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Some New Mystery Ingredients in Pet Food

They aren’t AAFCO defined, we don’t know if they are safe or what some of these ingredients will be labeled as on a pet food.

They aren’t AAFCO defined, we don’t know if they are safe or what some of these ingredients will be labeled as on a pet food.

Crickets

There’s a new pet food on the market that includes “cricket” as the protein source. The manufacturer lists simply “cricket” on the pet food label, but refers to it as “cricket protein powder” in a description.

What is it? There’s no legal definition of the ingredient ‘cricket’ in pet food, AAFCO has not defined the ingredient or approved its use in pet food. In fact, in 2017 we brought this to FDA and AAFCO’s attention during an AAFCO Ingredient Definitions Committee meeting. From the meeting minutes: “Susan Thixton brought up cricket meal as another thing that is being used in pet food. What are Regulators going to do–let it go? Jan Jarman (former State Department of Agriculture representative) stated that no, regulators will not approve cricket meal. Charlotte Conway (FDA representative) talked with “cricket ranchers” to help them understand that cricket meal needs to be defined. Hopefully companies/people will do the right thing.

But…as it ends up…they did let it go – cricket ranchers and pet food manufacturers didn’t do the right thing. The pet food Jiminy’s Cricket Crave Dog Food sells on Amazon, and in pet stores all across the US. The first ingredient in this dog food is “cricket” – an ingredient that is not defined by regulatory authorities, and no one has stopped it from selling to pet owners.

Is it safe? Do crickets provide the proper nutrition for dogs? We don’t know.

Why hasn’t regulatory authorities stopped this pet food from sale? We don’t know that either.

Extracted protein from whole stillage

Per an industry trade publication, we’ve learned of another new and undefined ingredient that is currently being sold to pet food manufacturers. “Flint Hills Resources, an ethanol ingredient supplier based in Wichita, Kan., announced Oct. 27 it has begun shipping its NexPro® protein ingredient to pet food and animal feed manufacturers globally. NexPro is an extracted protein from whole stillage, a co-product of ethanol manufacturing.”

The company goes on to explain “Typically, whole stillage is processed into distillers corn oil and distillers grains for use in animal feed, the supplier explained. Using MSC technology, Flint Hills Resources is now able to extract and refine whole stillage to offer a protein ingredient for animal food products.”

In other words, ingredients that are currently AAFCO defined and used in animal feeds/pet foods are processed in a different manner to produce a different ingredient. But again, even though this company has already shipped the ingredient to pet food manufacturers, it’s not defined by AAFCO.

Is it safe? We don’t know. Are the methods used to extract and refine the distillers grains safe for pets? We don’t know. We don’t even know what the name of this ingredient will be on the pet food label, everything about it is a mystery (even though its being sold to pet food now).

Why hasn’t regulatory authorities stopped this ingredient from being sold to pet food?

Miscanthus grass

A trade publication also tells us that “Both Miscanthus grass and powdered cellulose can be incorporated in pet food products as a source of fiber.” However, Miscanthus grass is not defined by AAFCO either – just like the other ingredients above.

Is Miscanthus grass safe for pets? We don’t know. And we don’t know what this ingredient will be named on a pet food label.

Why isn’t regulatory authorities – FDA and each State Department of Agriculture – stopping these ingredients from sale to pet food until they go through the AAFCO process as all other pet food ingredients are required to? In 2020 and 2019 alone, more than $13 million dollars of tax payer money was sent to States (from FDA) for consistent enforcement of pet food regulations that require ingredient definitions. (To validate the $13 million dollars, visit https://taggs.hhs.gov/SearchAward, enter Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards in the Keyword Search, add years 2020 and 2019 to Fiscal Years Issue Date).

What are pet owners getting for their $13 million tax dollars? Undefined – who knows what they are – ingredients.

Pet owners are encouraged to write the FDA and their State Department of Agriculture to ask why these ingredients are being sold to pet food manufacturers without being legally defined by AAFCO. Email the FDA at: AskCVM@fda.hhs.gov. To find your State Department of Agriculture representatives, Click Here.

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food

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5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. T Allen

    November 4, 2020 at 3:08 pm

    Posted questions on Amazon about crickets. Will see if they answer or we get…

  2. Teresa Johnson

    November 4, 2020 at 4:13 pm

    Hmmm, ethanol “waste” is how I would define stillage. As for the grass/fiber, sounds too risky.
    Now crickets ARE something I’m a bit more familiar with as my pets are hedgehogs, insectivores. Many hedgehog caregivers have fed crickets as treats in several forms – live, freeze dried and canned. Yes, ZooMed produces a variety of canned insects humorously labeled “Can O’ Crickets”, “Can O’ Mealies” (mealworms), and evening “Can O’ Slugs”. They target pet parents of insect eaters such as reptiles, hedgehogs and such who wasn’t to feed a more “natural” diet but can’t quite handle feeding live insects. Feedback I’ve gotten from friends who have tried these canned insects was less than appetizing – They smell “nasty”. Unused portions need to be refrigerated and even then have started growing mold within three days. Yummy!
    Seems most hedgies will pass on freeze dried insects and, if interested at all, prefer live. There have also been reports of intestinal issues, included impacted guts, in some hedgies eating freeze dried mealies. The fiber doesn’t move through the digestion process in a healthy way 🙁
    There has been talk in recent years to produce a cricket “flour” for human consumption. Not being widely received 😝
    I would tend to be very leary and avoid pet food with crickets as the protein source until more disclosure of how they are raised and fed, how they are processed, and just how nutritious they actually are.

  3. Tina

    November 4, 2020 at 4:51 pm

    Are undefined ingredients related to the “GRAS” classification at all Susan? (generally regarded as safe) Do you have a perspective on GRAS ingredients in pet (or human) food Susan? Thanks

    • Susan Thixton

      November 4, 2020 at 5:07 pm

      Some GRAS ingredients might be undefined by AAFCO, but some are defined by AAFCO. I tried to find crickets in FDA’s GRAS listings and couldn’t find it. The other two ingredients – we don’t have their ingredient name so I didn’t know what to search for. I’m on the fence with GRAS – mainly because the only verification required of ingredient safety is from the manufacturer. No regulatory authority validates the safety data submitted.

  4. Sherrie Ashenbremer

    November 12, 2020 at 4:54 pm

    Do you know what foods used “crickets”? I feed my dogs Evermore Pet Food, (it’s organic and human food grade) AND it’s on your list every year for the past few years. I can’t imagine they would have crap like that in their food

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