Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Pet Food News

A Pet Food Review of 2016

So many things happened this year in our battle for safe (and legal) pet food. Here’s a year end review…

So many things happened this year in our battle for safe (and legal) pet food. Here’s a year end review…

Recalls

We had 10 pet food recalls in 2016, and 1 pet supplement recall. Five of the pet food recalls were for raw pet food – all for bacteria (Big Dog, Carnivore, Small Batch, RadCat and Blue Ridge), four were for wet pet food – 3 of those were for vitamin and or mineral deficiencies or excesses (Beneful/ProPlan, Fromm, Addiction), 1 for plastic pieces in the food (Cesar), and one kibble recall for mold (Blue Buffalo).

Meetings

As in every year, there are two public AAFCO meetings – in January and in August. The January 2016 public meeting led to a pet food label modernization working group (a working group is a smaller group that meets outside of public meetings – which I am part of this group) which met multiple times throughout the year on webinars (and they will continue in 2017). AAFCO chastised me for sharing information about these meetings with consumers…per the leader of this working group – consumers must be kept in the dark about the progress of pet food label modernization.

And at the January AAFCO meeting, consumers were provided the opportunity to give AAFCO input on what consumers want and understand on pet food labels (January 2016), which was well received.

The most mind boggling meeting we had with regulatory authorities this year (my opinion) occurred in March of 2016 with FDA. Myself and a pet food consumer (that happens to be a brilliant PhD food scientist) met with FDA discussing the certain risk of dead (non-slaughtered) and diseased animals that FDA allows to be illegally processed into pet food ingredients (these ingredients are a violation of federal law). I asked the FDA directly – after we shared the certain risks associated with these illegal ingredients – ‘Is the agency still going to allow illegal ingredients to be processed into pet food?’ And FDA openly stated: “Yes”. (I happened to record that meeting – you can hear the excerpts by clicking here).

And in 2016 I had a similar meeting with Florida Department of Agriculture. The state of Florida (my home state) has similar state laws as federal laws which explicitly define a pet food containing dead (non-slaughtered) and/or diseased animal sourced ingredients to be adulterated (illegal). Just like with FDA, Florida Department of Agriculture refused to enforce state (and federal) law with pet food. (And I happened to record this meeting too – you can hear it by clicking here).

Regulations

FDA claims they are a “science-based” agency, claims every decision they make is solidly based on science. In 2016 we called their hand on that ‘science-based’ claim by asking the agency for the science proving pet food ingredients sourced from dead/non-slaughtered animals or diseased animals (rejected for use in human food) is safe for pets to consume. A Freedom of Information Act request was filed with FDA asking for the science and the agency responded with “We did not find the requested records.” In other words…FDA has no science.

One of the biggest finds this year was the discovery of a Supreme Court ruling specific to our cause for safe and legal pet food. Government agencies – such as the FDA – are allowed their own interpretations of law. But – the Supreme Court ruled that government agencies can only interpret law if that interpretation is not opposite of the original law (manifestly contrary). The Supreme Court ruling is termed ‘Chevron deference’. For our situation of FDA allowing dead/non-slaughtered or diseased animals into pet food – this FDA decision is 100% opposite of law (law is very clear – this material is considered adulterated in any food, human or animal food). With the backing of the Supreme Court ruling, a Citizen Petition was filed with FDA in 2016 asking the agency to stop their ‘manifestly contrary’ interpretation of law (and we have a very good chance of winning this).

2016 marked an 8 year anniversary of AAFCO working on providing pet food carbohydrate content to consumers on pet food labels. Those pesky carbohydrates certainly do confuse AAFCO (8 years of confusion).

And in 2016 the FDA announced a new compliance policy that puts responsibility of the safety and effectiveness of Rx pet foods on practicing veterinarians. Rx pet food – even if they contain illegal ingredients – remains the ONLY food allowed to make the claim of treating or curing a disease.

Beneful

Beneful made the news a lot in 2016 (2015 too). In 2016 the FDA released some very concerning information about an investigation the agency had done on the pet food. Through inspection of three Beneful pet food plants, FDA testing found the pet food contained melamine and cyanuric acid above legal limits (these two ingredients were the cause of the 2007 pet food recall), FDA testing found the chemical preservative ethoxyquin above legal limits, and through the 3 inspections Purina refused to fully cooperate with FDA. No regulatory action was taken by FDA, the agency only had a ‘talk’ with Purina about the violations found.

A consumer class action lawsuit against Beneful was dismissed in 2016, leaving thousands of pet food consumers with no accountability to their pet death and or illness.

But Beneful didn’t get off scot-free in 2016…a Purina insider told me sales of Beneful were down almost 50%.

News

2016 brought us several new pet food lawsuits. One addresses the misleading claims of prescription pet food. Several others, all brought by Wysong Pet Food suing Purina, Mars, Big Heart, Hill’s, Ainsworth and Walmart addresses the misleading images on pet food labels (which violate law with not one regulatory authority ever bothering to enforce).

In 2016 consumers learned of a Mars Petcare lawsuit where employees (former) of the pet food manufacturer claimed some very serious violations of employee safety (and pet food safety) occurred. Late in 2016 it was learned that Mars Petcare was mysteriously dismissed from the lawsuit – it is unknown why (very confusing). And shortly after Mars Petcare was dismissed from the lawsuit, an outsider from the suit shared with me that the case has been settled – even though I was told that not all of the Plaintiffs agreed to settle. Again…a very confusing end to this lawsuit. Sadly it appears the darkest secrets of pet food will remain secret.

Mars Petcare marketing received a good slap in the face from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) this year. The FTC told Mars their advertisements of Eukanuba “constitute unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and the making of false advertisements”. In a fairly harsh statement, the FTC forbids Mars Petcare – on any of their pet foods – to ever make a misleading claim again.

Oprah Magazine and The Dr. Oz Show made pet food news this year. In an ‘oh No!’ moment, O Magazine published an article telling consumers “to avoid anything with human grade on the label”. And The Dr. Oz Show made a gallant attempt at telling consumers the truth about pet food, when guest veterinarian Dr. Evan Antin simply blew it by telling consumers waste ingredient pet food was “suitable” food for pets. Dr. Evan Antin made lots of news this year as the “Hunky Vet”…but it was clear as soon as he opened his mouth on the Dr. Oz Show his pet food intelligence falls well into the ‘I don’t know squat about pet food’ category.

Previously only exporting ingredients, we learned in 2016 that China will begin exporting finished pet food soon. Scary, scary thought to consider.

And in 2016 we learned that pet treats using ground insects (crickets) will soon be on the market, with plans for pet foods to use cricket meal too. The problem that the pet treat and pet food manufacturers are ignoring, is that ground insects are not currently an approved ingredient for cats and dogs. We’ll have to wait and see if regulatory authorities enforce the law when these products go on the market sometime in 2017.

2016 marked the 7 year anniversary of FDA neglecting to complete pet food safety updates required by Congress (required to be completed by September 2009). These safety updates were written by Congress after the 2007 pet food recall, written to prevent another deadly pet food disaster. But 7 years past the deadline…FDA continues to ignore Congress and pet food safety.

With all of the bad news, we did get some good news in 2016. We learned about KetoPets Sanctuary curing cancer in dogs using food. Yes…food is curing cancer!

Ingredients

In 2016 we tried to shine a light on some of the challenges that pet food consumers face. We learned that the ingredients in pet food and human food have totally different meanings – such as ‘chicken’. Chicken in human food means one thing, chicken in pet food means something totally different. And the worst part of this particular issue, is for consumers to learn what pet food chicken means…it costs them $100 a year (AAFCO owns the legal definitions of pet food ingredients).

Several pet food manufacturing employees reached out to TruthaboutPetFood.com this year. We learned from one about bug infested grains that were being used in pet food – fully known by the manufacturer. And another employee shared with us information of intentional mislabeling of pet foods; the manufacturer is stating ‘New and Improved Formula’ on the label, listing new ingredients on the bag, but none of those new ingredients were actually in the pet food.

And in 2016 we realized the true reason why FDA ignores law allowing diseased and dead animal carcasses to be processed into pet food…human safety. Disposal of these these animal carcasses in landfills is a danger to humans. The FDA’s approved disposal method is pet food.

Fun

We did have a little fun this year – in the midst of the pet food madness – at the expense of FDA, State Department of Agriculture and AAFCO integrity. So…to end the 2016 pet food in review, let’s end it with the little bits of fun we had…

 

 

 

Here’s hoping that in 2017, more employees of pet food share the industry dark secrets with us. Here’s hoping that we finally stop FDA and State Department of Agriculture from allowing pet food to violate law (seriously…isn’t it your job to enforce law?…your tax dollar supported job?). Here’s hoping that the close ties between FDA/State Department of Agriculture’s and industry are outed to the public (working on this one now…they can’t cover all of their tracks).

Here’s hoping that the pet food illegal madness stops in 2017. Here’s hoping that regulatory authorities do their job and keep our pets safe! It’s time for real change in pet food. A new year, a new pet food industry…here’s hoping.

Wishing Pet Food Consumers a Happy New Year – may all of our pets be safe.

 

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food

What’s in Your Pet’s Food?
Is your dog or cat eating risk ingredients?  Chinese imports? Petsumer Report tells the ‘rest of the story’ on over 4,000 cat foods, dog foods, and pet treats. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Click Here to preview Petsumer Report. www.PetsumerReport.com

list-seal-xsmall

 

The 2017 List
Susan’s List of trusted pet foods.  Click Here

 

The Other List
The List of pet foods I would not give my own pets. Click Here

Have you read Buyer Beware?  Click Here

Cooking pet food made easy, Dinner PAWsible

Find Healthy Pet Foods in Your Area Click Here

 

15 Comments

15 Comments

  1. Joan H

    December 28, 2016 at 5:03 pm

    All I can say is “thank you.” Without your work and your newsletters, I’d be totally uninformed and probably still feeding ProPlan.

    • Jane Eagle

      December 28, 2016 at 10:58 pm

      Agreed! I’ve said it before: Susan, you save more dogs than any rescue <3

  2. Suzanne Clothier

    December 28, 2016 at 5:24 pm

    Thank you Susan for your diligent work. I make sure to share this site and urge people to support all you do. You have made a difference for so many, though I suspect you’ll never fully know the reach of your efforts. Onwards to 2017!

  3. Amy

    December 28, 2016 at 5:59 pm

    Whew! Tip of the iceberg. More to come…

  4. Anthony Hepton.

    December 28, 2016 at 6:14 pm

    Susan, First let me thank you for all you have done in the past year, we have been able to get FDA/CVM to admit that they will continue to use pet food as a disposal site for animal waste that does not meet THEIR requirements of safety. Purina has recently contacted me regarding the death of my dear friend Maggie and are looking once again at the Vet’s report regarding her death.I do not expect any new conclusions but I did offer to supply them with a sample of her food to determine whether the endotoxin levels were sufficiently high to cause the symptoms that were reported by the Vet. I doubt that they will conduct such an analysis as any positive result will reveal that no safe level of endotoxin has been established, consequently, any finding will be in violation of FDA regulations.
    I am sure we will continue to be in touch in the New Year, I wish you the very best, Tony.

    • Pacific Sun

      December 28, 2016 at 9:11 pm

      Apologies if this point has been missed along the line. But are endotoxins present in canned food, but not in kibble? And if so, why is there this difference? I just think bacteria residue in a pet food product is criminal. While a dog can probably handle an incidental amount (unlike people) a steady diet of it has got to have a cumulative effect … correct?

      Thank YOU for the work you’ve done in this area! Couple years ago, nobody was even talking about this issue!

    • Mrs. Thomas

      December 29, 2016 at 1:47 pm

      Mr. Hepton,

      I hope this isn’t inappropriate, I wanted to tell you how sorry I am that Maggie died. It’s heartbreaking enough when we lose our furry companions to death naturally, but absolutely unconscionable their death occurs due to the corruption and greed of a company.

      Like you, I too am grateful to Ms. Thixton for her hard work and steadfastly working to expose fraud, abuse and hold companies and the FDA responsible for abhorrent animal food manufacturing practices. The information she imparts is invaluable.

      Kind regards,

      Sara

  5. brit

    December 28, 2016 at 6:52 pm

    it appears that the only safe food is home cooked food as so many recalls on raw and bagged, glad I cook for mine 🙂

    • Robin

      January 7, 2017 at 11:42 pm

      I TOTALLY AGREE. IT IS A SHAME THAT BENEFUL DOG FOOD DONE SO MUCH DAMAGE AND THEY GOT AWAY WITH IT. WE HAVE HAD TO COOK FOR OUR BABY BECAUSE OF HIS HEALTH CONDITION WE CAUGHT IN TIME. WITH ALL OF HIS PROBLEMS HE IS NOW ON THYROID MEDS AND ALLEGERY MEDS. HIS SKIN IS FINALLY BACK TO NORMAL AND HE HAS ALL HIS FUR BACK. THE DYES AND CHEMICALS JUST ABOUT KILLED HIM. YOU COULD SEE THE PAIN IN HIS EYES. IT IS A SHAME WHAT THEY PUT IN DOG FOOD JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE A DOG. WELL I GOT NEWS FOR YOU, THEY ARE MORE HUMAN THAN SOME TWO LEGGED PEOPLE I KNOW!

  6. Batzion

    December 28, 2016 at 7:52 pm

    Susan, your efforts are so much appreciated. I sometimes don’t know how you do it. Thank you so much, and Happy New Year!

  7. Eve

    December 28, 2016 at 10:06 pm

    Hi Guys need helpwith this one. What do you say to a pet owner who adamantly believes that science fiet dental biscuits clean cats teeth. I know this pet owner has been hoodwinked but why are her cats teeth ckean???? They eat “norhing” but this dangeroys volitile so called food. One kitty is 2 the other is 5. I suspect its the chicals stripping teeth enamel but Vets ssy cats just swslliw so how vould it possible to clean teeth?????Thanks

  8. Karrie Kamke

    December 29, 2016 at 12:29 pm

    We can’t thank you enough. Please know I take every opportunity to share as much of this information as possible. Sadly, many pet parents are hard to get through to. However, I believe that if I can help even a few it’s worth it and I won’t quit trying. I wish you the best in the New Year!
    With love and gratitude,
    Karrie and her felines, Carly and Simon.

  9. Martha

    January 3, 2017 at 2:59 pm

    Your video cracked me up! Good job!

    I thank you, also. As a former humane investigator I can appreciate your efforts, and know your exhaustion and highs and lows.

  10. Pat P.

    January 16, 2017 at 2:18 pm

    Eve,
    Do you think pretzels clean human teeth? Carnivores tear their solid food apart. For dry food to have any affect on dental plaque, tartar, it would have to scrub/scrape, repeatedly, the surface of the teeth, especially, around/underneath the gum line. Most kibble is swallowed whole, and that which is not, is, usually, just shattered at the tips of the teeth. Large dry dental chunks may be somewhat different than small kibble.
    Big soft pliable chunks (maybe in whole raw/slightly cooked meats, like poultry legs, only raw, no cooked bones, which can splinter) would contact the teeth better.

    Like it or not, brushing the animal’s teeth with an occasional dental cleaning cannot be replicated, and is the best, by far, way of keeping your cat from harboring bacteria and gingivitis (and losing teeth).

    Dry food, certainly, doesn’t provide the best nutrition (esp. the high level of animal protein needed by cats), or the high level of moisture needed. Science Diet, also, contains rendered garbage with 4-D toxins. Grains,( esp. GMO corn and wheat) and high level of carbs incorporated in dry food are not a natural feline/canine diet. Any very minimal benefit that large dry dental diet chunks MAY seem to provide is NOT worth the trade-off from a more appropriate healthy feline diet!

    A bonus to dry-food avoidance is better smelling litter. Two reasons for stinky poop, usually. 1. not cleaning, at least once daily; 2. poorly-digested grains, higher carb content normally found in dry food, which makes larger feces, swelling when moistened; their pee from consuming dry food (making it less dilute) will smell stronger

    Hope this helps, some.

  11. Marilyn Ford

    January 20, 2017 at 5:54 pm

    Thank you for all you do, Susan! I started feeding my basset hound, Fred, home made food last year and noticed he no longer has diarrhea or occasion vomiting. Keep up the good work. We appreciate you!

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Learn More

Human Grade & Feed Grade
Do you know what the differences are between Feed Grade and Human Grade pet food? Click Here.

 

The Regulations
Pet Food is regulated by federal and state authorities. Unfortunately, authorities ignore many safety laws. Click Here to learn more about the failures of the U.S. pet food regulatory system.

 

The Many Styles of Pet Food
An overview of the categories, styles, legal requirements and recall data of commercial pet food in the U.S. Click Here.

 

The Ingredients
Did you know that all pet food ingredients have a separate definition than the same ingredient in human food? Click Here.

Click Here for definitions of animal protein ingredients.

Click Here to calculate carbohydrate percentage in your pet’s food.

 

Sick Pet Caused by a Pet Food?

If your pet has become sick or has died you believe is linked to a pet food, it is important to report the issue to FDA and your State Department of Agriculture.

Save all pet food – do not return it for a refund.

If your pet required veterinary care, ask your veterinarian to report to FDA.

Click Here for FDA and State contacts.

The List

The Treat List

Special Pages to Visit

Subscribe to our Newsletter
Click Here

Pet Food Recall History (2007 to present)
Click Here

Find Healthy Pet Foods Stores
Click Here

About TruthaboutPetFood.com
Click Here

Friends of TruthaboutPetFood.com
Click Here

You May Also Like