Would you leave meat outside in the sun and heat, exposed to rodent and bug infestation? And then cook that meat for your family? That’s how many pet food meats are prepared.
Keep in mind as you read this, the FDA and each State government authority thinks this quality of meat is perfectly safe for pets to consume. (It’s against the law, but FDA and each State Department of Agriculture isn’t concerned about law.)
There is a rendering plant in Paducah, Kentucky – “which makes pet food ingredients” – that is coming under fire from some neighbors regarding the smell of the plant. From the NBC news station in Paducah, Kentucky (bold added for emphasis)…
“Dennis Jackson lives not even 100 feet from the Dar Pro plant in Paducah, and he’s reminded of it every day. The smell keeps him inside.”
“The company, which makes pet food ingredients, is working on a plan to reduce the odor. Last month, it told Paducah city leaders that bay doors would be kept closed and containers full of materials would now stay inside. Jackson said the smell is not as bad, but it’s still prominent. “They made a little progress, but still at times it still gets pretty raunchy out here,” he said.”
The WPSD Paducah news station also posted a response letter from the rendering plant to city officials. A few quotes from the DarPro rendering plant letter…
“In response the following is a summary of the steps being taken to prevent the potential for odor from the facility.
1. Containers and trailers used for the collection of general refuse and recyclable materials from the process will be staged indoors.
3. The volume of the above mentioned materials will be reduced by way of instituting the use of returnable containers with our feed stock providers.”
Review.
Raw meat pet food ingredients were stored outside in the sun and heat, plus surely were infested with rodents and bugs. With certainty these raw meat ingredients were building massive amounts of dangerous bacteria by the second (producing extreme amounts of deadly endotoxins after processing).
“General refuse” is included in the processing of pet food ingredients.
“Feed stock providers” means livestock producers. Which means whole dead animals will be stored in “returnable containers” at farms – again in the heat and exposed to insect infestation – until pickup by DarPro and processing into pet food ingredients.
Not with human food.
This same method of ‘food’ production is not allowed in human food. As example, a recall just happened for “approximately 662,049 pounds of various meat and poultry products” destined for human consumption. From Food Safety News: “The FSIS OIEA investigator discovered that the product was being stored under insanitary conditions, including rodent activity, in the storage areas of the property. FSIS and the establishment detained the remaining product. The items subsequently tested positive for alkaline phosphatase, demonstrating evidence of possible fecal matter.”
But perfectly fine for pet food.
The FDA openly ignores federal law telling pet food manufacturers…(from FDA Compliance Policy 690.300)…
“Pet food consisting of material from diseased animals or animals which have died otherwise than by slaughter…will be considered fit for animal consumption.”
It is simply insanity for regulatory authorities to call pet food ‘food’ when it is allowed to be sourced from rotting, bug and rodent infested meat – with a side of ‘general refuse’ sourced from dead non-slaughtered animals. Insanity. This madness has to stop.
This won’t happen, but for kicks…
Challenge to FDA and each State Department of Agriculture
Pet food consumers that take issue with regulatory allowance of diseased animals or animals which have died otherwise than by slaughter, exposed to weather, rodent and bug infestation into pet food challenge all regulatory authorities to consume pet food made with this material for 6 months; an AAFCO feeding trial for those that allow law to be ignored. It’s food, right? It’s safe, right? That’s what you tell us. Prove it. You eat it for six months and then we’ll talk.
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. www.PetsumerReport.com
The 2016 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
Pacific Sun
September 14, 2016 at 1:10 pm
Note that the “story” making the Media and annoying the Community isn’t about the illegal ingredients going into pet food. Or that a law is being broken. It’s about an annoying, noxious, odor coming from the Plant so that people can’t sit outside enjoying their lovely Ice Tea and Bar-B-Que!
Just when you think people moving towards enlightenment about pet food, this kind of a reality call surfaces! The NBS Station in Paducah (and the residents) ought to be investigating what kind of material and storage failure is causing the stench. And whether the ingredients being produced from it are fit for any pet’s consumption.
People are sick.
Susan Thixton
September 14, 2016 at 1:12 pm
I thought the same thing. No mention in the story that ‘meat’ was sitting outside before it became pet food ingredients.
Mirsades McIver
September 14, 2016 at 1:51 pm
Love this, would like to have a copy of the challenge so I can send it out all over the place. People don’t stop and think that this “stuff” (being polite) also goes into the animals WE eat and therefore, into us….yuck!!!! Makes me want to vomit. It’s enough to make a person want to become a vegetarian/vegan. Thank you Susan for all the hard work you do. Our pets would be doomed without you. xo
Tracey
September 14, 2016 at 2:44 pm
Maybe a phone call or letter to the Paducah, KY local paper can get some pictures, interviews (farmers too!) or ? to go along with the story. Putting the word “meat” in people’s minds about this story is a great idea too.
Reader
September 14, 2016 at 4:35 pm
It’s time to just speak plainly. Regarding enforcing any kind of PF regulations ,these farmers, ranchers and no doubt the population of rural counties would just look at (us) meaning Pet Food Safety Advocates as another band of Crazies! They need a facility to take care of their deceased livestock. They’re impossible to bury, and it’s expensive to haul them off anywhere. Don’t you guess the rendering plant arranges for pickup to trade transport cost for material.
I’m afraid there’s no salvation hope in that link in the chain. Instead, FDA Law just needs to be enforced period! Namely, there is to be NO diseased, putrid, rotting, bacteria ridden meat going into PF products, end of story.
Paul
September 14, 2016 at 4:01 pm
Any idea of where the “pet food ingredients” from this plant end up?
Lover of Fur Children
April 10, 2021 at 2:05 pm
Probably Purina Mills…looked at them from a satellite image on Google Maps. Can see truckfulls of what looks to be organs and blood from what I can tell.
Ian
September 14, 2016 at 4:08 pm
hahahahah…. the FDA Challenge is fantastic !
Mary Sue
September 14, 2016 at 4:09 pm
https://d118ospkkl5uqf.cloudfront.net/DAR_PRO_Ingredients/DAR_PRO_I_Files/Spec%20and%20SDS%20Sheets%20Combined/Fresh%20Chicken%20Mechanically%20Deboned%208-3-16.pdf
Above is the link for their fresh chicken mechanically deboned. Somewhere else it says their products are made from meat fit for human consumption. It says this among other things such as storage temperatures of 40 degrees.
PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
A homogenous mixture of chicken parts that is ground and chilled. The parts used in this mixture may consist of: chicken frames, necks, backs, wing tips and/or carcasses. All material used must be derived from carcasses intended for human consumption.
To play devil’s advocate (though I am not a commercial pet food advocate), this statement “1. Containers and trailers used for the collection of general refuse and recyclable materials from the process will be staged indoors.” could be interpreted to mean that what they moved inside is the refuse and recyclables left over from the process of making each ingredient.
Susan Thixton
September 14, 2016 at 4:33 pm
The ingredient for the link you provided is for “fresh chicken” – or ‘chicken’ on a pet food label. Not meal ingredients that are made from rendered ingredients such as meat meal, meat and bone meal, animal digest or animal fat. Totally different ingredient.
Mary Sue
September 14, 2016 at 5:17 pm
I understand the difference. I just put that as one example of what they make. There are others on the website.
My last comment addressed the issue of how it seems they are saying they store the refuse and recyclables (leftovers) from the process of making their finished products, not how they store the raw ingredients used in the process of making their finished products (meat, meat meal, fats, bone meal, feather meal, etc.).
I read some of the articles. Apparently it’s a new operation there, with some “startup problems”. Authorities used Nasal Ranger field olfactometers to test the level of odor and they were not high enough to cause citations to be issued.
Susan Thixton
September 14, 2016 at 5:29 pm
I can assure you that it is standard procedure to store the animal carcasses outside. The USDA – who regulates rendering facilities encourages them to hold raw material under refrigeration. But that is not done with dead animal carcasses. Plus – consumers are given no warning on the label to a pet food containing these types of ingredients (which are illegal per federal law).
Reader
September 14, 2016 at 4:59 pm
From DAR-PRO about stabilizing animal fat …they use Ethoxyquin
Article 5. the text wouldn’t copy but the link to the White Paper is below:
https://d118ospkkl5uqf.cloudfront.net/DAR_PRO_Ingredients/DAR_PRO_I_Files/Whitepaper__Stabilizers_2013.pdf
Lise
September 14, 2016 at 4:32 pm
I sent a link to this page to the radio station and the newspaper.
Susan Thixton
September 14, 2016 at 4:43 pm
From comments I decided to call the station, explained ‘the bigger story’ and was asked to send them an email with more information. It has been sent. Ball is in their court now.
darlene
September 14, 2016 at 6:07 pm
Great work Susan. Please let us know if the station follows up on the ‘bigger story’ I won’t hold my breath but thanks for your effort!
Lisa
September 16, 2016 at 6:44 pm
I saw this article because I saw a response that Orijen (champion pet foods) posted. I know they have recently moved to a processing facility in KY…are they using this plant?
Susan Thixton
September 16, 2016 at 7:19 pm
Yes – to my knowledge all Champion Pet Foods sold in the US are manufactured at the Kentucky plant. Foods manufactured at the Canadian plant are for Canada and shipped to EU.
Kristi Johnson
September 19, 2016 at 3:41 pm
This is extremely important: If we think things are bad now, here is a statement from a fact sheet put out by the Trump campaign September 15th. It was removed later in the day with no explanation but is being widely discussed:
“The FDA Food Police, which dictate how the federal government expects farmers to produce fruits and vegetables and even dictates the nutritional content of dog food,” the Trump campaign fact sheet complained.
“The rules govern the soil farmers use, farm and food production hygiene, food packaging, food temperatures and even what animals may roam which fields and when,” the fact sheet continued. “It also greatly increased inspections of food ‘facilities,’ and levies new taxes to pay for this inspection overkill.”
“My plan will embrace the truth that people flourish under a minimum government burden,” Trump said on Thursday, arguing that slashing protections and regulations would raise the nation’s economic growth rate to at least 3.5 percent.
Susan Thixton
September 19, 2016 at 3:48 pm
I have a post coming about this – non-partisan post. The short story is that right now FDA does not enforce existing law with pet food. And nobody – for decades – does anything about it. They all look the other way.
Reader
September 19, 2016 at 4:56 pm
Certainly acknowledged is that this isn’t a political forum. But I would worry that one side is already a little too beholding to corporate interests. If the other side gets in instead, hopefully there would be an analysis of FDA’s relative uselessness (meaning a waste of money). Then some revamping “might” take place. Either way, decentralized government can have it’s advantages. I’d like to see the States become truly accountable for their own regulations based on regional requirements. Voters would then (theoretically) have more leverage concerning local authority and accountability. At least concerning pet food what currently exists, just isn’t working in the name of PF Advocacy interests!
Jessie Frederiksen
September 19, 2016 at 6:14 pm
OMGi absolutely love the pet food challenge!!! Kudos on that!!