# Rendered pets in pet food?!



## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

The truth about pet foods and rendering | petMD

I just came across a post about the above article on Facebook. It is from 2010 but I had never heard of such outrageous practices. Does anyone know if this still goes on? I have emailed the manufacturer of Bentley's food to make sure they're not using rendered pets and roadkill. I really don't even have any words to describe my feelings right now. Just horrified I guess. :no:


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

Nothing would surprise me if $$ were involved.


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

It makes me reconsider trying to feed him a raw diet.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

The way I understand the blog article is that the FDA study did not find any evidence of euthanized pets in 2000, when they did the study. 
They say that it is accurate up to 5 pounds in 50 tons but the vet writing the article is suspect of the pentobarbital in some of the samples in the first two studies, 1998 and 2000. 


I don't believe the government tells us everything, natch, but I can't imagine that the study was in cahoots w/shelters for disposal of pet bodies- in the grand scheme there can't be enough money in it to buy off everyone who'd have to be bought off. Just my own opinion, not worth a thing!!


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Here's a link to the 1st article that led me to the one posted above from PetMD. 

AAFCO Admits Rendered Pets in Pet Food - Bullmarket French Bulldogs


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

It's a known practice. Frankly unless they are using human grade animals I don't want to feed it to my dogs. If you research it you will see all kinds unhealthy animals are used at rendering plants.


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Tayla's Mom said:


> It's a known practice. Frankly unless they are using human grade animals I don't want to feed it to my dogs. If you research it you will see all kinds unhealthy animals are used at rendering plants.


Wow. I had no idea. Do you feed raw?


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## Lilliam (Apr 28, 2010)

Wow. Thanks for the article. Just checked my boys' food....whew....


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Lilliam said:


> Wow. Thanks for the article. Just checked my boys' food....whew....


What should I look for to make sure Bentley's food is okay?


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## Lilliam (Apr 28, 2010)

Heart O'Gold said:


> What should I look for to make sure Bentley's food is okay?


no generic meat or bone meal. 

for example, my guys are on Wellness Core Grain Free Chicken and Turkey. There is turkey meal and chicken meal. So that's ground up turkey and ground up chicken. Of course, that included rather non palatable things like possibly feathers and beaks. But at least it's not a euthanised pet.

Whichever food you feed, it should specify the source. Not simply "bone meal" or such.


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## Lilliam (Apr 28, 2010)

Should look like this

Deboned Turkey, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Peas, Potatoes, Dried Ground Potatoes, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Tomato Pomace, Chicken Liver, Natural Chicken Flavor, Ground Flaxseed, Salmon Oil, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Broccoli, Spinach, Parsley, Apples, Blueberries, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Beta-Carotene, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Biotin, Folic Acid], Minerals [Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate], Choline Chloride, Mixed Tocopherols added to preserve freshness, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Taurine, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract, Green Tea Extrac


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Thanks. I read some of the comments below the 2nd article or blog post and people seem to think the author is exaggerating what was actually said and sensationalizing it. I hope so. I will double check the ingredients in both my dog and cat food bags, but I made it a priority to select foods that have named meats and meals so I think I'm as safe as I can be feeding kibble.


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## Lilliam (Apr 28, 2010)

Here is one to stay away from.

Ground Whole Corn, Chicken By-product Meal, Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved With BHA and Citric Acid), Meat and Bone Meal, Wheat Mill Run, Ground Whole Wheat, Potassium Chloride, Natural Flavor, Salt, Vegetable Oil (source of Linoleic Acid), Vitamins (Dl-alpha Tocopherol Acetate [source of Vitamin E], Choline Chloride, L-ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate [source of Vitamin C*], Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement [Vitamin B2], Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Monocalcium Phosphate, Dried Vegetables (Peas, Carrots), Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Potassium Iodide), Calcium Carbonate, Added FD&C Colors (Red 40, Blue 2, Yellow 6, Yellow 5), Taurine, Marigold Extract


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Bentley's food contains 

Boneless chicken*, chicken meal, chicken liver*, whole herring*, boneless turkey*, turkey meal, turkey liver*, whole eggs*, boneless walleye*, whole salmon*, chicken heart*, chicken cartilage*, herring meal, salmon meal, chicken liver oil, red lentils, green peas, green lentils, sun-cured alfalfa, yams*, pea fiber, chickpeas, pumpkin*, butternut squash*, spinach greens*, carrots*, Red Delicious apples*, Bartlett pears*, cranberries*, blueberries*, kelp, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, Enterococcus faecium.

And Prim's (cat)
Kibble:
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Peas, Potatoes, Pea Starch, Pea Fiber, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Dried Cellulose, Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Natural Chicken Flavor, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Cranberries, Blueberries, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Turmeric, Dried Chicory Root, Oil of Rosemary, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin (Vitamin B3), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin (Vitamin B7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Choline Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Salt, Caramel, Potassium Chloride, Dried Yeast (source of Saccharomyces cerevisiae), Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product

Canned:
Chicken Broth
Chicken
Chicken Liver
Peas
Egg Whites
Spinach
Chicken Eggs
Ground Flaxseed
Carrots
Montmorillonite Clay
Natural Flavor
Sodium Phosphate
Salt
Dried Kelp
Potassium Chloride
Minerals ( Zinc ProteinateIron ProteinateCopper ProteinateManganese ProteinateSodium SeleniteCobalt ProteinatePotassium Iodide), 
Vitamins ( Vitamin E SupplementThiamine MononitrateNiacin Supplementd-Calcium PantothenatePyridoxine HydrochlorideRiboflavin SupplementVitamin A SupplementBiotinVitamin D3 SupplementVitamin B12 SupplementFolic Acid), 
Taurine
Guar Gum
L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate
Choline Chloride
Cassia Gum
Xanthan Guam
Artichokes
Cranberries
Pumpkin
Tomato
Blueberries
Broccoli
Cabbage
Kale


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## KeaColorado (Jan 2, 2013)

Heart O'Gold said:


> It makes me reconsider trying to feed him a raw diet.


One of the reasons we switched to raw is that I just don't trust these large companies. I feel the same way about the stuff DH and I eat and the products we use (except we cook the meat first. :curtain


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

Heart O'Gold said:


> Wow. I had no idea. Do you feed raw?


I feed Grandma Lucy's which is a freeze dried form of raw. I was doing raw for a while, but I don't feed just a chicken leg, etc. I was doing ground raw with bones because Tayla tends to gulp and I don't want any bones stuck. Unfortunately, Lily was regurgitating some of her raw meals and it's just too expensive (if done correctly) to waste so I went back to Grandma Lucy's. You add warm water and it reconstitutes itself back to chunks of meat, veggies and fruits. Similar to The Honest Kitchen, but I like the looks and smell of Grandma Lucy's better. I don't want them having a lot of potatoes so I mix the Pureformance (potato free) 2 to 1 with their regular Artisan (w/potatoes). It's a learning process. My prior two dogs did very well on kibble, but I kept to the higher end brands. Unfortunately several have sold out to companies I didn't think would keep up the standards so that's when I switched to what I'm now feeding.


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

My sister thinks I'm just being trendy feeding my pets foods that you can't buy at the grocery store. (She feeds her dogs foods like Pedigree.) I'm really glad I have stayed away from random "meat" ingredients now. I might look into a freeze dried option for Bentley. Do you have to switch to freeze dried only and phase out kibble entirely? The cooked diet sounds good, too. I will have to do some research.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

I feed a combination of kibble, dehydrated (honest kitchen) and raw. I never feed the kibble and aw together, but I'll put the dehydrated with either the kibble or the raw. A lot of treats claim generic meat sources too, always check ingredients on anything go that goes in your dogs mouths.


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Treats are easier to pass under the radar. I will definitely be looking at them much more closely. I think I need to toss my cat treats. They are probably too low quality.


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## Lilliam (Apr 28, 2010)

Heart O'Gold said:


> Bentley's food contains
> 
> Boneless chicken*, chicken meal, chicken liver*, whole herring*, boneless turkey*, turkey meal, turkey liver*, whole eggs*, boneless walleye*, whole salmon*, chicken heart*, chicken cartilage*, herring meal, salmon meal, chicken liver oil, red lentils, green peas, green lentils, sun-cured alfalfa, yams*, pea fiber, chickpeas, pumpkin*, butternut squash*, spinach greens*, carrots*, Red Delicious apples*, Bartlett pears*, cranberries*, blueberries*, kelp, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, Enterococcus faecium.


That's Orijen, isn't it? I wish my guys could tolerate Orijen. I'd love to be able to feed them that.


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Yes. It's the Orijen Adult formula. He ate Wellness Complete 5 LBP for his 1st year and then the Orijen 6 Fish when I switched him to adult food. His coat is better on the Adult formula though, he must need the other protein sources like chicken and turkey. It is so hard to choose a food and find one that works well for your dog. I am always wondering if I could be feeding him better. When I see things like those articles, it just scares me and I don't know which company to trust or what to believe. Thanks for reassuring me. I wish the world was a simpler place sometimes.


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## Lilliam (Apr 28, 2010)

I would absolutely and without the semblance of a doubt feed that food to my boys, if they could tolerate it. But they both didn't react well.


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## Golden999 (Jun 29, 2010)

I don't really worry about horse meat or something winding up in dog food in small quantities. After all, most dog foods were derived primarily from horse meats in the early 20th century. Horses are actually even edible for humans (I've heard they don't taste very good, though). I'd imagine we chiefly don't eat horses ourselves because cattle are easier to fatten up and cattle beef probably tastes better, plus we have sort of a cultural protectiveness toward horses in the west to some degree. I'm not sure there's an ethical difference, though, and horse meat from a horse that's been properly monitored (and had it's meat inspected) for infection, that was not treated with drugs dogs can't handle, and that doesn't come from horses put down due to illnesses is not going to be a problem for a dog. 

I am a bit concerned that there doesn't always seem to be separation between the horse euthunazied because of a bad leg or two and a horse that's euthanized because of a viral or bacterial illness, though- the former would be fine for dog food, the latter needs to simply be disposed of (or made into glue). I also think, and I'd said this in the past for other reasons, is that we need a much stricter regulatory and inspection regime when it comes to dog food in the United States- and human food, for that matter. But horse meat in and of itself isn't a problem.

Even cat meat, though we might have ethical qualms with our dogs eating trace amount of dead cat (Even cats that were going to be euthanized anyway) because we consider cats highly intelligent pets, isn't necessarily dangerous to a dog if properly inspected and sourced. There are some parts of China where cats are considered a delicacy and people eat them.

The problem, really, apart from the need to mandate inspectors and such, is when euthanized dogs enter a food supply for dogs. I'm not speaking of taboos against cannibalism, I'm speaking of real potential health issues. The author is correct to cite mad cow disease as an example of how this can go wrong- a species of animal eating members of it's own species is a huge potential vector for disease. There are very solid scientific reasons you just don't do this. Mad cow disease, for example, first became a significant thing because cows were being fed remnants of other cows in their feed (I think specifically the brains). The reason why cannibalism is so taboo to humans is probably evolutionary instinct that correctly tells us that a species eating other members of the same species is extremely dangerous. That's what worries me about this.


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## elly (Nov 21, 2010)

Lilliam said:


> Here is one to stay away from.
> 
> Ground Whole Corn, Chicken By-product Meal, Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved With BHA and Citric Acid), Meat and Bone Meal, Wheat Mill Run, Ground Whole Wheat, Potassium Chloride, Natural Flavor, Salt, Vegetable Oil (source of Linoleic Acid), Vitamins (Dl-alpha Tocopherol Acetate [source of Vitamin E], Choline Chloride, L-ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate [source of Vitamin C*], Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement [Vitamin B2], Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Monocalcium Phosphate, Dried Vegetables (Peas, Carrots), Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Potassium Iodide), Calcium Carbonate, Added FD&C Colors (Red 40, Blue 2, Yellow 6, Yellow 5), Taurine, Marigold Extract



That is horrible! I would run a mile! :yuck:


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## Golden999 (Jun 29, 2010)




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