There is no regulation or law that limits the level of copper in pet food. Over the past several years, there has been much debate in the pet food industry, with veterinarians and regulatory authorities regarding copper levels in pet food – many believe the levels of copper in pet food (with no maximum requirement) is linked to an increase of copper storage disease seen in dogs. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) put together a working group that included veterinarians, nutritionists, and industry representatives – but the group could not come to any decision. AAFCO followed that with a proposal for a low copper label claim for pet foods, (if approved) allowing manufacturers to voluntarily guarantee a maximum level of copper in their pet foods with a ‘Reduced Copper’ or ‘Low Copper’ claim on the pet food label.
Of significance, the proposed low copper or reduced copper pet food label claim is NOT a level below the current minimum required level. It is not ‘low’ exactly – the proposed rule basically only establishes a maximum level of copper (a nutrient that currently has no maximum level – any level of copper above the required minimum is currently allowed in pet foods).
The existing minimum level of copper required in an Adult Dog Food is 7.3 mg/kg based on dry matter (with no maximum).
The proposed low copper dog food label claim has the same minimum copper requirement, but includes a maximum of 15 mg/kg based on dry matter.
Even though this should be a simple decision to approve, some in the pet food industry have argued (and argued) against this potential new rule. AAFCO has taken comments on the rule, and now Hill’s Pet Food has performed a pet owner survey – we assume they will use to submit to AAFCO against allowing a low copper pet food claim.
Hill’s stated they performed the pet owner survey to investigate “pet owner awareness of dietary copper in pet food and the impact that a ‘low, moderate, or controlled copper’ claim would have on their purchase intent.”
“Participants were asked about their familiarity with copper and why it is added to pet food. Then, they were asked what certain claims about copper meant and how it would impact their pet food purchasing behaviors.”
Hill’s argues that because the majority of pet owners surveyed (78%) did not know why copper is added to pet food, they could be influenced to purchase a pet food labeled as low copper. “Overall, these results indicate that pet owners are largely influenced by nutrition claims on pet foods, even when they are unfamiliar with a particular nutrient. Additionally, these results support American Veterinary Medical Association’s position to not support claims pertaining to copper on an over-the-counter diet, and the decision to feed a reduced copper or other component-adjusted diet should be made in consultation with a veterinarian.”
Hill’s argument is weak, and a bit insulting to pet owners. Hill’s makes an issue of pet owners being influenced by low copper pet food label claims because they don’t understand the clinical purpose of copper in the diet, however if the same survey was issued to veterinarians – how many vets could tell you exactly the purpose of copper in the diet? We safely assume not many (we asked a few, they did not know specifically why copper is a required nutrient).
Is Hill’s arguing against a low copper pet food because they want these products only available in higher priced veterinary diets? Is Hill’s more concerned about profits than a simple regulation that finally allows manufacturers to voluntarily guarantee a maximum of copper?
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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Nancy
April 5, 2024 at 12:39 pm
since Zinc can block absorption of copper why is copper being discussed in isolation. Shouldn’t there be a ratio of copper to zinc which would provide a healthy level. Since oats are high in zinc; a food containing oats with high copper may be identified as a high copper food yet what may be absorbed due to zinc blocking copper would be low?
Would you please look at this perspective too.
Thanks
Kelley
April 5, 2024 at 12:52 pm
I imagine that Hills doesn’t want owners thinking they’re actually purchasing a diet low in copper when they actually won’t be. Makes sense to me.
Ed
April 5, 2024 at 1:07 pm
Ironically, if Hills non-science diet would spend all the money they do lobbying and manipulating the public, and instead used it to make a quality product, they would probably have a product that sold itself and would actually be good for pets, and still allow them to make a tidy profit.
Charrisse
April 5, 2024 at 6:00 pm
This makes me sad as I lost my 6 year old dog just last fall to copper storage and I was feeding Hills. I thought I was feeding a quality food because it was offered at my vets office. I am going a very different food route with our new puppy. I think part of the problem is that copper is fed to cattle to make them grow faster….and that is not accounted for in the dog food? Thank you for this article…it’s good that it’s being talked about.
Mary Sue
April 5, 2024 at 10:31 pm
Thanks for this. Here is a relatively recent related article. https://www.vet.cornell.edu/news/20220128/looming-concern-about-copper-dog-food-copper-overload-quietly-killing-our-dogs
Susan
May 13, 2024 at 3:20 am
Ironically, it is the human grade, all natural fresh frozen raw and freeze dried companies whose foods contain the most copper– Some of these brands are 5 to 11 fold above the AAFO minimum. Don’t take my word for it– Please go to the websites and look at the batch test average nutritional numbers. Some of the companies require one to put in a request to get the data.
The natural, high end companies are the ones that have formulas high in beef or lamb liver and most of these companies dump in a mineral premix containing more copper to these high ungulate liver formulas. To compound that, the human grade copper supplement they use is chelated copper which is believed to be absorbed even better than the sulfate form.
Since I have yet another dog with rising ALT and have been only buying the all natural premium fresh frozen and freeze dried raw, I was devastated by this revelation.
Since I can’t write several pages here, I will just summarize by saying that I am now back to homemaking dog food but also using Raised Right (all formulas), Evermore (all formulas), Raw Bistro (beef formula only); Bixbi Rawbble (all formulas but not lamb). My new rule of thumb is to not use any formula from any company containing lamb liver because these formulas are just too high in copper. I make an exception for Evermore because their lamb formula is lower copper than others. I was previously using a lot of Small Batch but they have recently started dumping in mineral premix to all their formulas. Steve’s does not add minerals but their beef and lamu formulas are very high in copper from excess liver.
At this point, I feel uncomfortable using any formula containing supplemental copper– Because chicken and turkey liver contain way less copper than ungulate liver, there are some brands that supplement their poultry formulas only (Raw Bistro is one such company). But, I want my dog’s poultry meals to be low copper to serve in rotation/balance with the higher copper beef liver containing meals. The supplemented poultry brands don’t give dogs that benefit of balance over time. Additionally, I don’t trust that concentrations errors are not made sometimes in the manufacture of these premixes.
Note, pork liver is low in copper. So, if you look at Raised Right nutrition profile on their site, you will see that this entree is a good one to use for dogs diagnosed with copper disease or for healthy dogs to use in rotation to keep them healthy
Susan Porter
May 23, 2024 at 12:15 pm
https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/258/4/javma.258.4.357.xml
https://www.vet.cornell.edu/news/20220128/looming-concern-about-copper-dog-food-copper-overload-quietly-killing-our-dogs
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/copper-in-dog-food/#:~:text=Copper%20In%20Dog%20Food%20Diets&text=One%20of%20the%20authors%20of,this%20is%20a%20big%20problem.
https://thecaninereview.com/2023/08/29/leading-liver-veterinarians-sound-alarm-on-excess-copper-in-dog-food/
https://truthaboutpetfood.com/thank-you-dr-sharon-center/
https://goodnessgracioustreats.com/blogs/news/vets-say-copper-levels-in-many-commercial-dog-foods-are-slowly-killing-our-pets
https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/258/4/javma.258.4.357.xml
https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/food/excessive-copper-in-dog-food-may-cause-copper-associated-hepatopathy/
https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/food/how-to-find-a-low-copper-dog-food/
https://www.dvm360.com/view/feed-control-officials-reassert-copper-concentration-guidelines#