- Location
- Saskatchewan
I am an animal nutritionist. I have formulated some dry dog foods, although my main career was primarily with farm animal nutrition. Much of my career has been spent doing audits for the feed manufacturing industry to ensure compliance with standard operating procedures developed to ensure products sold by the industry are nutritious and safe. I have a lot of concerns about the first video posted. What a bunch of sensationalist crap!
My first thought is that "Chemical free" does not exist. ALL foods are composed of chemicals. And many, many "Natural" ingredients also contain chemicals that can be harmful, so "Natural" ingredients are certainly no guarantee of safety or efficacy. Striving for "Chemical Free" dog food is an oxymoron. All vitamins are chemicals! All minerals are chemicals! - and natural ingredients that are not carefully sourced can contain a whole host of nasty stuff like mycotoxins and heavy metals.
Put another way, for example, Dogs have a high requirement for fat in their diet. Most fats soon become rancid and unhealthy without some form of antioxidant added to preserve them. But if I explain that tocopherols are widely used by the industry as chemical antioxidants, would it matter to the sensationalists that Vitamin E ( a required nutrient) is a tocopherol?
There certainly are a few good reasons to be concerned about the quality of ingredients used in commercial pet foods. The Melamine contamination of wheat gluten imported from China a few years ago comes to mind. A lot of good dogs were harmed by the criminal adulteration of a commonly used and normally wholesome ingredient. Manufacturers who purchased contaminated wheat gluten meal from China erred by not following standard operating procedures for purchasing safe ingredients.
I suggest that instead of trying to avoid "chemicals" or seeking "all natural" ingredients, a better way to ensure safe, nutritious food for your dog is to investigate the manufacturer and ask specific questions about the manufacturing process, and not so much about the ingredient list.
Safe and wholesome ingredients are purchased by reputable pet food manufacturers with emphasis on nutritional quality, and the chance of contamination by harmful substances is guarded against by rigourous application of a program called HACCP - Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. This method of food quality assurance was developed for the food suppliers to the NASA space program to ensure the food for astronauts was as safe and nutritious as possible. HACCP programs are by far the most effective means yet discovered to reduce risk and ensure food safety. Ingredients and manufacturing processes are assessed for all possible hazards, and the hazards are monitored measured and controlled at the most effective point in the process, whether at purchasing, receiving, storage, manufacturing, packaging, or shipping.
Additional manufacturing controls are implemented through the somewhat more familiar ISO (International Standards Organization) series of industrial manufacturing protocols.
I would not purchase dog food from any plant that manufactures without HACCP certification, and ISO certification would be a very welcome bonus.
Manufacturing plants that comply with HACCP and ISO standards are FAR less likely to make errors during manufacture, and any deficiencies that do occur must be corrected before manufacturing can proceed.
Nutritional adequacy can be ensured by only purchasing dog food that fully meets the standards defined by the Veterinary Medical Association in Canada or the USA. No dog food can be legally manufactured unless ingredients meet the requirements of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
If someone is so concerned about dog food safety that they must feed the dog human food from their table, they will certainly be safe from surprises from contamination, but the dogs nutrition is likely to be less than optimal.
However, carefully prepared home made dog food is a good option for those who just can't trust an industry to the nutritional health and safety of their pooch.
My first thought is that "Chemical free" does not exist. ALL foods are composed of chemicals. And many, many "Natural" ingredients also contain chemicals that can be harmful, so "Natural" ingredients are certainly no guarantee of safety or efficacy. Striving for "Chemical Free" dog food is an oxymoron. All vitamins are chemicals! All minerals are chemicals! - and natural ingredients that are not carefully sourced can contain a whole host of nasty stuff like mycotoxins and heavy metals.
Put another way, for example, Dogs have a high requirement for fat in their diet. Most fats soon become rancid and unhealthy without some form of antioxidant added to preserve them. But if I explain that tocopherols are widely used by the industry as chemical antioxidants, would it matter to the sensationalists that Vitamin E ( a required nutrient) is a tocopherol?
There certainly are a few good reasons to be concerned about the quality of ingredients used in commercial pet foods. The Melamine contamination of wheat gluten imported from China a few years ago comes to mind. A lot of good dogs were harmed by the criminal adulteration of a commonly used and normally wholesome ingredient. Manufacturers who purchased contaminated wheat gluten meal from China erred by not following standard operating procedures for purchasing safe ingredients.
I suggest that instead of trying to avoid "chemicals" or seeking "all natural" ingredients, a better way to ensure safe, nutritious food for your dog is to investigate the manufacturer and ask specific questions about the manufacturing process, and not so much about the ingredient list.
Safe and wholesome ingredients are purchased by reputable pet food manufacturers with emphasis on nutritional quality, and the chance of contamination by harmful substances is guarded against by rigourous application of a program called HACCP - Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. This method of food quality assurance was developed for the food suppliers to the NASA space program to ensure the food for astronauts was as safe and nutritious as possible. HACCP programs are by far the most effective means yet discovered to reduce risk and ensure food safety. Ingredients and manufacturing processes are assessed for all possible hazards, and the hazards are monitored measured and controlled at the most effective point in the process, whether at purchasing, receiving, storage, manufacturing, packaging, or shipping.
Additional manufacturing controls are implemented through the somewhat more familiar ISO (International Standards Organization) series of industrial manufacturing protocols.
I would not purchase dog food from any plant that manufactures without HACCP certification, and ISO certification would be a very welcome bonus.
Manufacturing plants that comply with HACCP and ISO standards are FAR less likely to make errors during manufacture, and any deficiencies that do occur must be corrected before manufacturing can proceed.
Nutritional adequacy can be ensured by only purchasing dog food that fully meets the standards defined by the Veterinary Medical Association in Canada or the USA. No dog food can be legally manufactured unless ingredients meet the requirements of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
If someone is so concerned about dog food safety that they must feed the dog human food from their table, they will certainly be safe from surprises from contamination, but the dogs nutrition is likely to be less than optimal.
However, carefully prepared home made dog food is a good option for those who just can't trust an industry to the nutritional health and safety of their pooch.
