Edie MacKenzie

Edie MacKenzie is a published author, traveler, dog lover, and tortoise enthusiast. Passionate about what she does, her books provide peopel a firm grounding in the dog breed and their unique characteristics with a nice touch of humor.

Commercial Dog Food – Is The Recent Pet Food Recall Finally Smartening People Up?

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Commercial pet (dog) food is a multi-billion-dollar industry that seems to grow in sales each year that goes by, due to rising interest of dog health.  What is happening here, are more animals being adopted or are more pet owners being sold on the idea that dogs absolutely must eat dog food in order to be healthy?

Surprisingly, the answer is the latter of the two possibilities. Dog owners seem to sheepishly think that their dogs will be healthier and have more energy by consuming processed commercial dog food.

There was an article written in the New York Times by a woman named Laura Cunningham.  The year was 1981 and back then Laura reported that $4 billion dollars was spent yearly on pet food.  Recently, when the pet food recall took place, the media reported in March of 2007 that people are now spending over $16 billion annually on pet food.

To further add an interesting statistic to the conversation, back in 1988 the American Pet Products Association ran their very first pet ownership research study and came back with their poll report which claimed that approximately 56% of every household in America had a pet, either a cat or a dog. The most current poll conducted states that approximately 63% of today’s US households maintains a pet in the family.

Not all statistics are accurate, but this only shows a 7% increase of household pets.  Surely this 7% increase cannot be consuming the extra $12 billion per year in pet food that was eaten in 1981.  In other words, less people bought pet food for their dogs and cats than they do today. With so many people buying commercial dog food and other pet foods, why then were they so surprised about the alarming pet food recall?

People Are Smartening Up

There are many dog and cat owners who can see through the advertising and myths of feeding a cat “cat food” and a dog “dog food”. However, most people seem to just fly through their lives, being busier than ever, and due to convenience, believe everything that corporations are telling them – or should we say “selling” them. However, the recent pet food recall has started to wake up many dog owners, and other pet owners, to the fact that these products may not be as important to dog health as the commercials claim.

Although many dog and pet owners neglect thorough research on nutrition and continue to believe that processed pet food is the best thing to feed their animals, it doesn’t mean that they do not care.  We all want our pets to be healthy and have the best possible food that is good for them.  And unfortunately, many of these pet owners truly believed they were doing the right things by their pets.  Luckily, with tainted food causing many pets to get ill, as well as a few deaths, more and more people are starting to ask questions and find out the truth behind proper dog health for their pets.

Pet Food Recall: Are These Pet Food Manufacturers Purposely Killing Your Animals?

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We all want the best for our beloved dogs, especially when it comes to the foods they eat. We want to give them only the healthiest food available to make sure that they will live a long and healthy life. But what if the so-called “healthy pet foods” that are being sold in the market today are not reliable anymore?

What do we do when we can no longer trust the food manufacturers who is supposed to provide us with safe and healthy foods for our animals?

When The Food Is Killing Your Pets, Something Has To Change

The widespread recall of pet food has created a scare to all dog and cat owners who rely on commercial brands to feed their pets. All over the country, contaminated pet food has caused many dogs to become severely sick, while a large number of them have died.

In March alone of this year, Menu foods, an Ontario based manufacturing company, recalled more than 90 brands of “cuts and gravy” moist foods (both dog food and cat food) after more than 14 animals died from eating them. A few weeks later, the same company added 20 more varieties of their brand to be taken off store shelves.

It was later discovered that wheat gluten, an ingredient found in the said pet foods, was contaminated with rat poison. The risk of Salmonella contamination has also been the cause of a recall for two brands of pig ear dog treats.

Cases of toxic pet foods go back to December of 2005, when several dogs died and dozens fell ill after eating kibble manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods. It was later found out that the food was contaminated with aflatoxin; a naturally occurring chemical produced from fungus and can be found on crops such as wheat, corn, rice, and beans. This chemical is also toxic to domestic animals, livestock, and even humans. Other pet food recalls during this past decade also involve the risk for Salmonella contamination.

Are These Pet Food Companies Breaking The Law?

FDA regulations state that pet foods should be manufactured similar to the way human foods are manufactured. They should be processed under a sanitary environment, do not contain any harmful ingredients, accurately labeled, and safe to eat.

All pet food manufacturers are expected to comply with these regulations to ensure that the food is safe and healthy. However, due to limited resources, the FDA can only inspect pet food issues after consumer complaints are made or if the FDA has a reason to believe that there is a threat to animal health. A recall is then announced by the FDA or the manufacturer if a defective product is found.

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