Home | About Natural News | Contact Us | Write for Natural News | Media Information | Advertise with Natural News
NaturalNews.com
food

Are the Ingredients in Pet Food 'People' Safe?

Tuesday, September 09, 2008 by: Susan Thixton, citizen journalist
See all articles by this author
Email this author

Key concepts: Food, Pet food and Meat
Share/Save/Bookmark   Email this article to a friend Printable Version  FREE Email Newsletter

Articles Related to This Article:

The Honest Food Guide empowers consumers with independent information about foods and health

Interview with "Kevala" Karen Parker, master raw foods chef

Cigarettes, Lies, and Pet Food Advertising



Sign the Health Revolution Petition

Join the call for genuine health freedom in America. End FDA tyranny and Big Pharma corruption. Watch the video and sign the petition here.
(NaturalNews) When I officially began reviewing pet foods, companies I contacted shared without hesitation if their foods used human grade or pet grade meat ingredients. Now I am seeing a shift in that. These days many are telling me they use human grade/quality ingredients even though their pet food ingredient listing says otherwise.

To me, the topic of human grade meat should not be a gray area. A piece of chicken or beef is either suitable for me to consume or it's not. That is not the case with pet food. Today alone, I spoke with two different manufacturers and both assured me they use USDA Grade A human grade/quality ingredients. However both of these pet food manufacturers have by-products in the majority of their foods which is a contradiction to the AAFCO pet food ingredient definition of a human food (AAFCO is American Association of Feed Control Officials who develops animal feed ingredient definitions and animal feed regulations). By-products, by AAFCO definition, are not considered human food.

The AAFCO definition of a common pet food ingredient 'chicken by-product meal' is: "consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practices."

Do you consider 'ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines' human food? Also consider that without the opportunity of by-products and the other left-over ingredients from meat processing being sold to pet food manufacturers, there would be no selling point for them. Without AAFCO's regulations allowing these types of garbage ingredients to be utilized in pet food, the livestock industry would lose money. Actually it would end up costing the industry money to safely destroy these waste animal pieces. And you should know that the livestock industry has lobbied the FDA and AAFCO on numerous occasions whenever the possibility of eliminating them from pet food has risen. Worse yet, pet owners have to wait another year for what the FDA considers Specified Risk Materials (SRMs) to be removed from pet food. SRMs are brains and spinal cord tissues that are known risks to spread mad cow disease. Even though cats worldwide have developed the feline version of mad cow disease, because of the lobbied efforts of the livestock industry, removing these known risk materials from pet food must wait another year.

There shouldn't be a gray area to a solid understanding and pet food definition of human grade ingredients; but there is. The gray area happens for two reasons. One, AAFCO has no official definition of human grade ingredients. A pet food manufacturer can say human grade and not be held accountable for misusing such claims. Second, it happens because pet food manufacturers purchase by-products (feet, heads, intestines, and so on) from a USDA approved meat processing facility. Sick, diseased animals and animal parts come from a USDA meat processing facility; they are rejected from the USDA facility!

One of the manufacturers that I spoke with today whose dog foods and cat foods contain chicken by-products, when I asked the quality/grade question, replied "oh yes, we use only human grade ingredients, you could eat the food and be healthier than you are now". I almost laughed. Trust me, I'm not going to be eating pet food that contains by-products, meat and bone meal, and similar ingredients. Pet owners are becoming more educated and I'm guessing that manufacturers are taking note of this and coaching representatives to say 'yes' to the human grade question. Legally they are not breaking any laws because AAFCO has no official definition to the term human grade. Morally, to me, they are intentionally misleading pet owners.

So, what are you to do now? Start with calling your pet food manufacturer asking if they use human grade quality of meat or if they use pet grade quality of meat. Once you have that information, flip the pet food bag you are considering over and scan the top 10 ingredients. If you see by-products, by-product meal, animal digest, meat meal (not chicken meal, or turkey meal or similar –- specifically the ingredient 'meat meal' applies here), or meat and bone meal -- this pet food is not using all human grade ingredients. If they told you they use only human/grade quality and you see by-products or any of the above ingredients -- well, 'there's your sign.' To me, the 'sign' tells a great deal about the integrity of the manufacturer. If a pet food manufacturer can tell a pet owner chicken feet and intestines are human grade/quality with a straight face, they are telling me volumes about their lack of integrity. I would never trust a pet food company if they could so boldly mislead me on this issue. Who knows what else they are stretching the truth on?

For all pet owners, understanding a few pet food ingredients will tell you volumes about the food and manufacturer as well.


About the author

Susan Thixton has an international pet people following providing dog and cat lovers a trusted source for pet food and pet food ingredient information. She's been called courageous, perseverant, even "the Caped Crusader for Pets" for her 16 year study of pet food. Susan Thixton is the author of hundreds of pet industry articles and the 2006 released book Truth About Pet Food (currently being updated for a second edition). She developed and publishes the pet product consumer magazine Petsumer Report and is a frequent speaker and radio guest all over the U.S. and Canada with more than 70 appearances in the last 2 years.
If you are looking for straight forward pet food information that can have an almost immediate impact on your pet's health - subscribe to the free newsletter, and subscribe to Petsumer Report to see reviews of close to 700 dog and cat foods and treats (adding 40+ each month). Susan Thixton's 'truth' will help you find a safer, healthier dog or cat food that could add years to your pet's life. http://www.TruthAboutPetFood.com


Get articles like this delivered to you FREE in our popular email newsletter

Related CounterThink Cartoons:


Related Articles:

The Honest Food Guide empowers consumers with independent information about foods and health

Interview with "Kevala" Karen Parker, master raw foods chef

Cigarettes, Lies, and Pet Food Advertising

Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com

Email this article to a friend

Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us

Permalink to this article:

Reprinting this article: Non-commercial use OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link.

Embed article link: (copy HTML code below):

FREE Report: The Five Best Anti-Viral Products to Beat Influenza, Swine Flu, Bird Flu and SARS

• Top anti-viral remedies
• Where to get them now
• Four things to avoid
• Become self-reliant
• Boost your family safety

Click here to read the FREE report now.

W.H.O. Declares Global Pandemic
Turn FEAR into Confidence!

Listen to the complete 3.5 hour recording on 4 audio CDs of the Health Ranger's Swine Flu Advanced Preparedness Course, covering natural anti-virals, family safety, infrastructure disruptions, quarantine, preparedness gear and much more.

Testimonials:

"Mike Adams' preparedness course turned our fears into confidence. This is POWERFUL information, coming from a trusted source. If you want to save yourself countless hours researching and getting prepared and if you want to do everything in your power to protect your family, I highly recommend the Health Ranger’s Advanced Preparedness Course."
- N. Nelson (Arizona)

"This is packed information no one should miss."
- T. Valenzuela

"Thanks Mike... during this class you covered prevention and preparedness from A to Z with integrity, brave honesty and outstanding knowledge! Thank you for your steadfast, thorough and cool-headed approach to well being. With deep gratitude for your service." - Bev

Available NOW for immediate shipping.
100% satisfaction guarantee

Click here to learn more...


NEW Product: Valley of Longevity Shampoo from the Health Ranger

• 98% Organic
• 100% Natural
• 100% Fragrance Free!
• No SLS
• No Parabens
• No synthetic chemicals
• FREE shipping in U.S. on orders over $75

Click here to read more...


FREE report by the Health Ranger, plus a FREE subscription to his Vilcabamba, Ecuador real estate announcement list:


Enter your email address to download it now:

(Email privacy guaranteed.)


8 Weeks to Vibrant Health
A Breakthrough Guide to Women's Health by
Dr. Hyla Cass M.D.

Learn why this is the must-read guide to women's health you've been waiting for... Click here...


Breaking News Stories:

     See more breaking news...

What is this?


Enter your email address to learn more:

(Email privacy guaranteed.)

Free Special Reports

How to Build Your Financial Safety Net
The 7 Principles of Mindful Wealth
The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D
The pH Nutrition Guide to Acid / Alkaline Balance
Pet Food Ingredients Revealed! (shocking)
Medicine From Fish
The Water Cure

Recommended Products Related to This Article*:

Appetite for Profit (free download)
Free download summary of this top book
for discovering the truth about food companies

Additional Products of Interest to All

Katadyn Exstream XR Water Purifier
#1 personal water purifier
for clean, pristine water in seconds

Preparedness Tools Natural News Bundle
For preparedness and safety: 60% off
for preparing for natural disasters

How to Halt Diabetes in 25 Days
Health Ranger guide to reversing diabetes
for reversing type-2 diabetes

Free download: Selling Sickness (summary)
Read the best book on disease mongering
for learning the truth about Big Pharma

Revealed: Natural Health Solutions (free)
Free summary of book by Mike Adams
for learning censored natural health remedies

Exposed! The Toxic Chemistry of Products
Free summary of this shocking book
for learning the truth about toxic products

The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton
A free download of Biology of Belief
for learning about the mind-biology connection

The Genie In Your Genes by Dawson Church
A free, downloadable summary of this book
for learning about the biology of intention

Katadyn MicroPur Water Purifier Tablets
The best water purification tablets
for purifying almost any water source

The Weiss Method for Heart Disease
How to reverse heart disease naturally
for heart disease, high cholesterol

* Products do NOT pay to be listed here. These are genuine, independent recommendations by the Health Ranger

☯ Products with this symbol are sold by NaturalNews or its affiliates and earn revenues for NaturalNews

Also on NaturalNews:

Streaming Health Ranger Videos
CounterThink Cartoons
FREE Special Reports
Podcasts


Home | About Natural News | Contact Us | Write for Natural News | Media Information | Advertise with Natural News

This site is part of the Natural News Network © 2009 All Rights Reserved. Privacy | Terms All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing International, LTD. is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published here. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.