Tuesday, March 20, 2007

What's in a Can of Dog Food?

A pet-food manufacturer recalled 60 million units over the weekend after at least nine cats and a dog died of kidney failure. No one has identified the source of the contamination, but the company said the recalled products included a suspect batch of wheat gluten. What else goes into pet food? Thanks to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—which oversees the pet-food industry with the advice of the Association of American Feed Control Officials—the list of ingredients on a tin of dog chow gives you a general sense of what's inside. But pet-food companies manipulate the order of the list such that meat (and meat byproducts) appear first, even when other ingredients are used in larger quantities.

2 comments:

Jan said...

It's going to be up to us pet owners to demand some serious and overdue reforms after this ugly affair.

Matt said...

It makes you wonder if the food of the premiums is really that much better, or is all just a marketing ploy.