We educate consumers to risk ingredients, so pet food works out a plan…they just won’t list all those risk ingredients on the pet food label.
Recently I received a call from an employee of a pet food manufacturing plant that was quite concerned at the company’s new initiative. This pet food company has decided to NOT list all ingredients used to make the pet food on the label even though pet food regulations require them to do so. I was told the “recipe will remain the same” but the pet food label – the list of ingredients – will be different. In other words, the pet food will tell consumers their pet food is ‘New and Improved’ – but actually it won’t be any different than in the past.
I do not have permission to share the pet food name, this employee was concerned over losing their job – ramifications for sharing what they discovered about the company.
I was not told what ingredients have/will ‘magically disappear’ on the pet food label. All I was told was that this pet food plans to STILL use the same ingredients they always have…their plan is to NOT list them on the label. They are going to willingly deceive consumers and regulatory authorities.
To their credit, this is close to a perfect crime. FDA or State inspections happen once every ten years or so. Who’s going to know? Even with inspection, authorities give pet food manufacturers advance notice of inspection (plenty of time to cover their tracks). As well, it is doubtful that authorities would perform a detailed inspection auditing all ingredients received comparing to products sold. The chances of getting caught…slim.
But it’s not a perfect crime…
Using the example of the lawsuit Purina brought against Blue Buffalo – Blue Buffalo advertised their pet foods contained no by-products. Purina tested Blue Buffalo pet foods and discovered Blue Buffalo did indeed contain by-products. How did Purina know to test a competitor’s food to see if they were using the quality of ingredients they were claiming to use? How did Purina know that some pet foods claim they use one ingredient but actually use another? My guess is that this is a common trick of the trade.
And then there’s the numerous studies published over the past few years proving that many pet foods claim to use one ingredient when they actually are using something different. (Dr. Jean Hofve has highlighted some of these studies, click here to read).
On the various occasions when a pet food employee finds me, reports an issue like this to me – I encourage them to report the issue to FDA or their State. The only people with the power to stop consumers from being deceived is FDA and State Department of Agriculture. I can tell you with absolute certainty, when these individuals have had the courage to go to authorities, not one time did the FDA or State Department of Agriculture do anything about what they were told. I have shared several of these issues privately with FDA and various States, but – not one time did any authority do something. And with Dr. Hofve at the helm, consumer advocates brought this issue to AAFCO’s Enforcement Committee in August of 2015…to date, nothing has been done to properly hold pet food manufacturers accountable.
And now we know with certainty that one manufacturer is openly and deliberately planning on deceiving consumers.
Consumer advocates had a meeting with AAFCO several weeks ago; our complaint was the lack of enforcement (federal and state laws being ignored). The AAFCO representatives told us we should help educate consumers to avoid risk ingredients. How can we successfully educate consumers when regulatory authorities don’t do their job? Consumers are more than willing to help educate other consumers, but we need authorities to enforce laws, and fully investigate every pet food manufacturer. Not once every ten (or so) years, every year. Full inspection, full audits of ingredients.
Unfortunately, there is no method to predict which pet food companies are being honest and which are not. It boils down to trust. Do you trust your pet food manufacturer? Do they respond promptly to your emails? Return your phone calls? Do they answer all of your questions or do they neglect to respond to some?
How does your pet respond to the food? Does your cat or dog turn their nose up to the food sometimes?
All of these questions are significant. You are trusting your pet’s life with a company/pet food product. If something ‘feels’ off about the pet food – listen to your gut. If your pet senses something isn’t right – listen to your pet.
To ‘that pet food’ whose employee called me – you won’t get away with this forever. One of these days…
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 4000 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
Have you read Buyer Beware? Click Here
Cooking for pets made easy, Dinner PAWsible
Find Healthy Pet Foods in Your Area Click Here
Andrea
April 7, 2016 at 2:47 pm
I wonder if it’s Benecrap… afterall, Purina has been losing lots of money on it.
Debi Cohen
April 7, 2016 at 6:51 pm
Too obvious.
Sherrie Ashenbremer
April 7, 2016 at 2:51 pm
That is horrible, I hope companies don’t start that crap, that is just bad, wow how low can you go!
Dianne
April 7, 2016 at 3:04 pm
I guess we will all need to compare new to old labels. If anything says new and improved, read the label carefully.
By the way, there is a new food out, in small cans and quite expensive, that on the label says it is a product of Thailand, produced for some Italian company. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name. it was an odd name. After reading about the honey industry and how China is getting past some tariffs by sending their products to another Asian country and relabeling to make it appear that it comes from a country other than China. Now I would not trust anything from any Asian country.
If you thought pet food/feed was a problem,, look up the honey industry.
Jane Eagle
April 7, 2016 at 4:12 pm
With all that goes on, I no longer trust ANY pet “food” company. I make my own from ingredients that I eat…and I eat mostly organic.
Robin
April 7, 2016 at 3:09 pm
PLEASE SHARE
We had an issue with mold and one of our babies died after eating some and getting ill. 3 sick in total. We haven’t used #FreshPet since and no more illness.
FreshPet has known about a mold problem since at least May of 2015
Here is a link to the youtube video I put up when I discovered the mold.
CEO offered us an expense paid trip to the factory and a Broadway Show and sent coupons for free FreshPet
No word to the public on any of it and apparently, from what we were told per the CEO, there have been hundreds and hundreds of cases and claim release forms on file.
If you or some one you know has found mold in their FreshPet food please contact me. Cristin Severance is investigating it for her segment Consumer Justice for DFW CBS 11 and I can get the info to her.
#FreshPetMadeMe very, very ill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nJfJdtJAoM
Jane Eagle
April 7, 2016 at 4:14 pm
I’m so sorry for your loss. I have heard this about Fresh Pet before 🙁
Sherrie Ashenbremer
April 7, 2016 at 6:58 pm
I’m sorry for you loss too. I see Fresh Pet commercials on TV, how can they do that knowing that pets have died because of their negligence
Linda Galloway
April 7, 2016 at 3:10 pm
I was feeding raw quail meat from blue buffalo meat company, buf my cats refuse it now. It has a strange smell even to me. The company had a fire and the plastic cover may have burned into the meat. The distributor from Dallas ft worth TX area refuses to take it back, although when I bought it,she said it was return guaranteed. I have tried to contact the main company big no one has responded to me. Hence I am out about $80, and on social security incom,that is a lot of money.upsetting that this company has reneged on their spoken word,guarantee. Distributor says there is nothing wrong with it. But when I ask her,why do my cats not eat it, she doesn’t know any answers. Bad business ethics here. Buyer beware!
Regina
May 1, 2016 at 10:19 pm
Linda, Do you mean the Blue Buffalo pet food company that sells kibble, cans and treats? I was not aware they sold raw meat. Is it possible it is a different company than that pet food company? Since a lot of folks here feed raw, it would be good to give the correct company name, so others might be aware and beware.
guest
April 7, 2016 at 3:23 pm
The same trick is done in human processed food. The fda allows processed food corporations to put in dangerous chemical additives without putting it on the ingredient list. Its perfectly legal via fda. Best to eat whole real food so you know what you are eating. Anything goes in human processed food or pet processed food. Corporations are in it only for the big profits regardless if it is human or pet, and put in whatever they want without being required to list it in the ingredients. That is the way it is. The corporations pay off the fda, media, etc, to allow this, and this will always be allowed.
Kristi Clark
April 7, 2016 at 4:15 pm
This is scary and unacceptable (and criminal?)! It’s bad enough when they DO list the ingredients. This week I went to Whole Foods and noticed they are now carrying a brand of dog kibble that I used to use, Organix. One type was an all organic Lamb dry kibble for dogs, even “prepared in an all organic kitchen”! I was about to purchase and flipped the bag over to read the label. Surprise! The 2nd ingredient was “chicken meal”! So much for my (and zillions of pet owners) huge desire to find pet food that we can TRUST to be healthy for our dogs. I would not mind paying much more, if I could TRUST that the pet food I buy is pure and healthy, because as it is, I am paying more anyway having to purchase and cook food for my dogs! Wake up, pet food industry! Remember ethics?
Trouble
April 8, 2016 at 2:54 am
Organix/Castor & Pollux was removed from my list of pet foods that I’d ever even consider recommending to anyone when it was bought out by b Purina – just like Merrick was bought out by them.
So, it’s a good thing you didn’t end up buying it. Lol.
Jane Eagle
April 7, 2016 at 4:16 pm
Sounds like a good one to test in the next consumer analysis. It would just be a coincidence if the whistle blower’s company was one of several.
Anthony Hepton
April 7, 2016 at 6:00 pm
It will be interesting to see when Propylene Glycol in dropped from the Beneful ingredient list.
Andrea
April 7, 2016 at 7:28 pm
If Purina removes the ingredient propylene glycol on their food labels, they might also try to pull a ‘proprietary information’ to hide it even further! A scary thought!
Andrea
April 7, 2016 at 7:29 pm
I meant ‘feed’!
kat
April 8, 2016 at 4:35 pm
propylene glycol is even in our toothpaste!!!! we cant trust ANYONE anymore with our foods, any of our products! when/how is it going to stop – no wonder everyone, and their animals are sick all the time.
its all about MONEY! its a shame we all have to suffer for that evil thing.
Debi Cohen
April 7, 2016 at 6:54 pm
Susan, I hope, like you, that someday these “people” will all pay, c’mon karma where are you?
Peter
April 7, 2016 at 7:11 pm
What about when ALL of the ingredients are missing? Consumers should start to be aware of what is certain to be a trend in pet foods… shrinking net weights. The 5.5 oz of food you are used to will now become only 5 oz. The cans will be the same… so you’ll think nothing is different. Its plainly deceptive. But manufacturers worried about sales will now make this more common. Some consumers will notice a method to obscure this change, food that is more aerated, or “fluffy” in texture, in order to appear as though there is more in the can than there actually is.
Jane
April 8, 2016 at 2:59 am
I’m sure we’ll be on the look out for new and improved versions of foods we might use now.
This is sarcasm, but I’d almost be as well off digging through my neighbor’s trash cans for rotten leftovers to feed my dog and myself considering all the hidden and dangerous ingredients in all our food. I did see and ad on TV for “Beneful NATURAL”. I wonder what crap is in that one….Purina is probably trying to spiff up their image since so many people became aware of how regular Beneful was harming pets. They do know what key words to use in their advertising, but we all know that “natural” is a BS word that has no legal definition. Many “natural” things are nasty and harmful, so I guess it won’t be a lie if they keep adding natural chemicals and cooked 4D meat full of mycotoxins.
Susan Thixton
April 8, 2016 at 8:22 am
In fits of rage over this crazy industry, I have said the same thing (digging through the neighbor’s trash for pet food). Pet food has made an industry of reselling garbage. Many of them don’t do that – but many do. It’s crazy.
Jane Anderson
April 8, 2016 at 3:48 am
Susan, the list you publish each year of dog foods you trust to feed your own dogs, maybe that can have an addition of companies that list all ingredients, at your discretion? This would be separate from your other list. Companies can apply to you to be on your list but if found out then they will be dropped. No announcement, just sent to oblivion. Not everyone can afford superpremium pricey dog food, and it is really disheartening to try to pick the food that will harm pets the least.
Jane Anderson
April 11, 2016 at 4:51 am
Plus, this wouldn’t be a list for just the one thing. Any company wanting to be on this list that shows all ingredients in all their pet foods must also do the following: at the top of the list – how many recalls have they had, and voluntary or not, why recalled. Include feed or human grade (a human grade kitchen would not be using meals). Include records for how much toxins in their food (Diamond got the feds on them when Diamond could not produce any records of testing). And so on. To join this list, any company must agree to pay for testing of a can/bag of their food. Testing to include if the ingredients inside match the label on the can, if any toxins inside, etc. Company must pay for this testing each year, Truth About Pet Food will provide samples off the shelf. True there won’t be many applicants. But those who do apply and pass the requirements would assure customers their food probably won’t harm pets.
Kathryn S
April 8, 2016 at 6:36 am
as much as we appreciate convenience, the only way to truly KNOW what is in ANY finished product is to produce it ourselves. Bake your own breads, make your own pastas, if you can purchase locally grown fruits/veggies from farmers markets and buy ‘Organic’ label when you can; this country survived for many years on our own products – and we can do it again – one family at a time. Now — having said that – I do not make my own bread or pastas, but neither do I purchase a significant amount of pre-assembled food products – we use fresh veggies/fruits/meats/eggs — Just buy the ingredients and you can make nearly anything you can find in a grocery store, and it will taste better, be better for you and there will be less waste ( boxes/cans/bags ).
Kathryn S
April 8, 2016 at 6:37 am
There is no such thing as ‘Truth in Labeling’
Kim
April 8, 2016 at 6:29 pm
To the anonymous whistle blower, thank you for the heads up. It is the beginning. Think about all those that could be harmed from not fully coming forward on this matter. Consider collecting data, pics if possible for about 30 days, and during that time finding a new place to work. I hope you can, because it sounds like you have a good moral compass and over time working for a company like that will take it toll on your peace of mind. After you find a job, quit and pull the plug on their issues. None of us can act on this unless we know the who the company is. Maybe let Purina know… LOL they seem to get more results then the FDA, unless it is Purina. But I am sure Susan can guide you when you are ready to make this move. Breaking federal regulations and laws is not a company anyone should knowingly work for if you have a normal conscience.
Setting that aside I would imagine this happens more then we like, but those that can, and when they can, should make them accountable so we can at least try to make them accountable. You can also use a third party to assist you and keep your name out of it. I hope you will find a way to do this all the way. It is a tough position to be in for sure. Seriously… just ask the doctor from the CDC on autism/vaccine fraud issue and the movie Vaxxed that just got censored so the public cannot see it. We all need to help protect each other from Big Corp. They are ruthless and don’t care about us or our pets. That is why people like Susan are so important for us all. She helps guide, mentor, and inform us so we can make better decisions and help when we can.
I hope the company will be revealed at some point soon.
Cheryl
April 8, 2016 at 7:36 pm
Well, maybe they have a point. Reading labels is what drove me to make my own (properly supplemented) cat food. I couldn’t find anything that didn’t have a least one questionable ingredient in it. So, as consumers become more educated, they have to resort to deceit and lies to keep sales up. How distressing that they can get away with that! A few years ago I had some issues with Fancy Feast Classics and reported it to both the FDA and Purina. Never heard anything from the FDA, and Purina offered up coupons so I could buy more of the food that was making my 3 cats sick. Ugh!
foodguy
April 11, 2016 at 11:00 am
Regardless if you have permission to say the name of the company, don’t you have an obligation to your readers to divulge what company this is, irregardless of the fact that said employee might lose his/her job? They gave you information they were not allowed to give- they made their decision to try and make a difference, and by NOT saying who the company is you are negating their efforts.
the company should be held accountable. I understand it puts you in a position where future whistle blowers may not confide in you, but why be a whistle blower if you aren’t alerting anyone about anyone specific to begin with?
Susan Thixton
April 11, 2016 at 11:07 am
While I understand your frustration, I still can’t release the name of the company. Unless a whistle blower gives me evidence – the company would sue me. I don’t like keeping their secrets. Not one bit. Best I can do is learn from whistle blowers and share what I can from them.
foodguy
April 11, 2016 at 11:18 am
Okay I understand now. They gave you information via conversation but not information that can be verified as evidence from the company- and who would ever varify that information as true at the company anyway.
Now I understand YOUR frustration. Keep it up- love the new site.
Regina
May 1, 2016 at 10:31 pm
I’m a petsitter, and one of the folks I petsit for has an older cat that was having some digestive issues, along with other health issues. I’m told that the only food the cat can eat is the Iams Purrfect line. the ingredients listed on the can are sooooo small, I cannot read them. So I looked at the box that the cans came in, and the print was the same tiny size that is on the cans. Really???? this big box with all this room, and you can’t print the ingredients big enough for a person to read???????
There are foods out there that companies just don’t want you to know what is in them. It is getting scarier and scarier out there.
And someone mentioned Benecrap . . . the propylene glycol that was (finally) scaring people away from that stuff. Well, those Kong sticks that go into the Kong toys also have propylene glycol in them. I’ve seen people who give their pets a pretty decent food, but don’t look at the ingredients in the treats, I just don’t understand.
Sherrie Ashenbremer
May 2, 2016 at 10:25 am
Good point. You need to check treats or don’t give a treat. You can always use fresh veggies too, I give my dogs a carrot or banana slices or even apples slices.
Sherrie Ashenbremer
May 2, 2016 at 1:08 pm
I have an off the wall question, my dog has very bad allergies. He is currently seeing three different vets. His regular vet, a chiropractor vet and a dermatologist vet. Anyway, one of the vet’s suggested I switch Bailey from Stella & Chewy’s Rabbit to Zignature. Has anyone heard much about Zignature? I looked it up, it looks good on paper. Any help please. The web pages claim it has really helped dogs with allergies, itchy skin, dry flaky skin, hot to the touch, red, (he is red all over his belly, neck all four paws and his butt)–and he has a stong smell. He is also on Apaquel (again) he has been on steroids , and a couple other pills along with steroid drops for his ears. Thank you, any thing do help this poor little dog