Buying a ‘Natural’ Pet Food Product is Like Buying Fool’s Gold

Source: (NaturalNews) By SusanThixton, Nov 12, 2008

A recent survey from the GoodLife Recipe Pet Food company provided by (www.mediapost.com)
website states that two-thirds of pet owners don’t consider cost when
selecting a dog food or cat food. Their survey states that nearly 60%
of pet owners said that “natural ingredients” are the most important
issue to influence a pet food purchase. The problem for pet owners is
that searching for a pet food labeled ‘Natural’ can be like finding
fool’s gold.

AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control
Officials) and the FDA has no official definition for the word
‘natural’ in pet food regulations. ‘Natural’ on a pet food label
implies the food should be free of risky chemicals, colors, or any
ingredient considered treated or disguised. You know… natural. But
instead, under current pet food regulations, any pet food manufacturer
can make the claim ‘natural’ on the label, yet the food could contain
many ingredients most would not consider natural; such as added
chemicals, colors, and other unnatural ingredients. Even though there
are no survey results to substantiate this, my guess would be that
almost every pet owner who seeks out ‘natural ingredients’ in their dog
food or cat food choices, firmly believes the food is natural.

The power of advertising

A northern California newspaper InsideBayArea.com
puts advertising of pet food into a realistic light — “Playful puppies
and adorable kittens almost seem to jump out of the colorful packages,
beckoning pet owners to choose their very special brands of food. Large
pallets containing bags of dry food, stacks of orderly cans and rows of
moist pouches often leave pet owners literally dazed and confused with
the overwhelming selection. Marketing ideas leap off the products
claiming to be “organic”, to have “no by-products” and to have “real,
wholesome ingredients.” All of these speak to us as ways to provide the
very best for our family members. But in light of pet food recalls and
concerns about pet food manufacturing, how can pet owners really know
they are providing the best?

That’s a difficult question; really
knowing you are providing the best food for your dog or cat is not as
easy as it should be. It should be that a pet owner can read the pet
food label claiming ‘natural’ or ‘real wholesome ingredients’ knowing
that label is providing true and accurate information. It should be
that pet owners are provided with ingredient country of origin
information on the label. It should be that pet food labels clearly
state if dangerous chemicals or inferior ingredients are used. ‘Should
be’ is not what ‘is’ however.

What ‘is’ legally allowed on pet food labels:

Unqualified
claims (either directly or indirectly) – Pictures displaying choice
cuts of meat even if no meat is provided in the food. Misleading pet
food names such as Albacore Tuna ‘Flavor’ or Sirloin Steak ‘Flavor’ –
no tuna or steak is required to be in the pet food. The list goes on
and on.

You can imagine that dog foods and cat foods providing
accurate information on the label such as ‘Chemical Preservatives
inside linked to tumors and cancer’ or ‘Includes By-Products rejected
for use in human food’ wouldn’t be top sellers at the pet store. The
pet food companies that use these types of ingredients are not forced
by regulations to tell you; which in turn hurts the companies that
wouldn’t consider using risky chemicals or inferior by-products in
their foods. One pet food might actually contain natural ingredients
yet because of existing rules and regulations, they can’t tell you
anything different than the pet food who claims natural while using
added colors and risky chemicals. All pet food labels must stay within
particular parameters, hiding the truth from pet owners. Hiding the
truth of quality ingredients and hiding the truth of risky ingredients.

Pet
food regulations need to be changed — yesterday. As the research shows
the majority of pet owners are actively seeking out dog and cat foods
that are natural. That’s great news and would be beneficial to millions
of pets if only someone could decide what ‘natural’ means. But since
AAFCO and the FDA give pet owners no official definition for ‘natural’,
pet owners might as well be searching for Fool’s Gold. Current pet food
regulations designate ‘Fool’s Gold’ and ‘Natural Pet Food’ to have an
equal value.