Many customers have expressed interest in
hearing our take on the big pet food
recall story. For the
record, none of our products were affected by the recall. Our
products are all-natural, made with safe, reliable, human-quality
ingredients. We don’t use any of the ingredients that
have come under scrutiny, nor do we use by-products of any
kind. And we don’t use third-party manufacturers to make
our food (all of our foods are made at our own little factory
in Minnesota).
The source of contamination in the first round of recalls was a by-product called
wheat gluten. Wheat gluten is defined by AAFCO (Association of American Feed
Control Officials) as “The tough, viscid nitrogenous substance remaining
when the (wheat) is washed to remove the starch.” By-products like wheat
gluten are the leftovers that arise from the production of human-quality foods
and are thus deemed useless to the human food chain (see article on opposing
page for more info on human quality vs. feed quality ingredients). The company
in question was using this low-quality by-product and then intentionally adding
the toxic substance melamine to artificially boost the protein value of the wheat
gluten, making it more valuable to sell on the open market. A deceptive practice
such as this is made possible by the lack of quality standards inherent in feed-grade
ingredients and by-products.
In general, the fact that contamination of pet food
has occurred is not surprising considering the low quality of feed-grade by-products
routinely found in commercial pet food. A quick look at the approved ingredient
list from the AAFCO handbook shows you some of the scary things that are deemed
appropriate for pet foods. These include “Food Processing Waste”, “Restaurant
Food Waste”, “Ground Corn Cob”, and “Dried Poultry Waste”.
The best way to avoid these types of ingredients, is to feed your pet whole food
ingredients. Not only do whole food ingredients keep you clear of by-products,
but they provide your pet with naturally-occurring nutrients and enzymes that
lay the foundation for a healthy, thriving animal. It’s also a good idea
to avoid over-processed ingredients. The less processing that occurs, the less
the risk of exposure to potentially harmful agents. And, of course, the closer
an ingredient is to it’s natural state, the more likely it is that those
naturally-occurring nutrients and enzymes are still present. The best way to
make sure your pet is getting unprocessed whole food ingredients is to get your
them on a homemade pet food diet. Whether you buy a credited book and make the
food yourself, or use a pre-mix like one of our foods, this will allow you to
take
back control
of what goes in your pet’s dish – and give you the peace of mind
of knowing that your pet is getting fresh, safe, human-quality
ingredients like
those you’d find in your own kitchen.
Sadly, it often takes a tragedy to inspire change. If it’s possible for
anything good to come from this story, it’s that so many people have been
inspired to learn about homemade pet foods, and commit themselves to providing
the very best in nutrition for their pets. According to Google, searches for
the term ‘homemade pet food’ and 'homemade
dog food' have been in the hundreds of thousands since the recall. And books
on
homemade
pet
food
recipes have been flying off
of bookstore shelves. Sales of our pet foods have doubled since the recall, and
our phones are ringing off the hook. We hope stories covering this current pet
food recall continue to highlight the benefits of a homemade diet – and
encourage more pet food manufacturers to stop putting profits ahead of the health
and safety of our beloved companion animals.
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Sojourner Farms. All rights reserved.
