Vetting the Pet Food Industry

By Dr. Bec Crawford, DVM CertAqV BSc (Hons)

Vaccines, pet foods, supplements and treats, livestock and aquaculture feeds, nutraceuticals, mislabeled seafood, cosmetics, fertiliser, jewelry and souvenirs may contain sharks; imperiled superpredators with an essential role in maintaining the health of our oceanic life support system. To ensure a healthy planet for generations to come, we need sharks alive and thriving in the world’s oceans.

ARE YOU FEEDING ENDANGERED SPECIES TO YOUR PETS?

You need to know that both your food and your pet’s food may contain shark. Shark finning, the practice of removing the fins from a living shark and throwing the rest of the body back into the ocean, became a popular industry in the 1980s due to high demand for shark fin soup. This illegal practice has driven shark populations to the brink of extinction with many species having declined from 90 up to 99%. While shark finning has become illegal in many countries, enforcement of finning laws remains difficult and many loopholes exist allowing shark meat, liver oil, leather and cartilage to make their way into many different commercially available products. When it comes to pet food, companies and corporations are likely purchasing bulk fish meal and fish oil from contaminated supply chains containing shark. It is my goal here to empower you to reach out to your pet food company and inquire about the sources of marine derived products in your pet’s food. This is our responsibility as consumers, for the health of our pets, ourselves and our planet.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

World fisheries have long been unsustainable. We know that endangered fishes may continue to serve the food chain until the projected global fisheries disaster of 2048 largely due to unsustainable fisheries subsidies by governments and other players such as Mitsubishi. This includes salmon and tuna stocks as well as “ocean whitefish” species ultimately referring to any fish taken from the ocean with white meat including cod, haddock, halibut and pollock. Seafood mislabeling is now a supply chain epidemic, with most concern focused on the sushi and seafood restaurant industry where species identification yields to bizarre pseudonyms like “white tuna” for escolar. Sharks are often served under commercial pseudonyms such as “flake” and “rock salmon.” It is particularly concerning but not surprising that many pet foods have been proven to contain sharks and their relatives skates and rays. By the end of this first blog in a series of which I’m terming Vetting the pet food industry, I think you’ll begin to join me in saying, “This is nuts!” 

MY STORY

The term “may contain” has long haunted me. My life-threatening food allergies have always been challenging, especially whilst pursuing my education across the globe and learning about differing food label regulations the hard way, admitted to hospital more than 25 times for allergy-related incidences by age 30. As a veterinarian, I’m here to vet the pet food industry for the wild and for my clients seeking healthy, sustainable food options for their pets. 

Did you know that “may contain” label statements are actually voluntary by the manufacturer, not required by law, but rather considered mere courtesy statements? As of 2004, manufacturers in the United States are only required to list the top eight allergens when present in foods labeled for human consumption. These common allergens, crustaceans/shellfish, dairy/milk, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts and wheat, are most common to cause anaphylaxis, a form of severe allergic reaction which can be fatal. The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) does not require labeling for possible cross-contamination with an allergen (read more about Flawed Allergen labelling in the US here). While allergens may cause chronic inflammatory disease states and even sudden death in some people and animals, pollutants, notably mercury found in high trophic level fish such as sharks and tuna, are perhaps more likely to cause disease and death in a greater number of people and pets with repeated exposure.

It comes as no surprise to me that if the regulation of human food labels and standards is so haphazard, that the enforcement of pet food guidelines, requirements and safety is so inexplicably lacking. Now more than ever, labeling loopholes pose health risks for humans, pets and wildlife. As a shark lover, knowledge of these issues has led me to contribute to this growing mission among activists, conservationists, environmentalists and scientists around the globe today. Since 2010, I’ve studied, volunteered and worked in the fish and shark conservation world. As a fisheries observer in 2012, I witnessed the brutal and even more ghastly - legal - removal of the wings of live caught skate aboard a Canadian trawler that would be sold as “scallop.” Later I started biting into pet product labelling loopholes during veterinary school in 2015, and since the passing of my mentor Rob Stewart in 2017 with whom I’d been researching shark in pet food supply, I’ve been navigating how to tackle this topic with our global team. In more recent years as a veterinarian in practice, I diagnosed a puppy afflicted with an avoidable developmental disease as result of improper nutrition, unbeknownst to the dog's owner despite their efforts to choose an appropriate food for their growing pup. At this point in time, given what I know and what I’ve seen, I would be violating my veterinary oath if I didn’t address this all-encompassing animal, environmental, human health and welfare issue. 

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

When it comes to pet food regulation, labelling and enforcement in the US, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) governs federal animal feed labeling standards being manufacturer address and name, net quantity statement, product identification and proper ingredient listing. At the state level, which is not required but rather voluntary by state choice, is the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) with additional label requirements for pet food being calorie statements, feeding directions, guaranteed analysis, nutritional adequacy statement and product name. All of the above are label requirements, with their enforcement, regulation and testing for accuracy of product label claims being inconsistent. 

From a medical standpoint, it is entirely plausible that increasing cancer cases and neurological diseases in both humans and pets are linked to high levels of toxins such as methyl mercury present in the food chain, especially if unknowingly present in pet food because we’re just not testing it. In addition to murky supply chains, loopholes include manufacturer bias in reporting accuracy of ingredients and manufacturing processes, as only voluntary mechanisms are in place for accountable labeling of pet food. Say it with me now, “This is nuts, and it’s nowhere near good enough.” 

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE 

It’s been said that pets are more damaging to the environment than SUVs. We must take into consideration the environmental impact of the over 5,000 pet food labels in the US with variable manufacturers ranging from 50 to 75 in recent years. We know that corporations pay to have generic pet food brands made on private label for them, and no categorization or regulations exist to monitor generic branding or private labelling. For instance, California Natural, Costco’s Kirkland brand and Natural Balance are all made by the same company. MARS owns most grocery brand pet foods including Cesar, Eukanuba, Iams, Pedigree, Royal Canin, Royco, Sheba, Temptations, Waltham and Whiskas. Nestle owns Purina which owns Friskies and other Purina labeled products. Smucker’s owns Meow Mix, Nature’s Recipe and others. Please recognize that I do not mean to label pet food companies as the enemy, but it is my opinion that corporations do need to take more responsibility in proving the sustainability and safety of their products. It is entirely possible that companies are unaware that their products may contain sharks, likely purchasing bulk fish meal and fish oil from contaminated supply chains. It is my goal here to empower you to reach out to your company of choice and inquire about the source of marine derived products in your pet’s food. This is our responsibility as consumers, for the health of our planet, our pets and ourselves.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Your Call To Action: Contact your pet’s food brand to inquire about the possibility of shark in your pet’s food.

Ingredients to Avoid: bolillo, bully sticks, cape steak, catfish, cazon, chondroitin, dogfish, flake, gill, gill rakers, grayfish, gummy, huss, lemon fish, little salmon, ocean filet, ocean whitefish, paletita, pescado blanco, rigg, rock salmon, salmon, saumonette, schillerlocken, sea eel, seeaal, sea ham, shagreen, smoked dogfish, smoked rock salmon, sokomoro, squalane, squalene, steakfish, surimi (artificial/imitation crab, lobster, scallop, shrimp), tintorera, tofu shark, whitefish.

Watch this space for more to come on pet food labeling, nutraceuticals and products recommended by veterinarians.