fish n dog
Love to know how Natura Pet made the list ?
Feather fragments were found in a sample of EVO Baked Treats for Dogs, and in a sample of EVO Small Bites;
http://www.mflegal.com/files/Exhibits%201-29%20to%203rd%20Amended%20Complaint%20[DE333-2].pdf;
"EXTRANEOUS MATTER Under microscopic examination, feather fragments were found in the product, as per complaint.
The manufacturer's website states that this product's poultry ingredients are "exclusive of hair and feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices."
Exhibits 30-35 listed several brands of dog food in which penobarbital were found. This was followed by a report from the FDA on the risk from penobarbital in pet food;
During the 1990s, FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) received reports from veterinarians that pentobarbital, an
anesthetizing agent used for dogs and other animals, seemed to be losing its effectiveness in dogs. Based on these
reports, CVM officials decided to investigate a plausible theory that the dogs were exposed to pentobarbital through dog
food, and that this exposure was making them less responsive to pentobarbital when it was used as a drug.
How pentobarbital can get into dog food
Because in addition to producing anesthesia, pentobarbital is routinely used to euthanize animals, the most likely way it
could get into dog food would be in rendered animal products.
Rendered products come from a process that converts animal tissues to feed ingredients. Pentobarbital seems to be able to
survive the rendering process. If animals are euthanized with pentobarbital and subsequently rendered, pentobarbital could
be present in the rendered feed ingredients.
In order to determine if pentobarbital residues were present in animal feeds, CVM developed a sophisticated process to
detect and quantify minute levels – down to 2 parts per billion of pentobarbital in dry dog food. To confirm that the methods
they developed worked properly, CVM scientists used the methods to analyze dry commercial dog foods purchased from
retail outlets near to their Laurel, MD, laboratories. The scientists purchased dog food as part of two surveys, one in 1998
and the second in 2000. They found some samples contained pentobarbital (see the attached tables).
Dogs, cats not in dog food
Because pentobarbital is used to euthanize dogs and cats at animal shelters, finding pentobarbital in rendered feed
ingredients could suggest that the pets were rendered and used in pet food.
CVM scientists, as part of their investigation, developed a test to detect dog and cat DNA in the protein of the dog food. All
samples from the most recent dog food survey (2000) that tested positive for pentobarbital, as well as a subset of samples
that tested negative, were examined for the presence of remains derived from dogs or cats. The results demonstrated a
complete absence of material that would have been derived from euthanized dogs or cats. The sensitivity of this method is
0.005% on a weight/weight basis; that is, the method can detect a minimum of 5 pounds of rendered remains in 50 tons of
finished feed. Presently, it is assumed that the pentobarbital residues are entering pet foods from euthanized, rendered
cattle or even horses.
FDA/CVM Report on the Risk from Pentobarbital in Dog Food ;
Adverse health effects unlikely
For the purposes of CVM’s assessment the scientists assumed that at most, dogs would be exposed to no more than 4micrograms/kilogram body weight/day based on the highest level of pentobarbital found in the survey of dog foods. Inr eality, dogs are not likely to consume that much. The high number was based on the assumption that the smallest dogs would eat dog food containing the greatest amount of pentobarbital detected in the survey of commercial pet foods-- 32 parts per billion. However, to get to the exposure level of 50 micrograms of pentobarbital per day, which is the highest level at which no biological response was seen, a dog would have to consume between 5 to 10 micrograms of pentobarbital per kilogram of body weight. But the most any dog would consume, based on the survey results, was 4 micrograms pentobarbital per kilogram of body weight per day.
It should be emphasized that induction of cytochrome P450 enzymes is a normal response to many substances that are
naturally found in foods. It is not an indication of harm, but was selected as the most sensitive indicator to detect any
biological effect due to pentobarbital.
Thus, the results of the assessment led CVM to conclude that it is highly unlikely a dog consuming dry dog food will
experience any adverse effects from exposures to the low levels of pentobarbital found in CVM’s dog food surveys.