Surely you do not imagine that these harmful ingredients in pet food exist. It is time for you to inform yourself well.
6 Harmful Pet Food Ingredients That Will Surprise You
Have you ever taken a look at the ingredients of your pet’s food? Well, you should do it right away.
You won’t believe how many harmful ingredients in pet food exist and today we are going to identify 6 of those harmful ingredients in pet food.
1. Ethoxyquin
Ethoxyquin is often used as a preservative and antioxidant in pet foods. It was developed as a pesticide for fruit encrustation. However, now several government agencies have issued warnings about the use of the preservative.
Hazards: Ethoxyquin has been associated with the development of kidney and liver damage, cancer (liver, spleen, stomach, and skin), immunodeficiency syndrome, blindness, and leukemia.
2. Propylene glycol
It’s not something you find everywhere, but if you live in a country with freezing winter conditions, you probably use propylene glycol in your car to keep it from freezing; commonly called “antifreeze”.
It has been found in semi-moist kibble to prevent food from drying out and bacteria from growing. This means it also destroys any “good” bacteria left in the product. Good bacteria are essential for intestinal health.
Dangers: Some dogs can develop lesions within their intestinal tract that can become cancerous over time.
3. Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) and Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)
Both are used as preservatives and can be found in some pet and human foods, cosmetics, and even petroleum.
Dangers: BHA and BHT are known to affect blood clotting when consumed in large amounts and promote tumor growth. BHT is considered more potent than BHA and has been directly linked to cancer in both dogs and humans. BHA is usually responsible for kidney damage.
4. Corn / corn syrup
Corn syrup is a sugar that is often used as a sweetener and is used as an inexpensive filler in pet foods. Make your pet feel full but with minimal nutritional value.
Dangers: weight gain, diabetes, and hyperactivity.
5. “By-product”
It can be any animal product such as chicken, lamb; beef, etc “By-products” are the internal remains of an animal. These “by-products” can and have been found to come from deceased farm and feedlot animals that cannot be used for human consumption. They may contain diseased tissues and organs.
Dangers: Your pet could be eating something that has been contaminated, contain the disease, and, as reported by the FDA , may even have traces of pentobarbital that is used to slaughter animals.
6. Food dyes (blue 2, red 40, yellow 5 and 6, 4-MIE)
Animals don’t care about the color of their food. Its sole purpose is marketing. The goal is to make the products more attractive to the buyer; YOUR.
Dangers: Food dyes have the same reaction in dogs as they do in many humans; are related to allergies, hyperactivity, and behavior problems. 4-MIE is a known animal carcinogen.
Conclusions
Pet food is a multi-billion dollar industry. There is no strict legislation when it comes to pet food, compared to food for human consumption, it is no wonder that more and more companies are adding harmful ingredients to pet food.
But not all foods are created equal. Some just have a great marketing team!
What can you do to make sure you’re giving your pet the safest food and treats available?
If you are purchasing a commercially prepared product, turn it over and read the ingredients listed. What are the first 5 ingredients? Any of the above?
The safest option is to look for a product supplied in its most natural form with minimal human intervention and processing.
I eat raw, air-dried, or freeze-dried organic meat with vegetables. It may also contain other naturally healthy additives like flaxseed, omega oils, green-lipped mussel, etc.
