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Articles - Issue # 29 - October 10, 2008
PET AGREE
Pet Food Labels: Confusing at Best, Deceptive at Worst
By Jenna Robbins
I've been researching every source I can think of on the Internet to get an exact, spelled out definition of what exactly "Made in USA" means? How much of the product is actually made here, and does it contain foreign materials? I've been on the FTC website for about two hours and have called every phone number listed and then some, but only get recordings and no answers. It's doubtful now that anyone will return my calls even though I did leave several messages, and even tried pulling some weight by explaining within the designated message time, that I write a column for a New York magazine.
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| It takes a little effort to find good food for your sweetheart Photo by Susan Galardi |
Then I decided to check out the labels on some of my clothing. Why? What does this have to do with pet food? Well, what I was thinking was, if I buy a dress that says "Made in USA" does that mean the material originated in the USA or somewhere else? Does that apply to food? If someone reading this knows the answer, please e-mail me and I will share it in another column.
Now I'm at the point where I give up and will tell you what I know and give you the addresses of the most helpful websites I've been able to find.
Thepetfoodlist.com lists pet food manufacturers alphabetically and discloses information as to where it is manufactured as well as where the ingredients come from, if it contains grains or glutens, if there have been recalls and so on. I am truly upset to find out that the dog food I've been using and believed to be what I call 100% USA food, was in part, manufactured by Menu foods, a Canadian company, and the major manufacturer of the tainted food during the last major pet food recall. They also have links to other websites like Itchmo and Pet Food Tracker that give information on Pet Food RECALLS or pet foods that have TESTED POSITIVE for CONTAMINANTS. Itchmo did have a notice of recall system that would automatically e-mail alerts to you if you registered with them.
There are also some marketing strategies and labels on pet food bags that really make me uncomfortable. As I would probably need a lot more space on the page than reserved for this column, I'll start the ball rolling and hope you will do a little investigating on your own. I'd love to know what you find out. These are some of my pet peeve words: natural, holistic and organic. Let's start with Natural, Nature's, Natura (not a typo) or any word that is altered to sound like Natural. What does that mean? Not artificially colored or treated. How about Holistic? How do you feel about that word? It means emphasizing on the whole of something rather than it's parts, i.e. holistic medicine that concentrates on the overall health of a person rather than focusing on one particular health issue. So how does this relate to our pet's food? Organic is last but not least as far as questionable application and how it is allowed to be used on a label. According to Oregon Tilth (tilth.org) organic certification is subject to four levels of certification and the level would dictate how it can be put on the packaging of food. Confused? Actually that's a good thing. It will make some of you read those pet food packages before you throw it in your shopping cart. Don't let the marketing of these foods give you a false sense of security because of the friendly, caring, "we love your dog and cat phrases" on the bag.
Questions? Thoughts? Email Jenna@murphdogandcompany.net