truthaboutpetfood

Today.com has graciously invited me to begin a pet/pet food blog.  Let’s make this something wonderful.  A place to learn and a place to air your concerns.   So tell me, what do you want to learn about?  Want do you want information on?

What do you think about Rachael Ray gettng into pet food?  Think it’s a good idea or should she stick to ‘people’ food?

Here are the first six ingredients of Rachael Ray’s new line of dog food: Beef, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols).  The food does have proteinated minerals for better absorption; does not have probiotics.  What do you think? 

Ok, here’s what I think.  In the first six ingredients (the majority of the food) the only two ingredients I like are the first two.  Beef  is a quality ingredient, and so is Chicken Meal (as long as they are a human grade).  The next three ingredients – Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, and Soybean Meal – I’m not real fond of.  They are not what I would consider red flag ingredients – they just don’t provide much in the way of health promoting nutrition.  And there is always the concern of a pet food manufacturer’s quality control with grains.  Grains are prone to a deadly mold called aflatoxin; when you see them in a pet food, there is always a worry if the manufacturer does proper testing to detect the mold.  And the last ingredient is Animal Fat.  I don’t like this ingredient at all.  The biggest reason is this particular common pet food ingredient has been determined by the FDA to be most likely to contain pentobarbital – which means it is most likely to contain some type of euthanized animal.   

I also think there is no excuse for a pet food not to contain probiotics.  With what modern science tells us – probiotics are proven to help keep the digestive system in healthy working order; which in turn helps keep the immune system strong.  This food has no probiotics.  I did not call to learn if the ingredients are all
U.S. or imported, nor learn if the meat is human grade or pet grade.  Lastly, the food contains Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K activity) – this is a synthetic vitamin with some pretty important controversy attached to it.   

I guess the best thing I can say about Rachael Ray’s new pet food line is that a portion of the proceeds will go to her charity – Rachael’s Rescue; an organization helping animal shelters across the
U.S.  That’s a good move.  Besides the charity, I’m disappointed with the pet food.  Here’s a link to her rescue site: http://www.rachaelray.com/pets/index.php.