You may or may not have heard about some potentially toxic substances in petfoods. Some are fillers, some are unneccesary additives but what I’m going to focus on today is preservatives.
The reason we need some form of preservative in our pet foods is to prevent oxidative damage to fatty acids, vitamins and other fat-soluble substances in the food. Each of the following preservatives does its job, but some are cheaper than other at the cost of the health of our pets.
(x) BHA (Butylated hydroxysanisole)/ BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene) – Banned from human use in many countries but still permitted in the US and are known carcinogens yet the FDA refuses to ban them from human or pet food. These types of chemicals can cause harm to your pet in the long run, especially when they eat the same food day in and day out.
From a research study done on rats fed 0.5% of their diet in BHA:
The results suggest that BHA is not a potent behavioral toxin, although it is developmentally toxicusing non-behavioral measures
(x) Ethoxyquin – This preservative is primarily made by a company called Monsanto, check them out yourself – they produce and sell pesticides! An antioxidant that has never been proven to be safe for the lifespan of a companion animal. It has been linked to thyroid, kidney, reproductive and immune related illnesses as well as cancer, but so far no conclusive scientific research results either for the safety of this product or against it have been obtained. Even so, I prefer to err on the side of caution and avoid this altogether.
Taken from the Wellness Pet Foods website, this is not surprising and likely one of the only reasons that ethoxyquin is still used in pet foods at all
One of the biggest pet food companies to still use ethoxyquin is Hill’s, makers of Science Diet.
Ethoxyquin was originally approved by the FDA as a grain preservative intended for animals raised to be killed for food, and it was to be used no longer than 2 years.
(+) Mixed tocopherols –
a series of organic compounds consisting of various methylated phenols derived from vitamin E. It is extracted from plant sources and has the same antioxidant effect as the above chemicals. Its only downfall is that it cannot preserve for as long as the chemicals, but this just means you have to ensure to properly store your pet’s food.
(+) Citric acid
– useful and effective preservative, obtained from naturally occurring organic acids from fruits such as cranberries, blueberries, apples, and some other fruits. Nothing wrong with fruit extracts! Again the downfall is that this cannot preserve for nearly as long.
(+) Rosemary extract – an extract from the plant Rosmarinus officinalis, an evergreen shrub which has anti-oxidant properties. Another natural plant extract, nothing wrong with this.
The most ideal preservative would be a combination of the mixed tocopherols, citric acid and rosemary extract. For example, the Orijen Adult formula contains mixed tocopherols and rosemary and is a fantastic dry kibble to feed your dog 🙂
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