As a pet lover, hearing about the numerous product recalls and pet illness and death associated with tainted food is devastating. It is a fact that the challenges to food safety are growing and since our pets don’t question the quality of the food they are eating—we must!

Even great pet food companies can find themselves in recall situations, however, pet owners should research a food thoroughly before making a decision to feed it to their pet. Important questions to ask the company and their manufacturer include:

• Have any of their products been recalled?

• Do they use USA-sourced products or do they import?

• Can you call or email someone readily with questions? I encourage you to call and ask any questions you have!

It is critical to read and understand labels and thoroughly evaluate ingredients

• Avoid synthetic preservatives like BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin

• Look for real and simple ingredients. Make sure the first 5 ingredients include whole meats, grains and vegetables. Avoid “meals” or “by-products” in the top ingredients, as these are sub-standard sources of protein and indicates the use of beaks, feet, bones and other unsavory animal parts. Yuck!

Regularly check for recalled pet foods and treats. The FDA and The Humane Society of the United States maintain a current list of recalled products.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 23rd, 2009 at 10:08 am and is filed under Dr Donna Spector, Pet Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.