Did They Really Title It Dog Eat Dog???

Oh, the irony! Today, 7/16, the History Channel will air another episode in their series “The Food That Built America.” This episode, on pet food, is titled “Dog Eat Dog.” What were they thinking???

We’ve known for some time that deceased pets may be found in pet foods. Around 1998, then president of AAFCO Hersh Pendell gave this TV interview, where he not only stated there is no regulation about what rendered ingredients contain, but also stated that from a nutritional standpoint, dogs and cats represent protein.

Today, we have more evidence of dogs (as well as other unstated ingredients) finding their way into kibble. From a class action suit filed against the former owners of Rachel Ray pet foods, JM Smucker and Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, here is the DNA found in Nutrish Just 6 Lamb Meal and Brown Rice recipe:

The product bag contains this statement:

“[Rachael Ray Nutrish Just 6 is] a pet food made with just
six simple, natural ingredients with added vitamins &
minerals. Lamb meal is the #1 ingredient, followed by five
other wholesome ingredients. Of course, Just 6® doesn’t
contain any corn, wheat, soy or gluten ingredients. . . .” (from the lawsuit)

Clearly, the product contains more than six ingredients, including things that the package states are NOT in the product.

And most disturbingly, they found dog in the ingredients! Dog actually was present in a greater amount than chicken, while chicken fat was the fifth ingredient on the label. How did the History Channel not know this? Dog eat dog, indeed.

As Hersh Pendell stated in the video linked above, there is no way to tell what is in processed pet food. Sadly, twenty-five years later, that has not changed.