Your Opportunity to Tell Manufacturers and Regulatory what You want!

Ingredient specific wishlist:
– Country of origin for primary protein and carb ingredients
– Are meat ingredients USDA approved (not merely inspected facility)

Not quite ingredient specific but would like to see this included for all foods:
– digestibility percentage
– required (not voluntary) display of calorie value per standardized measurement
– individual nutrient values for a formula (not just GA ranges)
– percentage of calories from fat vs protein displayed

I want everything sourced in the USA only. Tell us which states it is sourced from. No GMO’s, no antibiotics or growth hormones in anything, only fresh products that are human grade. Meats should be human grade only. All manufactures USDA inspected just like human food, that includes Purina. No manufacturer being allowed to buy off the USDA or FDA. No salt in any dog food, as that does not help those dogs with CHF, (Congestive Heart Failure). So many dogs have CHF including one of mine.
No myotoxins or any other toxins. No diseased animals or euthanized animals used at all!
Use human food only. Maybe we will be able to cut the cancer rate and CHF down on our animals if we use real Food, instead of fake meat and other things.
Label dog and cat food just like you do for humans.

I want ALL the ingredients inspected and approved for human consumption;
I want any included ‘finished’ products also made from USDA Insp/Approved ingredients
I want the FDA to level the playing field.
I want to get rid of the ‘Double Standard’ for animal / pet feed vs food intended for humans
‘Rules’ are made to be broken – re-write the ‘Rules’ and make them LAWS.

All I can add is to tell them thank you for asking for consumer input!! I think everything has been covered in the comments above. thank you Susan, Mollie and Jean for all YOUR efforts too!!!

Congratulations, Susan! This opportunity is a huge indicator that all your work is leading to progress. Consumers are being invited to the table, and that is a sea change from previous decades. It may take years for our wishes to become a reality, but the fact is we now have voices, and our voices are (if grudgingly) heard. I have all faith that in the future, do to your work, our opinions will be EMBRACED and the market will respond to our concerns and desires for safe and truly nutritious food.

Not only are your giving voice to our concerns, but you are educating. And my firm opinion is that if we can just change labeling to indicate exactly what is in the bags, the consumer choices will take care of the rest. These big manufactures respond to profit. And if people see what is in the bags, and make their choices appropriately, the profit margin for the poisoned, inedible, and dangerous foods will dwindle to such a point that they are no longer worth manufacturing.

Consumers have a great deal of power – witness the VW scandal and plummeting stock prices. Do you think any VW dealer can move a car right now? Well, once we all know what is in the bag, we can make the same thing happen here.

You have been working for years and years to make headway, Susan. And this is the beginning of the end for Big Pet Food.

The amount of phosphorous in a given canned food.

COMPLETELY AGREE with Sondra:

* Species appropriate (meat only**) and complete & balanced nutrition (**perhaps with added ingredients like organic pumpkin for digestive health/nutrition)
* Meets protein/fat/carb/water/phosphorus/calories requirements defined at catinfo.org
* Made from certified organic, certified humanely raised & finished animals/fish
* Not made from fish raised in filthy fish farms that are fed species inappropriate diets or GMOs/pesticides
* Not made from animals/fish given antibiotics
* Not made from genetically modified fish/animals
* Made from 100% organic grass & hay fed herbivores – not fed GMO products or products grown with pesticides
* Made from healthy, human grade meat/fish non-diseased, non-rotting
* Labeled exactly where ALL ingredients are sourced, whether wild or farmed, and exactly where ALL locations of processing are – “Distributed By” and other similarly phrased labels are NOT an allowed substitute! If alternative processing facilities are used, list All of them
* Labeled and certified for all these things
* Labels that indicate whether any components of high-mercury species of fish are in the ingredients
* Fairly priced
* Fair Trade certified
* As few ingredients as possible
* No chemicals/preservatives
* BPA-free cans

THANK YOU!

Please give a big thank-you to those involved in presenting this seminar and for providing us, the consumers, with the opportunity to share our desires for pet food. I know this would not be made possible without your efforts, Susan. A huge thank-you to you and the Team!

What are your challenges/frustrations with pet food ingredients?
-Challenges: As it pertains to cats especially, finding true species appropriate, balanced diets. (No, I’m not talking about meat-only diets with vit/min packs added; see last answer on why.) Also “clean” ingredients (organic, non-GMO, free range, antibiotic/steroid/hormone free, humane slaughter practices).
-Frustrations: Regarding meats – are beef, salmon and other fish, venison, and pork really “species appropriate” for cats?? I’ve yet to see a cat – feral or otherwise – attempt to hunt and/or eat any of those animals naturally. Hence why I do not purchase foods with such ingredients for my cat, yet those ingredients line store shelves. Turkey is even a stretch – they’re quite large prey! “Meat protein” does not exactly = suitable, nutritious, easily digestible, balanced protein. It should be specific to the species being fed.
-Also important/frustrating is pH balancing or lack thereof. Animal meat-only, high protein percentage, etc can create an acidic environment thus inflammatory condition in the bodies of both dogs and cats. This is a problem and should be corrected/addressed in pet food formulations.
-Starches (like potato starch) and thickeners (gums, seaweeds, etc) in “grain-free” foods are frustrating. Often the carbs are still quite high and the consumer doesn’t realize that. What wild mouse is eating potato starch and not bits of the entire potato anyway? And what prey animal is “held together” by a thickener.

If you needed to understand a pet food ingredient – where do you go to find that definition?
-This website’s search function or search engine like Google

How easy or difficult is it to find the definition of a pet food ingredient?
-Easy on this site and a Google search, only because I know to look at reputable and independent sites (ie not AAFCO/Big Feed/Pharm corporations) for accurate and less “spun” information.

Do you understand the definition?
-See above

Does the list of ingredients on a pet food label give you the right information? What do you like or dislike?
-How would a consumer know if it’s the “right information?” That’s part of the problem! Standards are weak or at bare minimum and proper, for-the-animal nutritional education is severely lacking (even among most veterinarians). Or it’s tainted “education” by Big Feed, as I found in a personal experience with a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist. She may have well been wearing a shirt that read: ‘This info has been brought to you by Hills (and it’ll cost you $400).’ Shameful.
-Some smaller brands (think high-quality or raw food companies) are more likely to indicate if ingredients like free range, hormone free flesh and organic ingredients etc are used, which is awesome. I am far more likely to buy those brands. Actually, I do buy them.
-Dislikes are covered in my answer to question 1 and in the answer below (what’s missing on the label).

What do you want the pet food label to tell you (in reference to ingredients only)?
-If humane slaughter practices are used or NOT used for animal-based ingredients. All labels should carry this distinction.
-Country of origin. This has to be made clear, as “Made in the USA” can often have ingredients sourced from other countries. Yes, the final product might be “made” in the US, but the ingredient sources might be from elsewhere. It’s misleading for sure.
-Human grade ingredients (which seems to be in discussion already?)
-Percentages of each ingredient listed. This also includes things listed as “rabbit” or “chicken” – is it whole rabbit or whole chicken with natural ratio of bones and organs included or just flesh? If “fresh” or “ground bone” is used, is it in a natural ratio to that of a prey animal? Or is it in large, filler-type quantity thus delivering too much calcium? If a label reads: “chicken, ground bone, chicken liver” to start, is the second ingredient one measurement-unit less than the first? Who knows. Also, what kind of “bone” is it? Is it random conglomeration of different species’ bone or bone from the primary flesh source? There needs to be more clarity for sure.
-Sources of “fish oil.” What kind of fish? Large, mercury-laden species like tuna – which carries an additive appeal for cats? Consumers should know what type of fish is used for oil, especially because of known mercury toxicities in larger fish species.
-Ratios of Omega-3 and Omega-6. Consumers should know if additional Omega-3 supplementation is needed (as is sadly often the case).
-Sources of synthetic vit/min packs ie are they China based?
-DMB percentages, including carbohydrates and ALL vitamins and minerals on label. Vit/min amounts should be based on available levels AFTER processing, NOT before, because high-heat denatures many vitamins.
-GMO labeling – both GMO used and GMO free
-Free range, antibiotic, steroid, pharm drug, and growth hormone free, organic, pesticide free, etc labeling of ingredients

And anything else you can tell me – what you want from pet food ingredients – that will be great.
-Cats and dogs in nature consume most of the prey’s body – not just the meat. I’ve seen dogs go at dead deer tail-end first; and watched cats devour a mouse, rabbit, or bird while leaving behind a couple organs and feathers. Prey eats grains, vegetables, grasses, nuts, seeds, fruits. Thus in nature, cats and dogs consume those non-meat items in partially digested form. I’d love to see an appropriate, natural ratio of clean prey protein, bone, organs, AND clean prey-derived (e.g. the profile found in wild prey GI tracts) plant-based carbohydrates added in appropriate, natural ratio amounts. Appropriate fiber is also important obviously. (“Clean” meaning GMO free, organic, human slaughter practices, antibiotic/pharm drug/steroid/hormone free, etc, to reiterate.) I’d love brands, for cat food, to “Build a mouse,” as Anita Frasier says. I’ll add: Build a wild mouse, not a lab mouse!
-Dry cat food is problematic. In a perfect world, I’d like to see it eliminated as an option altogether and a reduction of cost for wet food (canned and raw versions) be implemented so it’s made more affordable for those who know better yet buy dry food because of budget constraints. Some consumers just don’t know better and think dry is fine because it’s offered to consumers on store shelves and in vet offices. Elimination would remedy that problem.
-The grain-free movement at this point has created sort of an imbalance and its original good intentions of eliminating the overabundance of fractured and cereal grains from pet foods has shifted into overboard and marketing appeal territory. This needs to be corrected.
-It’s very frustrating how it seems like manufacturers are all over the place in a free-for-all when it comes to creating an appropriate ingredient profile. It should not be left up to the interpretation or creative license by those selling the product; they have self-interest there. And as I mentioned before, standards are on the weak side. Pet food is important; providing nutritious food is critical! Companies should formulate for the modern companion animal species, not for popular fad-type trends, human appeal, some “ancestral” story (because genetic codes evolve; my cat is not a lion and that dog is not a wolf), or industry convenience/profit (ie some place to dump leftovers). And regulatory boards should be acting as representatives of not only the consumer, but of the animals, thus not swayed or “educated” by the manufacturers/corporations selling product.

Thank you.

From the comments you already received the ammo you need. But I would like to add my five cents, that is, I want dog food manufacturers to eliminate copper and phosphate from all receipes. I would pay more now for dog food without these two ingredients, then pay dearly later.

How can I be sure the food is free of mold, mildew, toxic chemicals, etc.? How can I be sure the food was made in a humane manner from animals that were treated humanely and from unsick animals? How can I be sure all of the packaged ingredients are made in the USA?