{"id":3648,"date":"2018-12-28T20:12:17","date_gmt":"2018-12-28T20:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.net\/blog\/?p=3648"},"modified":"2018-12-28T20:12:17","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T20:12:17","slug":"2018-was-a-busy-year-in-pet-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.org\/blog\/2018\/12\/2018-was-a-busy-year-in-pet-food\/","title":{"rendered":"2018 Was a Busy Year in Pet Food"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By\u00a0Susan Thixton – TRUTH ABOUT PET FOOD – www.truthaboutpetfood.com<\/a><\/h3>\n
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–\u00a0
A lot happened in pet food this year. Sadly, mostly bad news. Here is a review of pet food for 2018.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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January 2018<\/h2>\n

In early January of 2018, we learned that\u00a0industry hired a representative<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0who submitted a proposal to AAFCO hoping to weaken the legal requirements of a human grade pet food. No decision has been made by AAFCO at year\u2019s end.<\/p>\n

January also gave us some\u00a0misleading marketing published by Purina<\/a><\/strong>; highlighting the serious need for pet owners to have public access to pet food ingredient definitions.<\/p>\n

Recalls in January 2018:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just Food for Dogs<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0cooked dog food \u2013\u00a0Listeria monocytogenes.<\/em>\u00a0This was a pet food recall that led to a human food recall (first in history) \u2013\u00a0the pet food caught the problem, human food did not<\/a>.<\/p>\n

February 2018<\/h2>\n

February 2018 brought news of more pentobarbital in pet food. Washington DC television station\u00a0WJLA News<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0tested 62 samples of dog food.\u00a0\u201cAfter months of tests and re-tests, one brand repeatedly came back positive for pentobarbital. In total, we tested 15 cans of Gravy Train. Nine cans \u2014 60-percent of the sample \u2014 were positive for pentobarbital.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0And following the news of pentobarbital in Gravy Train, a\u00a0class action lawsuit<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0was filed against manufacturer Big Heart Brands\/J.M. Smucker.<\/p>\n

In February, TruthaboutPetFood.com provided\u00a0a comparison to FDA\u2019s<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0handling of a kibble recall to a raw recall proving absolute bias by the agency.<\/p>\n

General Mills purchased Blue Buffalo<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0pet food in February 2018 for an estimated 8 Billion dollars.<\/p>\n

We provided an in-depth look into the \u2018Complete and Balanced\u2019 pet food<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0regulations \u2013 proving existing regulations could cause nutrient deficiency in pets.<\/p>\n

Recalls in February 2018:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Raws for Paws\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>raw pet food \u2013\u00a0Salmonella<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Smokehouse Pet Products, Inc.<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\u201cBeefy Munchies\u201d \u2013\u00a0Salmonella<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Redbarn Pet Products, LLC<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Bully Stick three pack \u2013\u00a0Salmonella<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Darwin\u2019s Pet Food<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0raw pet food \u2013\u00a0Salmonella<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Smokehouse Pet Products<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0expanding recall Beefy Munchies\/Beefy Bites \u2013\u00a0Salmonella<\/em>.<\/p>\n

TruPet, LLC<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0topper \u2013\u00a0Salmonella<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Northwest Naturals<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0raw pet food \u2013\u00a0Listeria monocytogenes<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Carnivore Meat Company<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0raw pet food \u2013\u00a0Salmonella<\/em>.<\/p>\n

March 2018<\/h2>\n

In March of 2018, a pet owner who lives across the street from\u00a0a rendering facility<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0provided us with horrific pictures of what FDA considers pet \u2018food\u2019.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0State of Ohio<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0stepped up in a big way in March of 2018 \u2013 with Representative Laura Lanese submitting a bill requiring pet food to be free from any euthanized animal including dogs and cats used as a pet food ingredient. Ohio is the first state to do this!<\/p>\n

We learned from\u00a0a concerned veterinarian<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0that FDA does little to require pet foods to update labels after any ingredient change is made in that pet food. FDA told this veterinarian that pet food\u00a0\u201cfirms should update labels as soon as practical. \u00a0The FDA does not provide a set timeframe.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In March of 2018, TruthaboutPetFood.com explained\u00a0the \u2018False Friends\u2019 of pet food labels<\/a><\/strong>(misleading information on pet food labels and websites due to pet owners having no public access to pet food ingredient definitions). Also, TruthaboutPetFood.com explained how\u00a0FDA ignores the risk of dead bacteria<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on pet food ingredients (ignores the certain risk of endotoxins).<\/p>\n

March 2018 brought a\u00a0class action lawsuit against Champion Pet Food<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for \u201cFalse Advertising<\/em>\u201d, violations of \u201cfeed law<\/em>\u201d, and numerous other charges. And we learned of more\u00a0jerky treats imported from China<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0killing beloved pets. And we learned of\u00a0pet deaths in Australia<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0linked to a Mars Petcare pet food.<\/p>\n

In March of 2018 we learned some good (great) news too. Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib published the ground-breaking documentary\u00a0The Dog Cancer Series<\/a><\/strong>. Here is a clip from the film:<\/p>\n

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