Pet food
[3] Mars is the leading company in the pet food industry, making about $17 billion annually in pet-care products.
[9] It also suggests there are substantial opportunities for improvement in "all phases of the pet food life cycle, including formulation, ingredient selection, manufacturing processes" and so on.
Approximately 80% of fishkeeping hobbyists feed their fish exclusively prepared foods that most commonly are produced in flake, pellet or tablet form.
[22] Optimal levels of taurine for cat food have been established by the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition.
[24] Most commercial cat food contains both animal and plant material supplemented with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
AAFCO is a collaborative organization involving feed control officers and regulatory authorities from the United States and Canada.
It plays an important role in ensuring the safety and quality of pet food and animal feed, providing reliable standards for the entire industry.
Instead, its standards serve as the basis for individual states, regions, and federal governments in the U.S. and Canada to establish and enforce laws and regulations regarding pet food.
[27][28] The practice of feeding raw diets has raised some concerns due to the risk of food borne illnesses, zoonosis and nutritional imbalances.
[29] People who feed their dogs raw food do so for a multitude of reasons, including but not limited to: culture, beliefs surrounding health, nutrition and what is perceived to be more natural for their pets.
[30] Feeding raw food can be perceived by owners as allowing the pet to stay in touch with their wild, carnivorous ancestry.
Xylitol, an alternative sweetener found in chewing gum and baked goods designed for diabetics, is highly toxic to cats, dogs, and ferrets.
Although government officials do comprise a large portion of AAFCO, it has no regulatory authority and acts simply as an advisory body, working closely with the FDA to develop standards that food consumed by animals must meet.
[37] AAFCO requires that all pet food products sold in the United States have labels that contain eight components: Dog and cat foods labeled as "complete and balanced" must meet standards established by the AAFCO either by meeting a nutrient profile or by passing a feeding trial.
The label statement on the similar food can be the same as the lead product if the ME is substantiated by the 10-day ME feeding study.
The NRC accepts that despite ongoing research, large gaps still exist in the knowledge of quantitative nutritional information for specific nutrients.
With such broad guidelines and loose feeding trial standards, critics argue that the term "complete and balanced" is inaccurate and even deceptive.
[44] In the European Union, pet food is regulated by the same harmonised standards across the EU, via the Feeding Stuffs Act.
[47] With the released Commission Regulation (EU) No 107/2013, the European Union has set new maximum levels for melamine in canned pet food.
[49] A manufacturer committee called FEDIAF (European Pet Food Industry Federation) makes recommendations for cats and dogs that members follow.
Soon after, there were numerous media reports of animal deaths as a result of kidney failure, and several other companies who received the contaminated wheat gluten also voluntarily recalled dozens of pet food brands.
Midwestern, which is based in Evansville, Indiana, broadened its recall to include all its pet food products manufactured in its Oklahoma facility that contain corn and have expiration dates on or before July 9, 2022.
