the real thing at the grocery meat counter. Take it home, cut it up and feed it raw. Freeze the remainder into small meal portions and use them for subsequent meals. Don't turn your brain off and go buy "organic" or "human grade" pet foods that for their cost could only contain hints of the real thing. Pet food manufacturers may be clever at marketing, but they are not magicians. One thing is certain; they do not buy ingredients and then sell them to you for less than what they buy them for.
3. Use appropriately designed supplements such as Call Of The Wild™ and Wild Things™ to balance raw meals and help make them safe if you are not skilled at such meal preparation.
4. The best raw, processed food alternative to fresh foods from the grocer is non-thermally processed dry foods - not raw frozen ones. (See Wysong Archetype™.) Use this food for alternate meals and as top dressing to heat processed foods.
5. Check the credentials of the person making the decisions in the company whose products you buy. Don't go to a plumber for brain surgery and don't expect serious healthy products from business people.
6. Steer away from brands that are pushing any particular hot buttons such as "natural," "no by- products," exotic ingredients (quail eggs, watermelon, persimmons, etc.), organic, omega-3, rice and the like. Although these features may bring some merit to a food (if they are put in at other than "pinch" levels), they are not an end in themselves and if the packaged food is fed exclusively can cause more harm than good.
7. Steer away from brands that fear monger. For example, there is the no corn or wheat scam - "buy our brand; it has no corn or wheat." (Just saying a product has "no" something is enough to scare the non-thinking public to the brand that doesn't have the boogeyman ingredient. Profiteers know this and play it to the hilt in the pet food industry.) The truth is, grains are put in dried nugget foods because they contain the starch necessary for the extrusion process. Starch is pretty much starch regardless of whether it comes from corn, wheat, rice, potatoes, millet or whatever. Grains also help decrease the cost of pet foods. They contribute some nutrition but in a properly formulated meat-based pet food the majority of the nutritional value comes from the meat. It is true that animals may develop allergy to corn or wheat but that can happen with rice or any other grain or ingredient as well. Problems are prevented by varying the diet. That is why Wysong has developed the range of formulations it has and puts them in small portion packs so the foods can be rotated. Of all the Wysong formulations, the ones with corn are chosen on almost a 5:1 ratio over all others and are the diets we receive the thousands of raves about, even in those pets supposedly allergic to corn!
[Wysong Testimonials]
[http://www.wysong.net/testimonials.shtml]
This is not to tout the merit of corn, or any grain in pet food for that matter. They are sort of a necessary evil in dried extruded foods and any of them can bring some benefit if rotated in the diet.
8. Do not feed any product exclusively. Variety is the spice of nutrition and the road to good health.
9. Features to look for in a packaged product would be those that bring the product close to the raw-whole-fresh-natural standard described above: active enzymes, probiotics cultures, natural preservation and protection against food-borne pathogens, proper packaging, intelligent formulation and balance, micronutrient dense, freshly produced, fresh ingredients - and the expertise to do all of this, not just say so on a package or brochure. (Some brands trying to get on the raw food bandwagon make outright false claims about "cold" processing.)
10. The company should be able to intelligently explain what they are doing in terms of processing, packaging, product preservation and prevention of food-borne pathogens. It is one thing to simply put a certain ingredient into a food, quite another to protect it until it is consumed. For example, Wysong owns its own manufacturing facilities in order to go beyond industry standard techniques. Special portion pack, light- and oxygen- barrier bags, modified atmosphere flush and natural ingredients to prevent oxidation and food- borne pathogens are part of all Wysong products. (See technical monographs on Packaging, Antioxidants and Wyscin™.)
11. Most important, learn. Support a company that helps you learn the truth and teaches you how to be at least somewhat independent of commercial products. Demand that producers provide proof for their claims in the form of good logic, evidence and science. Try to discern the company's true motives, your pocketbook or your pet's health. Learn how to go beyond The Pet Food Ingredient Game.
Wysong R. L. (1993). Rationale for Animal Nutrition. Midland, MI: Inquiry Press.
Wysong, R. L. (2002, June 19). Why Modern Medicine is The Greatest Threat to Health. The Wysong e-Health letter. Wysong Institute, Midland, MI.
[The Wysong e-Health letter]
[http://www.wysong.net/health/hl_884.shtml]
Wysong, R. L. (2002). The Truth About Pet Foods. Midland, MI: Inquiry Press.
Wysong, R. L. (2004). Nutrition is a Serious Health Matter: The serious responsibility of manufacturing and selling. Midland, MI: Inquiry Press.
Wysong, R. L. (2004). The Thinking Person’s Master Key to Health (60 Minute CD Discussion) Wysong Institute, Midland, MI.
Wysong, R. L. (2005). Comparing Pet Foods Based Upon What Matters: The First Study of its Kind in the Pet Food Industry. Midland, MI: Inquiry Press.
Wysong, R. L. & Savant, V. (2005). The Case AGAINST Raw Frozen Pet Foods. Midland, MI: Inquiry Press.
For further reading, or for more information about, Dr Wysong and the Wysong Corporation please visit http://www.wysong.net or write to wysong@wysong.net. For resources on healthier foods for people including snacks, and breakfast cereals please visit [http://www.cerealwysong.com].
Dr. Wysong: A former veterinary clinician and surgeon, college instructor in human anatomy, physiology and the origin of life, inventor of numerous medical, surgical, nutritional, athletic and fitness products and devices, research director for the present company by his name and founder of the philanthropic Wysong Institute. http://www.wysong.net Also check out [http://www.cerealwysong.com]
The Case AGAINST Raw Frozen Pet Foods
For some 25 years I have alerted the public to the dangers of exclusively feeding heat processed foods. Companion animal feeding has progressed – actually digressed – from table scraps and real foods the family could spare to today’s “100 % complete” processed foods in primarily kibble form, with some canned and semi-moist also available. The foods appear to be scientific and improved, but they’re far worse for the animals. Not only is nutrient value diminished by heat, but a spectrum of toxins is created. Additionally, the singular feeding of processed food has led to the spurious “100% complete and balanced” claim that is both logically and scientifically flawed.
Entrepreneurs have seized upon this information to create a spate of raw frozen (RF) foods to capture a market niche and to fill the demand from consumers wanting a raw alternative to standard heat processed canned, semi-moist and dried pet foods. This market trend, as with most others, may begin with some truth (raw food is the best food) but gets distorted, if not perverted, once economic opportunity enters the picture. This paper will examine the rationale of these products, their economics and dangers. A more intelligent and healthy alternative will be proposed.
Dangers
1. Weakened Pets And Highly Virulent Organisms – A raw state and the presence of moisture in food provide the perfect environment for the growth of pathogenic organisms. Although prey foods in the wild often putrefy and are teeming with microorganisms, carnivores in the wild are immunologically adapted to these organisms and even benefit from the probiotic effects of some. On the other hand, domestic pets eating sterilized heat processed foods are immunologically compromised and are threatened by mutated and highly virulent pathogenic strains created by modern circumstances and antibiotic resistance. Freezing at appropriate temperatures puts pathogens in a state of arrest but does not eliminate them. Although all foods contain some pathogens, unless they are sterilized (requiring high heat or other measures that greatly diminish the nutritional value and create toxins), it is the load of these pathogens that must be of concern to consumers. RF foods are a potential reservoir and vector of large numbers of pathogens.
2. Producers With Only Kitchen Technology – Because of the minimal technology required to produce a RF pet food, essentially anyone regardless of credentials or expertise can bring a product to market. All one needs to do is grind and mix ingredients in a kitchen, package and put in a freezer. There are no controls over the conditions in the kitchen, the quality of the ingredients or the method of freezing. All these factors can dramatically influence the nutritional value and pathogenic and toxic content of the food. But being in a frozen state hides these potential dangers and therefore poses a threat to both pets and the humans who handle the foods. John Doe can make a food under unknown conditions and with unknown ingredients, label, package, freeze and deliver to consumers or stores without one single control monitoring or impeding the process. Regulators may eventually examine the label if they happen to see it in a store (they will never see it if shipped directly to consumers) and object to some terminology or the like; but, all John needs to do is change the label and all will be well. The product could contain every manner of ingredient, be laced with virulent pathogens, and receive the aegis of regulators … and into the market it goes.
3. Raw Frozen Foods Are Not “100% Complete” – Many RF foods make (or imply) the same spurious 100% complete claim as heat processed foods and thus carry with them the same health dangers. Feeding any food exclusively, let alone a nondescript packaged food containing who-knows-what from who-knows what manufacturing environment, is a bad choice if health and safety are of concern. (See The Truth About Pet Foods by Dr. Wysong).
4. Problems Are Ignored By Producers – RF food pathogens include not only bacteria, but fungi, viruses and parasites. Toxins include those from molds (mycotoxins), bacteria and those created by oxidation. In our study of RF products in the stream of commerce, not one producer addressed these concerns with any technological know-how that we could discern, and most did not even acknowledge the problems potentially lurking in their foods.
5. Freezing Masks Inedibles – Raw meat and organ tissue continues to use ATP (source of energy) until it is exhausted and the tissue enters a state of rigor. Endogenous enzymatic activity within the tissue continues to digest the muscle tissue (proteolysis), softening it until it becomes tender and develops the typical palatable taste. This process is retarded by cold. The freezing of properly aged meat presents few problems, however, any residual ATP present in the tissue during freezing will contract the muscle upon thawing resulting in a more unpalatable product. Mixed RF foods would hide this problem.
6. Free Radical Problems Masked – Essential fatty acids and other health enhancing lipids are critical in the diet. Once foods are ground, mixed, exposed to air, light and pro-oxidants such as heme iron and other metals found in plant and animal tissue, the contained lipids are oxidized to chain reaction producing free-radicals, causing rancidity and oxidant toxins. Freezing at appropriately low temperatures slows this process but does not stop it. The temperature in conventional freezers used for RF foods is not insurance against such oxidation. Because the frozen state masks olfactory detection of rancidity, foods that would be otherwise rejected end up being consumed. The free-radical pathology potential can then work its chronic degenerative disease and immune weakening effects.
7. Freezer Burn Indicates A More Serious Problem – Air reaching the meat surface is the cause for the freezer burns that result in the typical grayish-brown leathery spots. Frozen water on the surface or just beneath it sublimates (from solid state directly to vapor) into the air, causing moisture to be lost from the meat over time resulting in discoloration and a dry, leathery texture. Proper packaging helps maintain quality and prevent freezer burn, however most packaging is permeable to air. The prevalence of freezer burn in RF products speaks to the fact that the product is being oxidized and with that creating free radical toxins to lay the seeds for various degenerative diseases.
8. Display Packaging Causes Free Radicals – Light, as well as air, can promote free radical production. Retail display packaging that is clear or light permeable permits light to catalyze the free radical (disease promoting) process.
9. Frozen Products Are Not Inert To Degradation – In frozen storage there is deterioration in organoleptic quality – meat texture, fat turning granular and crumbly, and discoloration. Microbial enzymes also remain active, especially lipases that break down fats increasing their susceptibility to oxidation.
10. Frozen Foods Can Lead To Acidemia – Tissue degradation and oxidation under high heat freezing (above 29° F), which occurs along the supply chain with most RF products, also leads to acidification. Increasing acid consumption can contribute to acidemia that lies at the base of virtually every chronic degenerative disease plaguing modern pets. (See reference below.)
11. Temperature And Time Are Critical – Ice nucleation, as opposed to ice crystallization, is the primary vector in producing a stable, tasty, frozen product. Freezing is a technically complex process based on the optimum combination of temperature and time, amongst other factors. In the wrong processor’s hands, slips in proper freezing care can lead to a microbiologically unstable product and/or a sensory inferior one. Rapid freezing leads to nucleation, thereby preventing undesirable large ice crystals from forming throughout the product. With rapid freezing the molecules don’t have time to form positions in the characteristic six-sided snowflake, so nucleation overrides crystallization. On the other hand, slow freezing (the usual RF situation) creates large ice crystals, which on thawing causes cellular damage to the meat. This in turn causes meat to “drip” – lose juiciness – and form a perfect liquid medium for bacterial growth.
12. The High Risk In Thawing – Thawing is another critical phase in the freezing process as it involves a change from crystal ice to melted water, which upon reabsorption results in microbial reactivation. Pathogenic bacteria inherently contaminate raw meat, fish, and poultry and will begin to multiply again when the temperature reaches just 29.3º F – which is below freezing! Thus a product that may appear subjectively frozen could be a veritable incubator of pathogens. When consumers attempt to thaw RF foods, dangers dramatically increase. The surface temperature rises long before the interior is sufficiently thawed to serve. For example, it takes about 15 hours for the middle of a 22-pound turkey to get to 32º F. In the interim the surface temperature rises to 53º F. In this amount of time there would be about 4 multiplications
of spoilage bacteria as well as non-detectable multiplications of pathogens. The FDA Model Food Code (1999) recommends that food be thawed in the refrigerator or in flowing water. Thawing RF food in the refrigerator can be inefficient and time consuming, in addition to occupying refrigeration space required for other food items. Most of all, this lengthy procedure can lead to the risk of cross-contamination when the drip from the raw meat comes in contact with ready-to-eat food stored in the refrigerator. In the alternative, consumers usually put the RF food out at room temperature, creating the perfect circumstance for pathogen proliferation.
13. Undetected Freeze-Thaw Cycles – The transit time of RF food from the processor (or John Doe’s kitchen) to the distributor, to the stores and eventually to the consumer is very critical. Although freezer delivery trucks might putatively maintain stable product temperatures, lack of thermocouples fitted in the truck to show temperature readings, and/or inadequate TTIs (time-temperature indicators) can lead to microbiologically infested products without any visible spoilage signs. If the refrigeration in any part of the supply chain fails temporarily and then goes back to frozen (freeze-thaw-freeze), the consumer would never know of this abuse and danger.
14. Supply Chain Time Dangers – Time is the enemy of nutrition and safety. The longer the time between the farmer’s field and the belly, the greater the potential problems. RF foods create the illusion that time is not a factor. Because the frozen state masks toxins and odors, the consumer can be given the impression of value and freshness when, in fact, they may be getting age and toxicity.
15. Microwave Thawing Dangers – If RF foods are thawed in the microwave as a matter of convenience, the value of the food is greatly compromised. Microwaves can virtually boil the liquid phase within cells and electromagnetically alter important food components rendering them not only useless nutritionally, but toxic as well.
16. Mycotoxins Go Undetected – RF foods, particularly those that are a mix of cooked grains (which of course negates the claim for “rawness”) and vegetables, can contain mycotoxins. None of the producers surveyed addressed this problem.
17. Frozen Product Mixtures Make No Health Sense – In an attempt to cover every conceivable base and not miss any opportunity for profit, many RF producers mix every manner of ingredient. For example, watermelon, grains, persimmons, liver, lamb, etc. Not only would creatures in the wild never eat such a mixed gruel at one sitting, such combinations in the fresh state can cause serious digestive stress. Many of the exotic RF ingredients do not keep well in the fresh frozen state (for example, freeze watermelon alone and see what happens, let alone combining it with meat). Also, the combination of fruit sugars with proteins can potentially create toxins such as glycation end products, acrylamides (particularly in those “RF” foods containing cooked carbohydrates) and reaction products of proteins with plant tannins, phenols and flavonoids. Producers “throwing the book” at RF formulations in desperate attempts to capture
market share make evident their motives and their scientific, health and technical naiveté.
18. Parasites Are Ignored – A wide range of parasites can be found within RF foods. Although there is technology in terms of freezing and natural ingredients that can be used to thwart this problem, none of the producers examined employed any of it that we could detect.
Packaging
The best packaging for any food, particularly RF foods, is light- and oxygen-barrier and modified atmosphere flushed. In the absence of this, oxidation proceeds rendering the lipids toxic. None of the producers surveyed employed these technologies that we could detect. Even if they did, the other problems and dangers listed above would remain.
Environmental
We live in an age of pollution and energy diminishment. RF foods require a tremendous amount of refrigeration and equipment all along the supply path. Freezing is energy inefficient and consumes valuable energy resources. Since RF foods are 70% water (at least) there are huge resources wasted in freezing and transporting the tons of this food-contained water through the supply chain. Along with all the equipment, trucking, freezing and frozen water handling inefficiency comes the pollution that parallels such industry.
Quality
In order to make their foods anywhere near affordable, RF producers must search the ingredient market for items that can carry the name of real food but may in fact be only a hollow shell of the real thing. Inferior meat and organ ingredients, heat processed grains and vegetable riffraff (for example “broccoli” on a label may really be broccoli stems – like eating a branch from an apple tree rather than the apple) are used because they are of low cost. That is not to say the marketing brochures and labels do not make it appear as though the brand is not a true gourmet meal. If one reviews the various labels it becomes clear that the race is on to see who can put the fanciest and most exotic ingredients on labels ... as if that is the road to pet health. (It is not.) In a brief ingredient survey this is what we found:
Every manner of “pureed” vegetable
Organic beef, rabbit, chicken, turkey, goat, lamb, duck, pork
Organic honey
Organic papaya, persimmons, blueberries, oranges, apples, pears
Organic yogurt
Organic alfalfa, millet, quinoa and barley sprouts
Wheat grass
Nettles
Bok choy
Cultured kefir
Cod liver oil
Capsicum
Watermelon
The reader is challenged to go to the store and total up the cost of such ingredients. Some of the organic ingredients can cost over $15 per pound. But the RF diets containing them can retail for as little as $2-4 per pound. Take away margins for distributors and retail stores and the producer is selling them wholesale for close to a dollar per pound. Now on top of the cost of ingredients is the production, advertising, packaging, freezing and in some cases a sales force making six figures. Something most certainly does not add up. The only thing that can be missing is true ingredient quality. But how can the label say these expensive ingredients are in the food? All the producer needs to do is put in pinches of the expensive ingredients just to say they are there.
The only economic hope for a RF producer is to create the perception of “value added.” They simply could not put the costly ingredients in the food to any degree and make a profit for themselves and all the middlemen up and down the chain. The price they would have to charge would be ridiculous. In effect, in order to be successful, producers must become accomplished at propaganda, not health and nutrition.
Consumers interested in cutting through to the truth do themselves and their pets a service by going to the grocery store with a list of the ingredients ostensibly in a RF diet. Although some RF diets in the lower price range appear to not be attempting to mislead, consumers should do the math comparing the exotic ingredients in
RF pet foods to the prices for the real thing in the store and decide for themselves whether either value or honesty resides in RF products.
Economics
Consumers are under the mistaken assumption that a nondescript package mix of ingredients with an officious label and from a producer posing as a nutritional authority (none of the producers we examined had people at the helm with expertise or credentials) would be the best choice. Little do they realize that they could avoid essentially all of the caveats listed above by simply going to the grocer and buying fresh meats and produce. Pets do not require every nutrient in existence at every meal, as is the impression given by the 100% complete RF producers, and for that matter the rest of the pet food industry. Why would people choose to pay a producer to mix inferior ingredients, package them, label them, freeze them, transport them, advertise them and pay the margin for the producer, the distributor, sales force and the retailer when they can avoid all that cost and put their money into real quality fresh foods? Some people are so convinced that RF manufacturers perform some sort of magic that they will pay to have such foods put in special insulated containers packed with dry ice and overnight delivered! This is particularly ridiculous when one considers that no real convenience – and certainly no health or nutritional value – is added in the process. The consumer still has to go to the store and buy something.
At the grocer a person can buy fresh, raw, untainted meats and produce appropriate for pet carnivores at less than $1 per pound. Slightly out-of-date meats, sale items, trimmings or other still excellent products that cannot be put in the meat case can be even less. True, if you are to purchase the ingredients listed above in perfect human grade organic form (as many RF producers boast) the cost could be far greater. But at least you would know what you are getting. RF foods can cost as much as $7 per pound with an average of about $3-4 per pound (not including shipping to the customer’s door) and most of that cost is going into freezing, transportation and profits through a whole chain of participants. Here is a case where a consumer gets to pay more (a whole lot more) and get less (a whole lot less). Isn’t marketing a wonderful thing?
A Better Alternative
Fresh foods fed in variety are without question the perfect form of nutrition. Appropriately designed supplements to help reduce the risk of food-borne pathogens and oxidation, and to help balance high meat meals and provide a spectrum of vegetable-based nutrients and nutraceuticals can also be of great benefit. Anything less than this is a compromise. The next best alternative is packaged dried raw foods that have incorporated in them food technology to impede pathogens, parasites and oxidation. The low water activity of these products is a great inhibitor of pathogens and the low level of moisture make storage and shipping efficient and environmentally friendly. Good quality table scraps and properly designed dried extruded and canned foods can be mixed into the diet rotation with benefit as well.
Consumers must learn the principles of fresh foods fed in variety and to trust in nature. Every pet owner desires the best for a beloved pet, and is correct in thinking food is an essential element in achieving that goal. But it is incorrect to believe that another person can do more for their pet’s health than they can do themselves. All that is required is a little understanding and use of common sense.
[ NOTE: To that end, the Wysong Institute makes available a free e-Health Letter, a free one-hour CD entitled, “The Thinking Person’s Master Key To Health,” healthy product alternatives designed intelligently with health as the number one objective, and books and recipes for anyone wanting to take control of their own and their family’s and pet’s health. See http://www.wysonginstitute.org ]
References:
Cano-Muñoz, G. (1991). Manual on meat cold store operation and management. FAO Animal Production And Health Paper 92. Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations, Rome.
FDA Food Code (1999). U.S. Public Health Service, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Pub. No. PB99-115925. Washington, D.C. 20250
Food Safety and Inspection Service (2004). FOCUS ON: Freezing. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. Washington, D.C. 20250
Klose, A.A., Lineweaver, H., and Palmer, H.H. (1968). Thawing turkeys at ambient air temperature. Food Tech. 22:1310-1314.
Muldrew, K. and McGann, L.E. (1999). Cryobiology - A Short Course. http://www.ucalgary.ca/~kmuldrew/cryo_course/cryo_chap13_1.html
Snyder, O. P. (1999). Thawing At Ambient Temperature On The Counter. Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management, St. Paul, MN.
Wysong, R. L. (2004). Nutrition is a Serious Health Matter: The serious responsibility of manufacturing and selling. Wysong Institute, Midland, MI.
Wysong, R. L. (1990). Lipid Nutrition: Understanding Fats and Oils in Health and Disease. Midland, MI: Inquiry Press.
Wysong R. L. (1993). Rationale for Animal Nutrition. Midland, MI: Inquiry Press.
Wysong, R. L. (2000-2005). Wysong e-Health Letter. Wysong Institute, Midland, MI. For subscriptions: [http://www.wysong.net/subscribehl.shtml], and archived at [http://www.wysong.net/archivesehl.shtml]
Wysong, R. L. (2002). The Truth About Pet Foods. Midland, MI: Inquiry Press.
Wysong, R. L. (2003, January 14). What to do to reverse and prevent acidemia. The Wysong e-Health Letter. [http://www.wysong.net/health/post_101_011403.shtml] Wysong Institute, Midland, MI.
Wysong, R. L. (2004). The Thinking Person’s Master Key to Health (60 Minute CD Discussion). Wysong Institute, Midland, MI.
Dr. Wysong is a former veterinary clinician and surgeon, college instructor in human anatomy, physiology and the origin of life, inventor of numerous medical, surgical, nutritional, athletic and fitness products and devices, research director for the present company by his name and founder of the philanthropic Wysong Institute. He is author of The Creation-Evolution Controversy now in its eleventh printing, a new two volume set on philosophy for living, several books on nutrition, prevention and health for people and animals and over 15 years of monthly health newsletters. He may be contacted at Wysong@Wysong.net and a free subscription to his e-Health Letter is available at http://www.wysong.net