Illegal, allowed by FDA, and NOT disclosed to Pet Owners

The crimes of pet food evidenced by Google Earth images.

U.S. federal law defines “food” as: “articles used for food or drink for man or other animals.” U.S. federal law defines an “adulterated food” (an illegal food) as (in part): “if it consists in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance; if it is, in whole or in part, the product of a diseased animal or of an animal which has died otherwise than by slaughter.”

Filthy, putrid, decomposed, diseased animal and/or non-slaughtered animal. Keep those terms in mind as you see what FDA allows into pet food, ignoring federal law:

What are you looking at above? Google Earth images of ‘raw material’ – dead animal carcasses and animal carcass parts – in open trailers being delivered to a rendering facility in Iowa; a facility that processes dead animal carcasses and animal parts into ‘food’ for pets (and other animals).

This is what those trailers full of animal carcass parts look like from the ground. The picture below (and others) was previously provided by a pet owner who lives across the street from one of these plants:

Below is another Google Earth image of a rendering facility in Iowa. Circled areas appears to be piles of dead animal carcasses and two trailers full of animal parts.

And there’s more…so much more. Every single day – all across the U.S. – piles of dead animals and trailer after trailer of carcass parts are ground, cooked, and sold to pet food/animal feed manufacturers. Every ounce of this material is illegal per federal law. Every ounce of this material is included in pet food/animal feed with no warning or disclosure to the consumer.

The two images below is a California rendering facility (same facility, two different time frames). Circled in the image below are two piles of dead animals – one appears to be cattle, the other appears to be poultry (either chickens or turkeys). Circled bottom right is a pile of bloody slurry.

Below is the same California rendering facility as above pictured at a later date. Circled are large, horrific piles of bloody animal carcasses and parts and a pile of what appears to be poultry. Just to give you a comparison at how large the bloody pile of animal carcasses is…compare the size of the parked car (just above the circle) to the bloody pile in the parking lot.

Below is another California rendering facility with another bloody, putrid pile of animal carcass parts. Almost center in the picture you can see a dead horse on the ground.

This picture is from a Minnesota rendering facility. Parked trailers full of animal carcasses and carcass parts.

Below Google Earth shows 11 parked trailers full of animal carcasses and carcass parts at a Nebraska rendering facility:

Below is another Nebraska rendering facility, this picture showing you the full facility. The circled areas are provided below as close up images.

From top circled area of above image:

From bottom circled area of larger image above:

Below are three full trailers of animal carcasses and carcass parts at an Iowa rendering facility:

The following image is from a North Carolina rendering facility. Multiple trailers full of animal carcasses and carcass parts are circled, along with bloody slurry that appears to be the unload area.

North Carolina rendering facility, multiple parked trailers full of animal carcass parts – along with one trailer entering the facility (top right).

The following two images are from one North Carolina rendering facility – taken on two different dates. Notice how much material is sitting in trailers in the top image.

Same North Carolina rendering facility as above – one year later:

And below is 9 trailers full of dead animal carcass parts at a South Carolina rendering facility:

Everyday – more and more animal carcasses and carcass parts are processed into pet food/animal feed ingredients. Above is just a tiny snapshot of the massive amount of illegal material that is processed.

There is no doubt – this material has to be properly disposed of. But…it should NOT be disposed of as illegal ingredients (filthy, putrid, decomposed, diseased and/or non-slaughtered) in pet food/animal feed.

The FDA intentionally allows these illegal ingredients to be processed into pet food, the Agency blatantly ignores federal law. Dr. Steven Solomon’s (director FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine) April 2019 response to our Citizen Petition asking for these illegal ingredients to be stopped and for consumers to be properly informed to what they are purchasing was: “we do not believe that the use of diseased animals or animals that died otherwise than by slaughter to make animal food poses a safety concern…” Think about his statement and these pictures. It’s beyond absurd.

But the biggest crime is no pet owner is informed to what they are buying. Everyday pet foods and treats are sold to unknowing consumers that include illegal ingredients made from bloody dead animal carcass slurry, transported in an open trailer, dumped onto a bloody parking lot…with a picture of a grilled steak or roasted chicken on the pet food label. No consumer is informed because the FDA decided we don’t deserve to know.

What ingredients could this type of material be in?

Any rendered ingredient such as chicken meal, beef meal, pork meal, by-product meal and any fat ingredient. Ask your pet food manufacturer for a guarantee in writing that all meat ingredients are sourced from USDA inspected and passed animals. Also ask for a written guarantee that all ingredients are transported and warehoused under refrigeration (those that require refrigeration).

Pet owners deserve to know if they are buying a pet food that contains an ingredient sourced from a filthy, putrid, decomposed, diseased and/or non-slaughtered animal. If you are angry and want to express your opinion to FDA – email them at AskCVM@fda.hhs.gov. Also email your elected officials telling them to demand FDA enforce law and require pet food labels to disclose the quality of ingredients used.

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
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