While it’s a little noticed pet food ingredient, Menadione Sodium Bisulfate (and it’s many named variations) is one ingredient to look out for and avoid. This ingredient is commonly found in many dog foods, cat foods, and treats. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the best reputation for being a safe or useful pet food ingredient. Since there are alternatives for pet food makers to use, it makes you wonder why some put our pets at risk.
Menadione Sodium Bisulfate is a synthetic version of vitamin K. You’ll see it within the fine print of many pet foods ingredient list. In addition, of course, it’s not as simple to find it as it should be. Some pet food ingredient lists will say ‘menadione’, and some will mention vitamin K3 in parenthesis – and these are just a few of the possible variations you have to look for.
This ingredient is added to pet foods and treats as an inexpensive source of vitamin K. In people – deficiencies of vitamin K can lead to blood clotting particularly in the stomach and can lead to intestinal complications. An example for pets, veterinarians will administer an injection of K1 (not the synthetic K3) to a pet who has consumed a rat poison which causes internal bleeding. Food sources of natural vitamin K (K1) are green leafy vegetables; which are not on the ‘top ten’ list of many pets. Pet food ingredients that could provide natural sources of vitamin K are alfalfa and kelp. However, as you probably have figured out, synthetic vitamin K or menadione is a great deal less expensive than the natural sources of alfalfa and kelp.
Knowing that a pet food company would opt for a synthetic ingredient in contrast to a natural ingredient is bad enough, but it takes one step further on the ‘bad scale’ with Menadione Sodium Bisulfate. This ingredient can be highly toxic in high doses. Hazard information regarding menadione lists “carcinogenic effects” and states “the substance is toxic to kidneys, lungs, liver, mucous membranes. Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage.” http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Menadione sodium bisulfite-9924604
More information on menadione sodium bisulfate and pets can be read at http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione.
With the science based information available on this ingredient, there is no sound reason for menadione to be considered as a pet food or pet treat ingredient; that is other than a big money saver for a pet food company. AAFCO and the FDA have no restrictions to the use of menadione in pet foods, and the pet food can even proudly claim ‘Natural’ on the label even if it contains this un-natural ingredient. Look at the fine print of your pet’s food and treats for menadione; sources of natural vitamin K (alfalfa and kelp) seem to be a far better option.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author, Buyer Beware
Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Phil
December 7, 2012 at 12:42 pm
Hi Susan – thanks for your hard work in maintaining your web site with helpful and up2date information.
I have a question about wet cat food. I have 5 cats raging in ages of 4-11 years. Currently I feed them one can of Fancy Feast Elegant Medley per day and for dry food – Innova Low Fat Adult dry cat food. Are these good and healthy foods to feed them in your opinion?
What are the top 3 healthiest wet cat food I can feed them, again, in your opinion?
Thanks Much!
Phil
Pingback: Today’s best cat foods–reviews of canned and raw options | Natural Cat Care Blog
Georgia Picton
January 24, 2014 at 4:13 am
An example for pets, veterinarians will administer an injection of K1 (not the synthetic K3) to a pet who has consumed a rat poison which causes internal bleeding. Food sources of natural vitamin K (K1) are green leafy vegetables; which are not on the ‘top ten’ list of many pets.
goodforu2002store
April 8, 2018 at 10:58 pm
Why aren’t the manufacturer’s also required to post warning labels on there cans, and bags, so that I can make a better decision as to what I will give my dog? Right now I give him the Rachel Ray dry food, but now what, I heard that “Menadione Sodium Bisulfate” is bad?
Also, why aren’t daily allowances of vitamins, and nutrition labels on the food, so I can see how good it really is? I guess the manufacturer’s, and veterinarians have us owners where they want us (confused state) so we will continue purchasing there items without any questions regardless of quality.
CitizenHealth
July 4, 2023 at 1:44 am
Exactly. These scumbags give us wet percentages to confuse even more. Put a stick of butter in a gallon of water, is that healthy? No but now instead of pure fat it appears to be a good percentage.
OUR PETS ARE BRING POISONED!!
Its time to make pet food healthy or minimum trasparent. There is literally a handfull of okay, almost okay food to give pets.
There is MSG in everything disguised as many names (natural flavor, brewers yeast, glutamate, carrageenan, hydrolyzed corn, pectin, yeast food, sodium caseinate, monopotassium glutamate, monoammonium glutamate, calcium glutamate, etc.
WANDA HILTON
January 19, 2019 at 5:50 pm
i just can not find a healthy grain or no grain dry dog food. There does not seem to be any agency in the government controlling what dog and cat food manufacturers sell. We have already lost a seemingly healthy dog to cancer at age 5. I keep wondering if the dog food caused his death.
WANDA HILTON
January 19, 2019 at 5:52 pm
Look for class action lawsuit in topclassactionlawsuits.com
LF
February 8, 2019 at 6:16 pm
A deficiency in Vitamin K does not lead to blood clotting, it does the opposite. Vitamin K is needed to help the blood clot. When people take blood thinners, they are warned not to consume foods high in Vitamin K so that their blood thinning medicine works and their blood does not clot. When pets who have internal bleeding are given injections of Vitamin K, it is to help their blood clot.
Jennifer Wagner
August 28, 2021 at 9:50 am
Too much vitamin k aka synthetic k can cause blood clots! Taken daily in pet food builds up quickly causing who knows what kind of internal problems. It could easily be why some dogs such as German Shepards, are having seizures, falling over, circulation problems…intestinal issues. They need to eliminate this ingredient. I feed my Sphynx cats as much natural meats without any additives as possible.. It makes me angry we can have a board that certifies synthetic k as a ok ingredient when it isn’t….Our pets are our family..at least mine are. Not many animals should be lacking in k….
MF4Mark
October 28, 2021 at 5:45 pm
Great article, as folks are still commenting over 10 years later. What I don’t see mention of from you or commentators is K2. Vitamin K2 is extremely valuable and almost totally lacking from factory farm meat. So my first question is can I assume (from your omission of K2) this supplement complex is a synthetic version of K1? Also, why no mention of K2? If it’s absence and consequences are epidemic for humans, then cats and dogs must likewise be suffering from the same preventable diseases as us?
Laura
June 23, 2024 at 1:36 am
I know of a specific brand of dog food that uses this and, unfortunately, found out the hard way what menadione can do to your pet. Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. Everything but the food, the one constant, was able to be ruled out. I reached out to the pet food company and told them what happened to my dog. They paid the vet bill without a fight. That was 6 years ago and I have NEVER used a single product they make since.
Aunt A
October 30, 2024 at 6:43 pm
Hi Laura, I have a 12 yr American Pitt Bull Terrier(Blue) – she has been eating Hills Healthy Advantage until she was 7(senior age) then Hills Science Diet & they just switched her to the Purina Pro Plan adult sensitive skin & stomach(salmon & rice) due to extreme skin “allergies”. We have already had to have a few questionable bump, mass, and small blood bump like things all over her stomach and on the inside of her thigh/leg. That was (4) yrs ago. (NOW back again)
Lab Results from 4yrs ago most all were fine w/exception of the few that showed
Cancerous.(all removed ) (Not @ all what you expect or want to hear). I have heard to many times food allergies. Yes but why (it’s chemicals they call ingredients, flea products as well, along w/environmental, ETC…I’m now starting to wonder if it’s a possibility are the annual preventative shots we give them each year, do they harbor some of these unnecessary ingredients(or worse) other than for its purpose they are “needed” to prevent these days.
Times really have changed even as short as 20yrs ago. Just came from vet yesterday talk of surgery to remove a couple of the mole like masses from inside her back leg. The older she gets the anesthesia concerns me not to mention possibly as removing mass if it could cause it to spread rapidly v/s leaving it.
I am going to have to dig in & do a lot of research on it. Do’s/Dont’s Pro/Con
If ALL could just be HONEST about all especially our country. Chemicals is in EVERYTHING NOW, regardless if Human or Animals