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Pet Food Regulations

Your Comments to FDA are Needed

If you want law to be enforced in pet food, your comments are needed.

If you want law to be enforced in pet food, your comments are needed.

Background: In October of 2016, we (Association for Truth in Pet Food) filed an official request with FDA (Citizen Petition) asking the Agency to fully revoke their allowed use of pet food ingredients sourced from “diseased animals and animals that have died otherwise than by slaughter“. This material is officially a violation of federal law in human or animal food – the very laws FDA is supposed to enforce. But FDA allows this waste to be dumped into pet food anyway. Click Here to read the Citizen Petition.

Six months after we filed our Citizen Petition, we filed an Addendum with FDA asking the Agency to establish a feed/food standard of identity (label name) for all pet products. Because most pet foods are not food, they are feed (the same as cattle feed and chicken feed but for cats and dogs), we asked the FDA to require pet products to be termed/labeled with their proper name; Cat and Dog Feed if the product does not meet food regulations, Cat and Dog Food if the product meets the legal requirements of food. Click Here to read the Addendum.

On April 30, 2019 – 2 1/2 years later – the FDA finally responded with a “No” to everything we asked for. One of the most concerning statements FDA made in their response was: “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…” FDA fully intends to continue to allow pet food to use illegal ingredients with no warning or disclosure to pet owners. Another concerning statement made by FDA was regarding the proper labeling of pet products as feed or food. The FDA response stated they didn’t believe a feed/food labeling of pet products “would help consumers to know specifically how pet food differs from human food.” Actually, it would help significantly; labeling pet products by their true identity – feed or food – is a simple and transparent means to inform pet owners to what they are purchasing. Click Here to read the FDA response.

So…the legal system allows us to ask FDA to reconsider their “No” to enforcing law in pet food. The reconsideration process is to file the official request as a “Petition for Reconsideration” with FDA providing the Agency information on what we believe they did not originally consider in their response. On July 12, 2019 our Petition for Reconsideration was posted on the Regulations.gov website. Click Here to read the Petition for Reconsideration.

To the point of this post – the Petition for Reconsideration is open for your comments. If you believe that law should be enforced in pet food – please comment. If you believe pet owners should know if the product is a pet feed or pet food through clear labeling – please comment. Your comment can be as simple as ‘I fully support the Petition for Reconsideration’ or it can be detailed to why you believe pets should not be consuming ingredients sourced from diseased animals or decomposing animal carcasses and why you believe pet products should be properly labeled as food or feed (disclosing what they really are to all pet owners).

To comment, Click Here. The page that opens up looks like this:

Click on the blue box that says “Comment Now!“. The comment page allows you to type directly on Regulations.gov website or you can write a lengthier comment in a document and upload that to the website.

Note: your comment needs to be specific to only the issues we have asked the FDA to reconsider. Those issues are:

  • We are asking FDA to STOP allowing pet food ingredients to be sourced from diseased animals or animals that have died otherwise than by slaughter (such as euthanized animals or animals that died in the field).
  • We are asking FDA to modify current pet food ingredient definitions requiring all animal protein ingredients to be sourced from slaughtered animals.
  • We are asking FDA to require pet products to be labeled as food (Cat Food, Dog Food) ONLY if they meet the legal requirements of food. We are asking for all other products to be labeled as feed (Cat Feed, Dog Feed) providing pet owners with transparency and honestly labeled products.

This is your opportunity to become part of changing the future of pet food. In FDA’s final decision, the Agency is required to address each comment received. Please (please, please) provide FDA your comment on these issues.

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.

53 Comments

53 Comments

  1. moviezombie

    July 15, 2019 at 12:37 pm

    comment submitted.

    • Tamera

      July 16, 2019 at 3:04 pm

      Please stop harming our pets with diseased animals,& unsafe ingredients, our pets are suffering

    • rachel soffin

      January 4, 2021 at 9:44 pm

      It looks like the comments are off. 832 should be enough to change their minds and do better for our pets. How disgusting to put decayed and sick animals bodies into food. How would they like to eat that food? I will never trust kibbles again and I hate the Mars family including Banfield, VCA and blue pearl. I hope they go out of business during my lifetime. They are incompetent and awful. That petition should be next!!

  2. Catherine Rodgers

    July 15, 2019 at 1:06 pm

    I am appalled that the pet food industry is allowed to cut corners and poison the food supply. I also worry that the human food supply will also be poisoned …….for profit. Please don’t let this happen and keep diseased animals out of the food supply.

  3. eponymousIme

    July 15, 2019 at 1:17 pm

    Done. Submitted my support for the Petition for Reconsideration.

  4. S. Munro

    July 15, 2019 at 1:33 pm

    Susan, I’ve provided my comments based on your guidelines. Thank you for all you do!!

  5. Kathi

    July 15, 2019 at 1:47 pm

    Done!

  6. Ramona ingrassia

    July 15, 2019 at 2:03 pm

    It’s bad enough that unfortunately cats and dogs have to eat meat to survive. We as human beings don’t have to but we choose to. At least if that’s going to be the case, let the animal have a great life until the one bad day they get slaughtered. Why torture them until the very end. It’s all greed. It creates a disease and it creates a lot of havoc in the world of our animals and I’m sure it also happens with factory farming which is supposed to be human grade food. Let the animals live a decent life until they have to give up their life for others to live.
    What the hell is wrong with this world. Greed greed greed! It’s going to be the end of us all ?

  7. LINDA M SASLOW

    July 15, 2019 at 2:05 pm

    done!

  8. Nancy Rudolph

    July 15, 2019 at 2:07 pm

    I just left my comments. Thanks for the ease in which to do so.

  9. Christine Sauer

    July 15, 2019 at 2:49 pm

    Done!

  10. ~Pet Owner~

    July 15, 2019 at 2:50 pm

    People can only move a “mountain” so far. I don’t think (1) and (2) are going to happen. That would be an affront to Industrial Agriculture. A HUGE industry in this country.

    But to the point of (3) which is “the right to be informed” goes to the very core of every consumer’s and citizen’s rights. That’s the foundation our society is built upon. Meaning FREEDOM of information. And right now ONLY the FDA is getting by with denying that right. In conflict with being the paid government officials who’re tasked with ensuring consumer safety!

    I believe the first step to reform is ENSURING definition and identity! Let people make their choices. Let business do their thing. But DO NOT prevent consumers from making informed decisions.

    To reiterate:

    (3) We are asking FDA to require pet products to be LABELED as food (Cat Food, Dog Food) ONLY if they meet the legal requirements of food. We are asking for all other products to be labeled as FEED (Cat Feed, Dog Feed) providing pet owners with transparency and honestly labeled products

    Once the decisions are empowered, the marketplace will sort itself out, and push the shift towards offering better quality products. Because people will be motivated to pay more.

    • Robin

      July 16, 2019 at 5:02 pm

      Please we need more regulations! My dog died from CHF due to one of the dog foods listed as having CHF causing ingredients. I read the fda.gov letters everyday, but I had already been feeding it to him for too long.

  11. Marsha

    July 15, 2019 at 3:18 pm

    Done!

  12. Maxine Schmidt

    July 15, 2019 at 3:34 pm

    Pets should not be consuming ingredients sourced from diseased animals or decomposing animal carcasses and believe pet products should be properly labeled as food or feed (disclosing what they really are to all pet owners).

  13. Linda Horn

    July 15, 2019 at 4:27 pm

    Comment submitted, for what little good it will do. I specifically brought up the issue of enterotoxins, which are produced by dead bacteria. Maybe a scientific approach will help, who knows?

  14. vicki

    July 15, 2019 at 5:47 pm

    DONE! Here is my Comment number if you need it for anything: Your Comment Tracking Number: 1k3-9b1x-xi0i

    Thank you Susan for your continued good works to help our Beloved pets! I haven’t been on here in awhile, as I’ve been heartbroken. My 12 year old GSD Developed DM and we lost him in October 2018. Shortly thereafter my 10 year old GSD girl Belle was stricken with Cancer of the Lymph nodes. I lost her in March of 2019. Losing both of my babies in such a short amount of time is heartbreaking, and I’m fairly certain it was unnecessary and caused by Some of the chemicals and crap they put in dog food, medicine (flea and tick stuff) and also treats. And I Was aware – Because of Susan, I tried to make the right decisions, and still, we had this happen.

    We now have a one year old Border collie, that I’ve really taken steps to be careful what we are feeding and treating. I found a local dog food maker. Who I trust. The company name is ‘Healthy Dogma” pet food in Lake Orion MI. If anyone is interested. I’ll happily recommend them.

    Thanks again to all of you that help to fight this fight to try to ensure safe food, in order to protect our beloved animals.

  15. Carolyn Allard

    July 15, 2019 at 6:15 pm

    I sent in my feedback. If all we get is some transparency, that will be a win. Right now we are playing steak prices for grissle. Those who can afford to pay more will pay more but everyone should be able to determine what they are paying for so an informed decision can be made. Right now it’s a crap shoot.

  16. Mary Summitt

    July 15, 2019 at 9:57 pm

    Comments submitted X2 ! Thanks Susan for all you do for us!

  17. saralynn1113

    July 15, 2019 at 10:38 pm

    I wouldn’t hold your breath. Thousands of pounds of chicken contaminated with bacteria, blackberries contaminated with e-coli. There has been more human food contamination than ever. We can hardly trust them to watch out for our food, let alone dog food. The law and government is run by money. Big companies that have deep pockets to sway politicians and policy makers. It is absolutely backwards and why we have the lowest standards of all the industrialized countries. Our food products, especially meat, is banned in Europe. They consider it inedible, with the way we produce it. So do I and it is why I don’t eat it. But dogs were never meant to be vegan. The best thing you can do is buy a dog food that claims to have human grade, organic, non gmo ingredients. And non-gmo is just as important, if not more so, as organic and human grade. The FDA will not go against the wishes of money. The dog food industry is worth billions. Everything they do is right in line with keeping their true benefactors happy. The public or pet health is never their true concern.

    • kimlynns

      August 5, 2019 at 2:39 am

      saralynn1113: I agree with your comment. I’d like to add that the best thing we can do is make homemade raw or cooked food for our cats and dogs (in proper ratios of flesh, bone, skin and organs with some supplements by following a recipe created by holistic based veterinarians).

  18. Linda J Thau

    July 15, 2019 at 11:29 pm

    The guilt of senseless loss is overwhelming. That the FDA does not take this to its limits is just disheartening. Our pets can only speak when they close their eyes forever. Thinking and believing we were doing the best for our furry family members, we were instead causing their death. Example, PEDIGREE who we have come to find out is made with spent restaurant grease. People believe in this company because of the millions they donate to shelters and advertising when those dollars are spent to convince the public they make a good product. They don’t. The biggest offenders are the biggest ADVERTISES.
    A GREAT REFERENCE IS DOG WORLD, virtually the Consumer Reports of Dog Food. Unlike the Dog Food ADVERTISER, with no credentials, Dog World has proven research which will shock many. Time for dog food companies to count healthy dogs rather then dollars.

    • ~Pet Owner~

      July 16, 2019 at 3:59 pm

      I looked at Dog World. Very interest about the nature of dogs. Subscription based, as viewed online anyway.

      The “Consumer Reports” of PF is (and has always been, before it was even fashionable) Susan Thixton’s “Petsumer Report.” Susan dissects all brands and recipes and calls-out problem ingredients, then hyperlinks those ingredients with an explanation. So that, even if not shopping for a new PF brand, reading through it is an education unto itself. You will NOT find this index anywhere else. Dog Food Advisor accepts advertising. Even if it doesn’t seem obviously PF brand specific, huge corporations (with other kinds of advertising) own PF manufacturing as well.

      It hasn’t been promoted lately, but to be encouraged are many new readers to look through the Petsumer Report, and then obtain the 2019 List (of PF Susan would feed to her pets). Remember, this site is made possible only through donations. And there is NO advertising, kickbacks or promotion of pet supply businesses,

  19. Pauline Saens

    July 16, 2019 at 2:08 am

    I protest that the dog and cat food should not use disease animals , and products from China to feed our beloved pets. The rules need to be stronger so we know what is in the dog and cat food.

  20. Pat Farina

    July 16, 2019 at 5:32 am

    There is usually a date as to when comments will be closed. What date would that be???

    • Susan Thixton

      July 16, 2019 at 8:00 am

      I don’t see a end date for comments on the Regulations.gov website. I don’t know.

  21. Karen

    July 16, 2019 at 8:19 am

    I don’t see any share button (laptop), why isn’t there are share button on your site Susan?

    • Susan Thixton

      July 16, 2019 at 8:21 am

      Share buttons are just below the end of the post – above comments. If you don’t see them it could be a browser conflict.

  22. Noor

    July 16, 2019 at 9:36 am

    I disagree !! We don’t want crap in pets food !! Our pets are everything to us and we want the best quality for them !! We want to be sure that they can live a long and healthy life and to do so we want and need human grade meat in their food and without any low quality synthetic supplements from China bc it’s just crap and very dangerous for them !!! So please stop fooling us and lying to us !!! We want THE BEST quality of food, they deserve it !!!

  23. Sue

    July 16, 2019 at 10:51 am

    Done. Comment submitted.

  24. Dee Torino

    July 16, 2019 at 11:34 am

    I don’t have pets at this time but have had them for most of my life. I plan on having more pets in the near future.
    I WILL NO LONGER BUY THE GARBAGE THAT IS CALLED PET FOOD. I WILL MAKE MY OWN PET FOOD. THE PET FOOD INDUSTRY IS DISGUSTING AND IS POISONING OUR BELOVED PETS. TO ME PETS ARE HUMAN AND DESERVE THE BEST OF EVERYTHING.

  25. Debbie coulter

    July 16, 2019 at 1:45 pm

    My animals are very important to me. They are a part of my family. I want the best food for them. We need to know exactly what’s in their food.

  26. Ja

    July 16, 2019 at 1:51 pm

    Our pets are family and should only be fed food ONLY of the highest standards. Regulation is of utmost importance. Stop the lies please.

  27. Lori

    July 16, 2019 at 6:16 pm

    Please stop allowing decomposing animials & animials that have been uthenized to be used to make their food for it’s killing them.

  28. Wanda Jess

    July 16, 2019 at 6:25 pm

    Please stop harming our pets with diseased animals,& unsafe ingredients, please stop our beloved pets are suffering.

  29. Mark

    July 16, 2019 at 6:26 pm

    Left scathing comments

  30. Helen Savadge

    July 16, 2019 at 9:47 pm

    Done and SOO needed! BLESS YOU SUSAN! You remain a BRIGHT guiding star in a dark time.

  31. Purrrfectly Holistic

    July 16, 2019 at 10:04 pm

    Done! I pray this will comply!

  32. Deborah Dennis

    July 16, 2019 at 10:58 pm

    We buy these foods for our pets trusting that’s their is healthy ingredients in them,low and behold, not. I want to know every ingredient that is in these foods. I am a consumer and I have the right to know. Just like people want to know what’s in the food we eat. I want to know what I am giving my pet,because later on as they get older they end up dying from things that are in the food, Or have cancer, kidney failure, all kinds of things. I want my pet to have a long happy and healthy life. This is sad

  33. Jonnie Guerrisi

    July 19, 2019 at 1:02 pm

    Would you please release a list of the companies using 4D animals in formulating their diets?

    • Susan Thixton

      July 19, 2019 at 1:59 pm

      No pet food company is required to disclose if they use ingredients sourced from 4D (dead, diseased, dying, disabled) animals or even condemned ingredients. So unfortunately, there is no way to compile such a list.

    • ~Pet Owner~

      July 19, 2019 at 2:01 pm

      Susan replied, but I was going to say … it might be easier to release the list of the ones who don’t.

      THAT … would take less time!!

  34. Dorothy

    July 19, 2019 at 2:50 pm

    I just submitted my comments to the FDA. Thanks for making it so easy, Susan, and for all your work on behalf of pets!

  35. Tammy Fisher

    July 21, 2019 at 11:53 am

    It is absolutely unbelievable that you do not honor and support our pets! We need to stop use of unpalatable and unsafe food items for our pets!

  36. Michael Cherry

    July 24, 2019 at 5:32 pm

    Let’s see if ONE Government agency can be honest and use their heads.

  37. Terri

    July 25, 2019 at 12:41 pm

    Pets as well as humans should be valuded enough to have clean healthy , drug and chemical free food

  38. Jo-Ann Sangataldo

    July 29, 2019 at 9:57 am

    Pet owners are entitled to know what is in the food they are feeding so we can make our own informed decision!! Poor quality food with contaminated and nutritionally lacking ingredients is causing sickness, suffering and death to our pets and high medical bills! Our pets are important members of our family and their suffering because of poor quality food is not acceptable,

    • Bonnie A Pence

      August 5, 2019 at 1:36 pm

      I agree Jo-Ann.

  39. Lisa

    July 29, 2019 at 8:29 pm

    If it’s not fit for human consumption, don’t make it for our pets!!!!

  40. Bonnie A Pence

    August 5, 2019 at 1:35 pm

    Please do not allow the use of diseased and cotaminated products in dog food. This is a horrible addition to dog food.

  41. Kelly

    August 5, 2019 at 3:40 pm

    It’s appalling that stricter regulations aren’t in place for the quality of food that’s offered for our pets. The FDA is negligent because they assume people don’t care. We do care! If you won’t feed diseased animals to your family then don’t feed them to our animals!!!!

  42. Lance

    August 5, 2019 at 6:10 pm

    Anybody got a link to where I can sign. I’m not seeing it for some reason.

  43. Sami Thompson

    August 30, 2019 at 12:55 am

    Just FYI: Today is August 29, and you can still leave comments. (I just did.) I had to keep editing mine, to make it suitable for posting on a public site. There’s an option to leave your comment anonymously, but I always use my real name. {Most people & corporations I know don’t take comments seriously if the people leaving them won’t even leave their names. Of course, I’m old & gimpy, so things may be different now.}

    Thanks, Susan, for all of your hard work!

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Human Grade & Feed Grade
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Pet Food is regulated by federal and state authorities. Unfortunately, authorities ignore many safety laws. Click Here to learn more about the failures of the U.S. pet food regulatory system.

 

The Many Styles of Pet Food
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The Ingredients
Did you know that all pet food ingredients have a separate definition than the same ingredient in human food? Click Here.

Click Here for definitions of animal protein ingredients.

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