Commercial pet food is a great convenience to pet owners.  Responsible pet owners who want the best for their animals have a bewildering array of foods and claims to choose from.  How do you know what's best for your animals?

The most reputable manufacturers of premium and "natural" pet foods agree with holistic veterinarians that the very best diet for your pet is one that you make yourself.  A home-prepared diet, carefully balanced nutritionally and using raw and organic foods, is the best you can do for your pet.  However, many of us do not have the time or energy to do home-cooking, especially for multiple animals or very large dogs.  So, for those of us who rely, partially or entirely on commercial foods for our animals, here are some guidelines to use in selecting a good-quality diet.

CONTENT:  The name of the flavor is strictly regulated and tells us what is actually in the food.   "Chicken for Dogs" must contain at least 95% chicken (excluding water).   Similarly, "Fish and Giblets for Cats" will be 95% fish and giblets together, and there must be more fish than giblets since fish appears first on the label.   If the label says "dinner", "platter", "entree", "nuggets", "formula" or similar term, there must be 25% of the named meat source.  That is, "Fish Dinner" must contain 25% fish.  If more than one ingredient is named, such as "Fish and Giblets Entree", the two ingredients must comprise 25% of the total and the second ingredient must be at least 3%.   Ingredients labeled as "with" must be present at 3%, such as "Fish Dinner with Giblets".  An ingredient labeled as a "flavor", such as "Beef Flavor Dinner", may not actually have a beef meat, but more likely will contain beef meal or beef by-products which give the food a beef flavor.

WHAT IS A BY-PRODUCT?  Even on premium brands such as Science Diet and Iams, you will notice the first ingredient listed is "by-products".  By-products may include muscle meat, but more often comprise intestines, feet, hooves, beaks, and other waste organs, spoiled meat, and road kill.

THE 4 D's: When a manufacturer claims to use meat as an ingredient, this is not usually a grade of meat fit for human consumption.  If it were, the cost of pet food would be prohibitively high.  Pet food meat may be from animals that are disabled, diseased, dying, or already dead before reaching the slaughterhouse: the "4 D's".  It may include cancerous tissue or fetal tissue (which is very high in hormones).  It may even be meat from dogs and cats that have been euthanized at animal shelters, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and confirmed by the American Veterinary medical Association, though vehemently denied by pet food manufacturers.

COMPLETE & BALANCED:  A food may be labeled "complete and balanced" if it meets the standards set by a regulatory group such as AAFCO, the American Association of Feed Control Officers.   They may do this in two ways: (1) meeting the published standards for content, or (2) feeding trials.

The nutritional standards set the required amounts of protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and so forth.  These theoretically have the benefit of extensive research in various species behind them.  However, the fundamental research supporting standards for adult cat food includes one study on protein requirements, one  study on amino acid requirements, and zero studies on vitamin requirements.  Yet AAFCO publishes standards stating exactly how much of each vitamin must be included in adult cat food.  Where to these values come from?   They are interpreted and extrapolated from research in kittens (which has been more extensive), and from research in other species.  Is this valid?  We do not know.

Moreover, any manufacturer can synthesize a food containing the exact amounts of each ingredient according to the standards, yet an animal will ultimately starve to death on it.  How could this happen?  Because the standards do not address the issues of digestibility or "bioavailability" of nutrients to the animal.  Certain forms of vitamins and minerals, for example, cannot be absorbed from the digestive tract.  One veterinarian reportedly concocted a food using old leather boots,
crankcase oil and wood shavings, that met the technical content requirements for protein, carbohydrates and fats.  Unfortunately, given the ingredients used by many manufacturers, "Old Boot" may be closer to the truth than anyone wants to admit!

Feeding trials are considered the "gold standard" of pet food formulation; however, when you look at the actual AAFCO standards, a manufacturer must feed exclusively the test food to a minimum of 6 animals for 6 months.  Most reputable pet food producers, including Iams, Purina, and similar companies, test on hundreds of animals for a year or more.  However, it is easy to see how a marginally ethical manufacturer could feed a poor quality diet for only 6 months without seeing adverse health effects, and then be able to state that their food is "complete and balanced".

Keep in mind that the standards, such as they are, only set "minimums" and "maximums", not "optimums".   Commercial foods are designed to be adequate for the average animal, but may not be suitable for an individual pet's variable needs.

ADDITIVES:  Virtually every commercial food contains additives and preservatives.  Some of the worst include BHA, BHT and Ehoxyquin.  Monsanto, manufacturer of Ethoxyquin (a rubber stabilizer and pesticide), was ordered to conduct a new study on Ethoxyquin due to doctoring of data in its initial report.  Not surprisingly, the new study, just completed, found no problems associated with Ethoxiquin in pet food.  Given Monsanto's track record, do you believe this?  Ethoxyquin is banned in human food products due to its cancer-causing properties.  Worst for the consumer, many chemicals may be added by the renderer or have been used on grain products in the field or during processing, and since the pet food makers are not the ones adding them, they need not be disclosed on the label.  For instance, probably most, if not all, animal fat destined for animal consumption has been treated with Ethoxyquin by the renderer.

WHAT TO DO?  When selecting a commercial food for your pet, be sure to read the label.  Although percentages are misleading due to the moisture content of various ingredients, they are the only data available.  In general, select brands promoted to be "natural": while they are not perfect, they are better than most.  Several foods are now preserved with Vitamin E rather than synthetic preservatives.  While these preservatives may still be present, the amounts will be less.  Stay away from "light" or "special formula" foods;  manufacturers barely know enough to produce a fair quality maintenance food, let alone tinker with generally workable formulas.  Avoid generic or store brands; these are usually repackaged rejects from the big manufacturers.   Change brands every few months to avoid deficiencies or excesses of ingredients which may be problematic to your pet.  Cats in particular need a daily serving of wet food to reduce the workload on the kidneys.  Above all, supplement with organic raw meats (these are safe as long as they have been previously frozen), and cooked organic grains and vegetables (most cannot be digested by our pet animals raw).  There are many excellent books available for more detailed guidelines on ingredients, proportions, and preparation.

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