Right from a document on the FDA website – confirmation that meat from dead, dying, diseased or disabled animals (4-D) are used in pet food. It is a violation of law that no regulatory authority seems to care about. And no pet food consumer is told about (which pet foods use 4-D meats).
To prevent the spread of Mad Cow Disease, the U.S. government developed law that restricts the use of certain risk materials from being fed to cattle and other animals. Back when these laws were being implemented, FDA issued guidance documents to animal rendering facilities and slaughter facilities. Dr. Jean Hofve found one of these FDA documents titled “Questions and Answers BSE Feed Regulation” and forwarded to me.
The document is set up like a Frequently Asked Questions section for renderers. We can assume that just like FAQ sections on any website, the FDA themselves wrote each question and each response based on what they believed industry would need further explanation on. Pet food consumers concern is Question 35…(bold added)
“Q35. In addition to providing rendered, non-prohibited product for feeding to ruminants, my firm grinds 4-D meat (meat from dead, dying, diseased or disabled animals) primarily for pet food markets. The 4-D meat is usually ground and frozen but not heat processed. What are the clean-out guidelines fro processing these products?”
The FDA’s response to Q35 in this document doesn’t matter. What matters is that 4-D meat in ANY food is a violation of federal law and no federal authority seems to care.
The federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act defines food as: Title 21, Code 321 Definitions; generally “(f) The term “food” means (1) articles used for food or drink for man or other animals.”
And the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act defines an adulterated food as: Title 21, Code 342 “(5) 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”.
4-D animals are not slaughtered. They are animals found dead in the field, feed lot, poultry barn. They are diseased or disabled animals that are euthanized. 4-D animals are a 100% without a doubt violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to be included in any food including pet food.
The inclusion of 4-D meat in pet food is openly discussed and accepted in regulatory circles, but it is NEVER disclosed to the consumer. Never will a pet food consumer find on the pet food or treat label “Ingredients: meat sourced from diseased or disabled animals that were rejected for use in human food.”
The regulatory authorities know 4-D meats are used in pet foods, they probably even know which foods and treats include 4-D meats. And the manufacturers and ingredient suppliers know. But the consumer does not.
Consumers are sold through what AAFCO refers to as “romance copy” – otherwise known as marketing. Pet food romances the money out of our wallets through cute commercials and beautiful images of steak and roasted or grilled chicken on the label. But what is inside that bag or can of pet food displaying images of grilled chicken or choice steaks could be 4-D meat – and no one is going to tell you if it is or isn’t 4-D.
It’s wrong. It’s illegal. Companies are making millions of dollars in profits selling trusting pet food consumers pet food made with illegal 4-D meats and other wastes no animal should consume.
FDA has told me for years, the compliance policies that allow loopholes to federal law for pet foods to use 4-D meats were established because they have no scientific evidence 4-D meats are harmful to pets (no kidding – I’ve been told this many times).
My question to authorities…if regulatory authorities feel so strongly that 4-D meats do not harm any pet…then why not tell the consumer which pet foods or treats contain 4-D meats?
The industry and regulatory authorities wonders why there is such a lack of trust and confidence from consumers. They blame it on us ‘pet food bloggers’ – those trouble makers. The real reason is the industry as a whole doesn’t tell us the truth. The romance is over. Pet food consumers deserve to know what they are buying.
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
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Carla
June 12, 2014 at 2:04 pm
There should be a separate agency for pet food from FDA that regulates “feed,” and there should be a separate agency from FDA that “inspects” puppy mills, but everyone always screams about less government and how inept government is. But you can’t trust industry to regulate itself, greed is too powerful a motivator.
dc
June 15, 2014 at 9:11 pm
Carla-AAFCO determines what labeling and ingredients should be in pet food. Dog food companies sue each other when one ignores label specs. The problem is they pay fines or settle. USDA regulates commercial dog breeders but there are also state and humane agencies that do so as well, specifically to investigate animal cruelty. The problem is that passing inspection from the Feds means you get a license. So what? Educating the buyer is the only hope.
Wolf
June 12, 2014 at 2:43 pm
did the answer to q35 in any way reference that this practice was illegal?
Susan Thixton
June 12, 2014 at 4:13 pm
Nope – it didn’t. ‘They’ don’t consider it illegal. They don’t read the laws often enough I guess.
Donna Ploss
June 12, 2014 at 4:02 pm
Wish I could get my hands on the list of cat foods with 4D meats.
Susan Thixton
June 12, 2014 at 4:14 pm
We all deserve to know – and not only cat foods – dog and cat foods and treats too.
Ellie
June 12, 2014 at 9:27 pm
It is sad that no one will ever know which companies use these 4D “meats.” Even sadder that most consumers are totally unaware and never even stop to consider why they are feeding their pets some dry brown substance that can sit on a shelf for months at a time.
Most Americans pour themselves a bowl of highly processed breakfast cereal every morning that in no way can be considered actual food and then just as blissfully pour their pets a bowl of an even worse form of manufactured food replacement. Then they will read some news item about the monumental cost of healthcare in this country, never considering why the once most affluent country in the world is also the most diseased.
The human and pet food industries in league with the FDA have deceived the public for decades and now it is acceptable to slowly poison yourself and your pet’s to death with chemicals, genetically engineered fruits, vegetables, grains, bad meat, and foods so far removed from their original nutritious state that they may as well be eating cardboard! It is so engrained in the American mind set that no one even considers it strange to consume items full of sugar and ingredients that they cannot identify. Any nutritionist will tell you synthetic vitamins cannot replace the true nutrition contained in healthy foods but very few take any heed to such truths for themselves or their pets.
Peter
June 12, 2014 at 9:51 pm
This site is not a “blog,” and the term “pet food blogger(s)” is a dismissive and derogatory term, hurled by those with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.
The problem for pet food manufacturers is that consumers really would shy away, from a cat or dog food labeled “slaughter house waste flavor.” Revealing the truth is a real problem for the industry. Your question as to why, since the FDA asserts that there is no research demonstrating the potential harm in using these materials, what is preventing revealing the companies that use them, is an important one.
Irene Lester
June 13, 2014 at 10:02 am
I believe in providing all information, lest to give the impression that some of the information might contradict the argument.
The FDA’s answer to question 35 IS important in this discussion. Here it is :
“35. Q: Can a renderer accept an annual statement of age (such as an affidavit) from a feedlot certifying that dead stock coming from their facility are all under 30 months of age?
A: Nothing in the rule prevents this type of documentation if it meets the requirements in 589.2001(c)(3)(i) (A) or (B).”
Reference documents (589.2001) can be found here: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/GuidanceComplianceEnforcement/GuidanceforIndustry/ucm052449.pdf
mc
January 18, 2019 at 11:12 am
Agreed. Thanks for sharing this, Irene.
Irene Lester
June 13, 2014 at 11:28 am
Further reading of the FAQ revealed another interesting FDA statement:
40. Q: Can renderers that harvest skeletal muscle and hides from dead cattle (4-D operations) continue to remove skeletal muscle from cattle carcasses to supply to mink farms and/or greyhound kennels?
A: Yes. Skeletal muscle contains no CMPAF and therefore could be removed from the carcass and used in feed for non-ruminant animals, INCLUDING FOOD FOR PETS or mink. However, under the rule 4-D operations meet the definition of a renderer and are therefore required to ensure that CMPAF from the remainder of the carcass is properly excluded from animal feed. Such operations are also required to have written procedures in place describing the processes they use to comply with the rule.
In other words, as long as it is skeletal muscle, any CATTLE MATERIAL PROHIBITED IN ANIMAL FEED (this includes 4D animals) can be incorporated in pet food.
terri janson
June 13, 2014 at 12:50 pm
This makes me SO mad!! I would love to shove some of this food down their throats (everyday) and see just how long “they” survive.
karyn zoldan
June 13, 2014 at 7:08 pm
Racing greyhounds are regularly fed RAW 4-D meat mixed with a little charcoal. It doesn’t seem to matter whether or not the FDA is against it. The greyhound racing industry has gotten away with murder for many years. Why stop now?
Sharon Buchanan
July 9, 2014 at 9:22 pm
Susan, I began my search over a year ago for the best kibble I could find to feed a new pup right here on your blog. I knew you preferred raw but I also knew that just wasn’t going to work. I paid for your 2013 list of foods as well as subscribed to your ingredient list. I switched my cats to a better kibble, found a good kibble for the new pup and then a better one and helped my husband get our older dog on the best kibble he could find at the commissary in Korea.
In January of this year, I couldn’t take any more of the reports on kibble and switched the dog to raw. Since the four month old Maine Coon was stealing food from the dog, I switched him over as well. The four older cats are now eating cooked meals with the idea of transitioning them. Our older dog died from thyroid cancer in January and my husband adopted two more, one with heartworms. We immediately switched them to raw as well.
I foster kittens, all of whom I collect from our county lockup at 4-8 weeks of age. They are all fed raw and I use it as an opportunity to teach adopting parents about the dangers of kibble. I can’t stop them from feeding it, but I can certainly warn them and let them know their kitten has been given the best start possible. I share your website with each and every one of them.
So, I just wanted to say, Thanks! Articles like this are exactly why I finally made the switch to raw. I continue to share articles like this on Facebook so my family and friends will stop looking at me like I’m nuts – and hopefully, they’ll reconsider the junk they feed their dogs and cats.
Susan Thixton
July 9, 2014 at 9:42 pm
What a great story Sharon – thank you for sharing. One thing…for me, I don’t have a preference for raw – I have a preference for lightly processed.