We sent the veterinary nutrition organization the most important issues to pet food quality for their opinion. Will they respond or ignore us?
Pet Nutrition Alliance is a veterinary organization that provides pet food “resources to veterinary healthcare teams.”
One of the “resources” Pet Nutrition Alliance provides to veterinarians is their new “Dare to Ask…about your pet’s food. We did!” On the overview page of the “Dare to Ask…” resource is the explanation to why the organization asked about pet food:
Making Informed Pet Food Decisions
The veterinary healthcare team plays a vital role in helping pet owners make informed decisions about their pets’ food. While most owners base this decision on the ingredient list, this does not provide enough information about the quality of the food or the nutritional composition of the diet.
Pet Nutrition Alliance is right, the ingredient list does not provide enough information about the quality of the pet food. The reason a pet food ingredient list doesn’t provide quality or nutritional information is because pet food ingredients are allowed by regulatory authorities to be dramatically variable in quality (from edible to condemned) with no warning or disclosure on the pet food label.
But, the organization doesn’t explain this regulatory nightmare of pet food to veterinarians (it’s not even mentioned on their website). Instead, Pet Nutrition Alliance provides veterinarians quality of pet food information based on two main questions they asked pet food manufacturers:
- Does the pet food own its manufacturing facility or is a co-packer used?
- Is a Nutrition Expert used in the formulation of the pet food – either consulted or full-time employee?
While these are valid questions to ask a pet food manufacturer, they provide absolutely no information about “the quality of the food“ – the proposed purpose of the Pet Nutrition Alliance Dare to Ask resource.
So, we dared to ask Pet Nutrition Alliance the following questions…(sent 6/1/2019 via the website Contact Us form – confirmation of receipt provided)…
How does Pet Nutrition Alliance feel about feed grade pet food ingredients, specifically the use of (allowed by FDA) diseased animal material and material sourced from non-slaughtered animals? Would condemned animal material such as this be considered by your organization inferior nutrition?
If yes (PNA considers diseased and non-slaughtered animal material as inferior nutrition), what efforts has PNA taken to educate veterinarians and pet owners about such inferior nutrition? Has your organization taken any steps asking regulatory authorities to stop allowing their use?
If no (PNA considers diseased and non-slaughtered animal material as suitable nutrition), what scientific foundation is behind your belief these types of ingredients are suitable for use in pet food?
Should Pet Nutritional Alliance provide a response, it will be posted in its entirety.
Confirmed by FDA, these ingredients ARE in pet food.
As recent as 4/30/2019 the FDA publicly stated (see FDA Final Response):
“We do not believe that the use of diseased animals or animals that died otherwise than by slaughter to make animal food poses a safety concern and we intend to continue to exercise enforcement discretion where appropriate.”
But…and this is significant…the FDA has no science to prove these ingredients are safe. TruthaboutPetFood.com dared to ask FDA in 2016 for the scientific evidence proving pet food ingredients sourced from “diseased animals or animals that died otherwise than by slaughter” are safe for pets to consume. A Freedom of Information request for this evidence of safety was sent to FDA asking:
I am requesting the CVM data that these Compliance Policies were based on – specifically the data that proves rendered diseased or non-slaughtered animals is not a risk to pets. It is assumed CVM has science to prove diseased and/or non-slaughtered are of no risk to pets.
The FDA responded with:
In other words…
…the FDA has NO scientific evidence these illegal waste ingredients of pet food allowed by the agency are safe.
It’s very simple…quality nutrition begins with quality ingredients. And every veterinary organization should be loudly speaking up for quality of ingredients as the foundation of quality nutrition. As well, every veterinary organization should be loudly speaking against FDA’s allowance of waste recycled into pet food with no warning or disclosure to pet owners AND veterinarians.
To date, veterinary organizations have remained silent on these significant pet food issues.
For pet owners that wish to provide their pet with quality nutrition, the priority questions to ask your pet food manufacturer is:
Are all animal protein ingredients USDA inspected and passed? Are all ingredients and supplements human edible?
Absolutely “Dare to Ask about your Pet’s Food“, but ask questions that will give you information on the true quality of your pet food (and encourage your veterinarian to ask too). If you’d like to know if the pet food is manufactured in company owned facilities or who formulated the pet food – certainly ask those questions too. The more information pet owners and veterinarians have, the better.
To read about the Pet Nutrition Alliance survey, view results, and read their protocols of the Dare to Ask about your Pet’s Food resource, Click Here (multiple tabs at top right of page to click).
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
Become a member of our pet food consumer Association. Association for Truth in Pet Food is a a stakeholder organization representing the voice of pet food consumers at AAFCO and with FDA. Your membership helps representatives attend meetings and voice consumer concerns with regulatory authorities. Click Here to learn more.
Find Healthy Pet Foods in Your Area Click Here
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 5,000 cat foods, dog foods,
and pet treats. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Click Here to preview Petsumer Report. www.PetsumerReport.com
The 2019 List
Susan’s List of trusted pet foods. Click Here to learn more.
Denise Harmon
June 3, 2019 at 10:45 am
Thank you for posing these important questions
Shane Bancroft
June 3, 2019 at 11:53 am
Awesome article, Susan. Thank you for everything that you do.
Dianne & Pets
June 3, 2019 at 3:36 pm
I would also like to know what testing do they actually do on the ingredients they receive from their suppliers? What efforts do they make to find hot spots in their mixing? How often do they stop the line and do a thorough cleaning?
Cannoliamo
June 3, 2019 at 4:44 pm
A “survey” question I would like to have answered is “What specific pet foods do FDA / CVM employees feed to their pets and is the information they access and use for their purchases the same AAFCO label information given to the general public? Are there any nutritional factors or concerns they have with respect to these commercial diets? If so, what are they? Do their pets have the same risk factors as ours for food-borne illnesses or dietary deficiencies? Are they as reliant as the rest of us are on veterinary advice and recommendations for their pet’s diets? Have they received any unsatisfactory or inappropriate advice from their vets? Can they access any manufacturer test results that aren’t available to the general public? Is there any data discrepancy between the health of their pets and those of the general public?”
What I don’t understand is if (as a multiple pet owner) I have so many unanswered questions and unresolved concerns about the quality of the pet food I purchase and feed to my pets, why don’t they have the same concerns about their own pets and why does their agency seem so complacent and unconcerned about their pets’ dietary health and welfare?
Susan Thixton
June 3, 2019 at 9:50 pm
At an AAFCO meeting several years ago, during a private meeting with FDA and a few pet owners – I asked one of the FDA representatives what they feed their pets. He wouldn’t name a brand, but joked that he has access to information to help him decide. We didn’t find it humorous.
~Pet Owner~
June 3, 2019 at 9:17 pm
As have mentioned many times before, I think a key step in getting things to change, driven by PF consumer demand … is educating Vets. And your article makes a very important step towards doing that. It’s going to take time, but hopefully TAPF can keep hammering away on this subject!
Mary Straus
June 4, 2019 at 6:33 pm
Pet Nutrition Aliance is a front for certain big pet food companies. Even the rest of the industry is questioning them:
Zachary Chernik
June 5, 2019 at 7:18 pm
Mary….you are so right
Pet Nutrition Alliance
Member Organizations and Founding Educational Sponsors
Executive Board
Lisa Freeman, DVM, PhD, DACVN (ACVN), President (representing the American College of Veterinary Nutrition)
Julie Churchill, DVM, PhD, DACVN, President Elect (representing the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition)
Douglas G. Aspros, DVM (AVMA), Past President (representing the American Veterinary Medical Association)
Kara Burns, MS, MEd, LVT, VTS (Nutrition) (AVNT), Secretary/Treasurer (representing the Academy of Veterinary Nutrition Technicians)
Board Members
Jim Berry, DVM (representing the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association)
Colin Burrows, BVetMed, PhD, DACVIM (representing the World Small Animal Veterinary Assocaiton)
Laura Eirmann, DVM, ACVN (representing Nestlé Purina – non-voting)
Ralph Johnson (representing Veterinary Medical Association Executives)
Becky Mullis, DVM, DACVN (representing Hills Pet Nutrition – non-voting)
************************ video by HILLS Against RAW and for GRAIN ************************************
https://hillsglobalsymposium.com/nutritional-myths-nutrition-is-our-first-ingredient-dr-becky-mullis/
Pam Nichols, DVM (representing American Animal Hospital Association)
Heather Prendergast, RVT, CVPM, SPHR (representing National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America)
Peter R. Scott, CAE, APR, MBA | PNA Executive Director
PNA Educational Tools Committee
Heather Prendergast, RVT, CVPM, SPHR; Chair
Kara Burns, MS, MEd, LVT, VTS (Nutrition)
Ed Carlson, CVT, VTS (Nutrition)
Julie Churchill, DVM, PhD, DACVN
Laura Eirmann, DVM, DACVN
Tabitha Hookey, DVM
Lily Johnson, DVM, DACVN
Tamberlyn Moyers, LVMT, VTS (Nutrition)
Maryanne Murphy, DVM, DACVN
Tammy Owens, DVM, DACVN
Sally Perea, DVM, MS, DACVN
Allison Wara, DVM, DACVM
Cheryl Wilson
July 4, 2019 at 7:36 pm
The report can no longer be accessed. Did anyone download it onto their computer. I am hearing Pet Alliance’s certificate expired yesterday -they haven’t renewed it yet.
Eric Weisman
August 12, 2019 at 1:00 am
Thank you for exposing Animal Slaughter Chemical Drug Industry secrets. I trained and graduated as a human physician. After starting my own healthcare practice, I began started rescuing Cats and Dogs. My rescued pets were getting sick and dying from eating premium meat based pet foods according to my interpretation of physical findings, hematology reports and x-rays I was reviewing with the vets I hired. For this main reason, I invented and pioneered plant protein – plant oil pet foods after visiting a number of rendering and pet food operations during the mid to late 1980’s. Starting with Darwin Brightsman, PhD, Animal Nutritionist and then several others, Evolution developed what many of our customers and distributors believe to be a number of the Worlds’ safest, cleanest and by far the kindest pet foods. We make single main ingredient Non GMO Oatmeal based Cat – Dog foods, Non GMO Multiple Ingredient Evolution Max Life, and Evolution Ultra Life Organic Cat- Dog Foods as well as canned moist plant protein Cat – Dog Foods. After seeing the horrors of the concentration camp farms and all the filth, stench and terror that poor Farm Animals must endure before they are killed I sopped eating meat poultry fish dairy and eggs myself and became vegan myself. I still urn a state authorized and registered human practice as well as a supplement compound – practice for internal disorders in Cats, Dogs and other Non Humans.