Pet Food Alert: 5th Installment

"SPECIFIC PET FOOD INGREDIENTS
>>> Additives and Preservatives
Many chemicals are added to commercial pet foods to improve thetaste, stability, characteristics, or appearance of the food.Additives provide no nutritional value. Additives includeemulsifiers to prevent water and fat from separating, antioxidantsto prevent fat from turning rancid, and artificial colors andflavors to make the product more attractive to consumers and morepalatable to their companion animals.
Adding chemicals to food originated thousands of years ago withspices, natural preservatives, and ripening agents. In the last40 years, however, the number of food additives has greatly increased.
All commercial pet foods contain preservatives. Some of these areadded to ingredients or raw materials by the suppliers, and othersmay be added by the manufacturer. Because manufacturers need toensure that dry foods have a long shelf life to remain edibleafter shipping and prolonged storage, fats included in pet foodsare preserved with either synthetic or "natural" preservatives.
Synthetic preservatives include butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) andbutylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), propyl gallate, propylene glycol(also used as a less-toxic version of automotive antifreeze), andethoxyquin.
For these antioxidants, there is little information documenting theirtoxicity, safety, or chronic use in pet foods that may be eaten everyday for the life of the animal.
Potentially cancer-causing agents such as BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquinare permitted at relatively low levels. The use of these chemicalsin pet foods has not been thoroughly studied, and long term build-upof these agents may ultimately be harmful.
Due to questionable data in the original study on its safety,ethoxyquin's manufacturer, Monsanto, was required to perform anew, more rigorous study. This was completed in 1996. Eventhough Monsanto found no significant toxicity associated with itsown product, in July 1997, the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicinerequested that manufacturers voluntarily reduce the maximum level forethoxyquin by half, to 75 parts per million.
While some pet food critics and veterinarians believe that ethoxyquinis a major cause of disease, skin problems, and infertility in dogs,others claim it is the safest, strongest, most stable preservativeavailable for pet food. Ethoxyquin is only approved for use in humanfood for preserving spices, such as cayenne and chili powder, at a levelof 100 ppm -- but it would be very difficult to consume as much chilipowder every day as a dog would eat dry food.
Ethoxyquin has never been tested for safety in cats. Some manufacturershave responded to consumer concern, and are now using "natural"preservatives such as Vitamin C (ascorbate), Vitamin E(mixed tocopherols), and oils of rosemary, clove, or otherspices, to preserve the fats in their products. Other ingredients,however, may be individually preserved. Fish meal, and some preparedvitamin mixtures used to supplement pet food, contain chemicalpreservatives. This means that your companion animal may be eatingfood containing several types of preservatives.
Not all of these are required to be disclosed on the label. However,due to consumer pressure, preservatives used in fat are now required to be listed on the label.


>>>Additives in Processed Pet Foods:
- Anticaking agents

- Antimicrobial agents

- Antioxidants

- Coloring agents

- Curing agents

- Drying agents

- Emulsifiers

- Firming agents

- Flavor enhancers

- Flavoring agents

- Flour treating agents

- Formulation aids

- Humectants

- Leavening agents

- Lubricants

- Nonnutritive sweeteners

- Nutritive sweeteners

- Oxidizing and reducing agents

- pH control agents

- Processing aids

- Sequestrants Solvents

- Synergists Texturizers

- More...?


While the law requires studies of direct toxicity of these additivesand preservatives, they have not been tested for their potentialsynergistic effects on each other once ingested. Some authors havesuggested that dangerous interactions occur among some of the commonsynthetic preservatives.
Natural preservatives do not provide as long a shelf life as chemicalpreservatives, but they do not carry the unanswered questions about their safety."



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