Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Pet Food Ingredients

How much is too much? Lead in Pet Food

A new pet food lawsuit filed against Blue Buffalo states the dog food contained “a staggering 840 ppb of lead”. Unfortunately, the suit will probably not get too far because of incredible high levels of lead allowed in pet food.

A new pet food lawsuit filed against Blue Buffalo states the dog food contained “a staggering 840 ppb of lead”. Unfortunately, the suit will probably not get too far because of incredible high levels of lead allowed in pet food.

Another consumer class action lawsuit has been filed. The newest one is against Blue Buffalo Pet Food for “negligent misrepresentation” citing lead content of the pet food was as high as 840 parts per billion.

Excerpts from the lawsuit:

Plaintiff is, and at all times relevant hereto has been, a citizen of the state of California. Plaintiff purchased the Contaminated Dog Foods as the primary food source for his dog, a four-year-year old cocker spaniel-poodle mix named “Coco.” Coco experienced kidney failure.

As the result of Defendant’s deceptive conduct as alleged herein, Plaintiff was injured when he paid the purchase price or a price premium for the Contaminated Dog Foods that did not deliver what it promised. He paid the above sum on the assumption that the labeling of the Contaminated Dog Foods was accurate and that it was safe to feed his dog the food. Plaintiff would not have paid this money had he known that the Contaminated Dog Foods contained an excessive degree of lead.

As a result of Defendant’s omissions, a reasonable consumer would have no reason to suspect the presence of lead in the Contaminated Dog Foods without conducting his or her own scientific tests, or reviewing third party scientific testing of these products.

That is exactly what Plaintiff did here. Plaintiff’s independent lab testing of the Contaminated Dog Foods found that Blue Wilderness Chicken Recipe for Small Breed Adult Dogs contains 200 ppb of lead; Blue Freedom Grain-Free Chicken Recipe for Small Breed Adult Dogs contains 140 ppb of lead; and Blue Basics Grain-Free Turkey & Potato Recipe for Adult Dogs contains a staggering 840 ppb of lead.

To read the full complaint, Click Here.

The lawsuit states FDA has established a maximum permissible lead content in drinking water as 5 parts per billion (ppb), but the suit gives no FDA established maximum for maximum level in pet food. Questions were sent to FDA regarding an established maximum for lead in pet food, and the FDA was a little evasive stating “Although the FDA has not issued specific guidance or set levels for lead in pet food, it doesn’t prevent the agency from taking action where necessary. The FDA handles these situations on a case-by-case basis, reviewing the relevant facts and current scientific literature before reaching a determination. As part of its assessment, FDA scientists look at the level of contamination in the food, the physiology of the particular animal the food is intended for, how much of the food the animal is likely to eat over the course of a lifetime, and other potential exposures that might add to the animal’s overall dose. The FDA also utilizes documents developed by the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Science to review heavy metal contamination on a case-by-case basis. The NRC 2005 Mineral Tolerances for Animals provides maximum tolerable levels of minerals in animal feed for several species.”

The FDA source – NRC 2005 Mineral Tolerances for Animals states – under the section “Maximum Tolerable Levels – Lead” – “dogs tolerate 10 mg lead/kg diet without changes in functional indices in hematopoiesis or kidney function.” Ten mg/kg equates to 10,000 parts per billion of lead. The NRC provides no maximum tolerance of lead for cats.

The lawsuit against Blue Buffalo compares established maximum levels of lead in bottled water to pet food – mistakenly. The 840 ppb of lead found in Blue Basics dog food (as reported in this lawsuit) is well below the NRC established maximum tolerable level for dogs. But…

Is 10,000 parts per billion of lead truly safe for our pets?

The FDA has established a maximum level of lead in bottled water of 5 ppb. On a Q&A page from the FDA website regarding lead, the FDA answers the question “Why doesn’t the FDA use the same level (5 parts per billion) it set for bottled water for all foods?” The FDA’s response: “We focus on limiting exposure to lead to the greatest extent feasible for different types of foods, and we do so by determining what is achievable when the food is processed under good manufacturing practices. For bottled water that level is 5 ppb, but that is not the case for many other foods.”

FDA has established a “guidance level” for lead in candy “likely to be consumed frequently by small children” at 100 ppb.

Another “guidance level” for fruit juices at 50 ppb.

And the agency has established an Import Alert for “certain dried fruits found to contain lead above 100 ppb.”

Again…is 10,000 parts per billion of lead truly safe for our pets? If 100 parts per billion of lead for ‘frequently consumed candy’ is the established maximum for children, why the dramatic jump to 10,000 parts per billion for pets for daily consumed pet food? A ten pound cat or 20 pound dog would be consuming much more pet food than a small child with ‘frequently consumed candy’.

Heavy metals such as lead accumulate in the body. The NRC 2005 Mineral Tolerances for Animals states “Cardiovascular, hematological, and neurodevelopmental signs of lead occur at the lowest levels of exposure, and renal, gastrointestinal, hepatic, and immunological signs occur with higher doses or lengths of exposures.”

With regards to ‘length of exposure’ – in 2012 the Department of Pathology and Animal Health of School of Veterinary Medicine of Naples performed necropsy on 38 dogs that had died from a multitude of causes. Half of the dogs were household pets, the other half were strays. Their testing found levels of lead in liver and kidney tissues from every single dog.

Quoting the study: “a correlation with diet could be supposed for lead exposure as well. In fact, dogs living in urban or rural habitat fed with commercial feed showed higher liver lead residues than dogs fed with homemade feed or a mixture of commercial and homemade feed likely due to not adequately controlled canned feed (López-Alonso et al., 2007). In fact, it is well known that diet could be a source of different contaminants, not only heavy metals but also polychlorinated biphenyls, pesticides and brominated flame retardants (Sonne et al., 2006; 2008; 2010).”

“Heavy metals concentrations detected in tissues of dogs included in the current study were generally low and unable to exert toxic effects. Nevertheless, a prolonged exposure leading to a bioaccumulation of metals in animal tissues could be expected, so chronic toxic effects could not be excluded.”

Dr. Peter Dobias DVM suggests a liver detox once or twice a year for dogs. “The liver is an important organ in almost every aspect of your dog’s organ function and good health. I take my dog Skai through a good liver cleanse twice a year. You will see a regular cleansing has a very positive effect on your dog’s health, namely in their overall energy level, mobility, digestion, endurance and stamina, skin and coat health, immune system function and cancer prevention.” Again for dogs, Dr. Jean Dodds has a well documented liver cleanse diet found here: http://www.nutriscan.org/knowledge-center/cleansing-diets.html

(My apologies to cat owners – I could not find detox diets for cats. However, great resources on diet options for cat parents are the website CatInfo.org from Dr. Lisa Pierson and LittleBigCat.com from Dr. Jean Hofve.)

FDA will be questioned about the current 10,000 ppb of lead at the upcoming AAFCO meeting (August 10, 2017). A firm and lower maximum level for heavy metals in pet food (cat and dog food) needs to be established in regulation. When more is learned, it will be shared.

 

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

 

Have you read Buyer Beware?  Click Here

Cooking pet food made easy, Dinner PAWsible

Find Healthy Pet Foods in Your Area Click Here

 

25 Comments

25 Comments

  1. judith zimbalist

    July 18, 2017 at 1:02 pm

    update on Wild Calling pet food please.

    • Susan Thixton

      July 18, 2017 at 1:19 pm

      I’ve posted several times in comments about Wild Calling – pentobarbital tests done by Virginia Department of Agriculture came up negative. The veterinarian and the pet owner are still concerned – pet owner firmly believes it was the food but Virginia Dept of Ag is not doing any more testing. One cat fully recovered, one still has some issues.

  2. Mary Lynch

    July 18, 2017 at 1:13 pm

    I’m thinking the NRC’s 10,000 ppb of lead was looking at immediate damage, not long term. Now I want to
    read the report itself.

  3. Sally Roberts

    July 18, 2017 at 1:53 pm

    The more we learn the worse it gets. Loss for words right now other than I am so disgusted still with all these wonderful ads from these dog food companies on how wonderful and healthy their foods are, HA !

  4. paponypal

    July 18, 2017 at 2:39 pm

    Susan, I wonder how many times you’ve tossed your hands in the air in disgust! I applaud your efforts to educate everyone on the false ads, corruption, and greed. All done at the expense of our pets health. Previously I purchased top of the line human grade food. But in light of all the research, the only one I can trust is myself so I got into making my own dog food and treats. I wish everyone had the time to make their pets food but I know not everyone can. Your trip to D.C. and your commitment is our best hope for the future of food. NEVER GIVE UP.

  5. PeterSPoulos

    July 18, 2017 at 2:59 pm

    This is abominable.
    This would occur with the human food system if manufacturers could get away with it.

  6. Ian

    July 18, 2017 at 3:41 pm

    As always thanks for reporting, evaluating, and demanding changes on these issues.

  7. Bethany Cortale

    July 18, 2017 at 4:58 pm

    Perhaps we should all be having our pet food tested. What would I have to do Susan?

  8. Cindy T

    July 18, 2017 at 6:29 pm

    What is the source of the lead in pet foods?

  9. Christine

    July 19, 2017 at 10:24 am

    Here is the link to Orijen/Acana white paper on lab testing for metals and other contaminants:
    https://cbssanfran.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/champion-petfoods-white-paper-heavy-metals.pdf

  10. Terri Christenson Janson

    July 21, 2017 at 1:47 pm

    I homecook but also give my dogs Swanson’s Milk Thistle every night. Sugar and Alcholol free. It detox’s the liver. I also take it. I have seen a big change in my newly adopted 11 year old poodle that was fed Science diet and then Beneful…..

    • Ms. B Dawson

      July 23, 2017 at 9:49 pm

      An FYI, if you ever need to give a pharmaceutical that must be metabolized by the liver, you should stop the milk thistle. It will prevent the drug from doing it’s job.

      • Terri Christenson Janson

        July 24, 2017 at 9:53 am

        Thank you. I did not think about that.

  11. Dee Lind

    August 25, 2017 at 3:21 pm

    Is there a safe pet food! I’ve been feeding Blue Buffalo because I believed the hype. Also, Friskies canned cat food because my cats won’t eat anything else. What to Do?!

    • Mark

      January 13, 2018 at 11:51 am

      Exactly my reason for spending the extra money for what I thought was good, quality food. I guess it’s buyer beware, whatever the product is.

  12. Jennifer

    November 3, 2017 at 9:31 pm

    Hi Susan, Great article. I am a petsumer subscriber and it seems that the Blue Buffalo Grain Free Turkey and Potato Recipe is rated at 5 stars. I guess toxins such as lead, arsenic can only be “found out” through independent testings or lawsuits like this one? Thanks for your time.

  13. Mark

    January 13, 2018 at 11:49 am

    WTH? Why is any level of lead acceptable???

  14. Kelly

    February 23, 2018 at 5:27 pm

    Hello,
    I’ve read a few different posts in regards to Blue having lead in their food. I was concerned because my 11 year old doxie has been eating Blue her entire life. Within the last 5 years she has only eaten the Basics, Grain Free, Turkey and Potato. In the past 3 years her liver levels have been elevated one time but we were able to get them down. Now with her being older this had me very worried so I paid the vet to have her tested for lead.
    They sent the test to a lab and it came back negative. My vet told me anything over 30 and we would take the next steps. Her results came back at a 1.
    So I wanted to share because my dogs are my life and my babies. My advice is if youre worried about it, have your dog tested to make sure. I know this is a year later that I found this article but for me it was better safe than sorry. So I came to the conclusion that the shipments of food in my location deem to be safe being that my dog has been eating only this brand and type of food, twice a day, for the last 5 years. My two year old pup has also only eaten this brand his entire life and he has had no issues as of yet. I hope this helps others.

  15. Janice

    March 7, 2018 at 11:30 pm

    Hi.. I recently found out about the lawsuit of Blue Buffalo & not only totally shocked but apolled! My Silky Terrier has been eating dry Blue Buffalo chicken & brown rice & occasionally sweet potato flavor since he was 4 months old , now he is 8 years old. He is my baby, my life, best friend & all I have. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to him through the negligence of these dog food manufacturers!!! The main reason I chose this dog food was the mixture of fruits & vegetables on top of the chicken (which he loves). As soon as I found this recall, I immediately called my vet & had a blood test sent off to see what’s what as far as any lead poisoning.Im still waiting the results. My vet recommended Science Diet Dog Food but I don’t know if it has all the ingredients that Blue Buffalo has claimed to have..?? I am at a total loss as to what dog food to buy for him at this point. Ive thought about going organic but there are so many brands out there its like flipping a coin & hope for the best! We had lost a boxer & Siamese cat some years back due to the “melamine” that China had put in the foods!! I learned my lesson as to buy only from USA. If there are any recommendations out there, I would really appreciate any feedback

    • Marley

      March 8, 2018 at 10:36 am

      Janice – I would avoid Science Diet like the plague. Look at the ingredients. I feed my cats mostly a raw diet. I do feed some canned Ziwipeak, mainly because it is “pasture-raised” and some even wild-caught, and sourced from a location where there is less use of pesticides and herbicides (from what I have read).

  16. Jeannette Blocker

    September 2, 2018 at 3:47 am

    I trust no one with my baby. No one gives a rat about your dog but you. These dog food companies are just like pharmaceutical companies. They could care less about the health of our dogs, only the profit they can make from them. The Vets are no better. They push the Science Diet that is little more than poison because of the profit they make from all the sales. It’s all a scam just like the medical field. I am so fed up with all the scam artist we have to deal with each day. I have an 8 year old Pomeranian that I almost lost last week. My vet took her in and gave her IVs for 4 days and still cannot tell me what was wrong with her. He just gives me the Science Diet metabolic canned food after all the test an x-ray came back fine, and decided it was obesity. She’s only 2 lbs overweight and her symptoms were that she had stopped eating, drinking and was throwing up. I’m sorry, but I don’t believe obesity almost kills a dog suddenly when her heart and all her organs are perfectly okay. She did not even have high blood pressure. He insisted I put her on the dry Science Diet and do not give her holistic dog food at all, or any of the brands that I named such as Orijen, Blue, Ultra, Solid Gold, Halo, or any of those. Ive done nothing but research for 2 weeks on the healthiest, top quality dry dog food for small/toy seniors on the market, and even some of those include Menadione, which is a synthetic form of vitamin K. A widely used ingredient in pet food. They just fail to mention that this is toxic to dogs. I had decided on solid gold but then found that it carried the vitamin K. I bought Halo tonight but I see that it has soy in it, and I do not want my dog having soy. So it looks as though every dog food on the market is going to have one thing or another that you do not want your dog to have. I may just have to steer away from dry dog food and go completely to human grade. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

  17. Beth

    December 14, 2018 at 8:40 pm

    If the foods mentioned have lead in them they all probably do. The lead comes from the soil. No getting around this – Right?

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

Pet Food News

Shocking test results provided in a new consumer lawsuit against Taste of the Wild pet food.