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The Strange and Unusual of California Pet Food Law

Almost every state has laws specific to pet food, but California has some…interesting (downright absurd) laws. Here are some of the strange and unusual pet food laws in California.

Almost every state has laws specific to pet food, but California has some…interesting (downright absurd) laws. Here are some of the strange and unusual pet food laws in California.

Pet food is (supposed to be) regulated by federal law and state law. Federal law is the ultimate authority, but each state has their own laws specific to pet food/animal feed. Although the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) formed more than 100 years ago with the goal of consistency of state feed law, every state is a little different.

California has some unique and interesting pet food law.  Under Article 16 Processed Pet Food Regulations we find…

19025. Labeling and Restrictions.

(d) No product or any of its wrappers, packaging or other containers shall bear any false or misleading marking, label or other labeling, and no statement, word, picture, design, or device which gives a false indication of origin, quality or flavor.

This law is a bit different than federal law or AAFCO regulation, it is more specific. ‘No pet food packaging shall bear a picture which gives a false indication of quality.’ But in every grocery, Big Box retail, and Big Box pet store in California are pet foods with labels like this…

 

Right there – and right on many pet food labels – are indeed pictures that give a “false indication of quality”. Misleading consumers. Having a very specific law does California pet food consumers no good…when the law is not enforced.

Another law in California under the same category (Labeling and Restrictions) is…(bold added)…

(f) A processed pet food shall not be labeled a specific flavor unless a sufficient amount of that ingredient is used to impart such characteristic flavor and/or odor to the finished product which is detectable by a recognized test method, or is one the presence of which provides a characteristic distinguishable by the pet.

California law explicitly states that a pet food shall not be labeled as a specific flavor unless it provides “a characteristic distinguishable by the pet.” Interesting. No…actually it is absurd. Perhaps law makers in California over-indulged in adult beverages the day this law was written. Or perhaps California lawmakers wanted to help promote other California businesses – such as the California Psychic Network (pet owners could consult with psychics to determine if their pet really did taste chicken in that chicken flavored pet food).

Under the category of 19030. Manufacturing Requirements, California pet food law states…

(b) All stomachs, intestines, and/or other such by-products, which are used in the manufacture of processed pet food, shall be thoroughly washed and inspected for fecal or foreign contamination.

So, per California law, by-products that include animal intestines or animal stomachs have to be “thoroughly washed” and “inspected for fecal or foreign contamination”. But…the law stops short of requiring that animal intestines or animal stomachs be completely free from fecal or foreign contamination. Just wash them and inspect them – that’s it. Nice job California.

And under the category of 19035. Magnet to Remove Ferrous Material, California pet food law states…

(a) All pet food processors are hereby required to install between the cooker and the filling machine a magnetic separator with a holding power of not less than 125 pounds per square inch to remove ferrous material. The magnetic exposure area shall be not less than 6 inches by 10 inches.

The magnet requirement to remove metal objects from pet food ingredients is actually a very common thing. I’ve been told that most pet food manufacturers clean the magnet at least once a day (most often once a shift). Metal object contamination of ingredients is very common in pet food. But again, California law stops short of requiring pet food manufacturers to remove ALL ‘ferrous material’. Just have a magnet, that’s it.

Sad…but true.

 

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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8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. Rick Ketcham

    February 28, 2017 at 2:24 pm

    Thank you Susan for the article, I am going to reprint it an have on display when I sell my food. http://www.ocdoggiedinners.com
    Thank you
    Rick Ketcham
    ocDoggiDinners

  2. landsharkinnc

    February 28, 2017 at 3:12 pm

    But this IS California — the land of peaches and pecans

  3. tinab158

    February 28, 2017 at 3:20 pm

    Believe it or not, I have found small metal pieces in my dogs’ raw food.

    When I contacted the manufacturer and co-op distributor, I was told finding foreign objects in the food was common and they blamed it on the cattle who must have eaten something metal just prior to slaughter. Ya, I quit feeding this food right after that. 🙁

    Trust no one when they stand to benefit financially.

  4. Linda Saslow

    February 28, 2017 at 3:23 pm

    Thank you for this! Shocking, but not surprising….

  5. T Allen

    February 28, 2017 at 4:28 pm

    That magnet is not supposed to attract/remove metal. It sounds an alarm so the line can be stopped and product removed to be re-scanned and find the problem. In pet food? Yeah right.

  6. Mary Sue

    February 28, 2017 at 9:09 pm

    Regarding magnets and ferrous materials, I recently saw a program in which a vet was putting magnets in the stomachs of Yaks that were being raised domestically. Every Yak of a certain age gets one. Apparently Yaks eat nails and such that might be lying around. The magnet just stays there and supposedly keeps the nails or whatever from perforating the stomach and entering the intestines.

  7. Peter

    March 1, 2017 at 6:18 am

    Rachel Ray’s packaging, such as you have illustrated above, is one of the most glaring examples of the mis-use of imagery. We must examine the societal phenomena, of why consumers do not object to this type of deception.

  8. Robin

    October 28, 2018 at 4:42 pm

    I found a staple recently on my Progresso Soup. I guess the dont have to use magnets huh?

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