Filler Killers #1

You can never underestimate the importance of understanding the AAFCO cat and dog food nutrition standards and of knowing how to read  food labeling when choosing a commercial diet for your pet.
The AAFCO approves both low and high quality ingredients; but unless you know what’s in the commercial pet food your dogs and cats are eating, you might think everything is just fine.

There were problems with many of the lower quality dog foods and the ingredients used that have been brought to light in the early part of 2007. Speaking of problems with dog food will of course trigger the memory of the most recent devastating loss of canine and feline lives due to contaminated food.

Reports indicated the number of affected cats and dogs to be in the 39,000 mark across the country. Animals became extremely sick or died due to contamination of commercial pet foods with an industrial chemical (melamine), used to make plastics and fertilizers. This chemical was found in more than 100 brands of dog and cat food recalled in Canada and the USA in mid-March.

The major culprit was identified as rice protein concentrate (otherwise called rice gluten), NOT brown rice. In June, concerns were raised about reports of acetaminophen (Tylenol) being found in dog and cat food, followed by salmonella poisoning in others.

To cruise through the FDA site for information (some of which is dated by now due to the passage of time), here is their url: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html

The second chemical found with the melamine was cyanuric acid! Deadly when combined. Both were found in the cat and dog food recall in March 2007. Cyanuric acid is commonly used to slow the breakdown of chlorine in swimming pools. It has NO place in healthy pet food!

It was speculated then and still believed today, that those two chemicals were used in dog food to increase the reported nitrogen content but the rice gluten contaminate with melamine was simply known as a “filler.” The recall of those contaminated pet foods has done nothing to stop the use of fillers in lower grade commercial.dog food.

Such pet food manufacturers keep their costs down by loading them with bulk, which has absolutely no nutritional value. Your pet’s food could contain one or more of a number of fillers, including, cereal by-products, cottonseed hulls, citrus pulp, peanut hulls, weeds, straw, corncobs and soy