It’s Not True – Truth about Pet Food
Despite what you might read on numerous websites, despite what your own veterinarian might tell you – the FDA has NOT linked grain-free pet foods to heart disease (dilated cardiomyopathy) in dogs or cats.
On December 23, 2022 the FDA made this statement (bold added): “FDA does not intend to release further public updates until there is meaningful new scientific information to share. A count of reports of DCM in dogs submitted to FDA as of November 1, 2022, has been added to Questions & Answers: FDA’s Work on Potential Causes of Non-Hereditary DCM in Dogs. FDA has followed up on a subset of these reports, but is unable to investigate every report to verify or confirm the reported information. While adverse event numbers can be a potential signal of an issue with an FDA regulated product, by themselves, they do not supply sufficient data to establish a causal relationship with reported product(s). FDA continues to encourage research and collaboration by academia, veterinarians, and industry.”
This confusion/misinformation could be a result of FDA’s earlier reports stating there could be a potential link between grain-free pet food and DCM. But please know, after months/years of investigation – the FDA has not confirmed that grain-free pet foods cause DCM, or are linked to DCM. Per the agency’s December 2022 statement, the FDA has no further plans to update the public on this issue unless it receives “meaningful new scientific information“.
Along with the misinformation some websites are providing about grain-free pet food, we have also seen numerous new posts stating corn ingredients are are a nutritious and safe pet food ingredient.
It is true that corn can provide nutrients to a pet’s diet – corn ingredients are a source of protein, vitamins and minerals. It is NOT necessarily true that corn is a safe pet food ingredient.
Corn is prone to mycotoxin contamination. According to DSM Animal Nutrition and Health, sample testing of corn in 2022 found “94%” of samples tested positive for some level of mycotoxin. “Based on the 83 corn samples tested to date, initial surveillance of 2022 corn crop suggests that mycotoxin occurrence is somewhat increased compared to 2021, with the greatest shifts in Fumonisins (+13% points) and Aflatoxins (+16% points).”
The “Aflatoxins in Corn” publication from Iowa State University provides concerning information about the potential risk of corn in pet food stating: “Even one highly contaminated kernel in a 5-lb sample could result in more than 20 ppb aflatoxin (the maximum level of aflatoxin allowed in pet food is 20 ppb).”
Proper testing of ingredients and finished pet food is required for pet foods with corn ingredients. Unfortunately, that is often not performed or performed properly. As example, in January 2021 Midwestern Pet Food recalled more than 58 million pounds of pet food due to aflatoxin contamination. Some samples of pet food contained aflatoxin levels as high as “558 ppb“. Through an FDA Warning Letter we learned that this pet food manufacturer “failed to follow proper sample preparation procedures, as outlined in the aflatoxin test kit manufacturer’s recommended procedure.” Per the FDA, “more than 130 pet deaths and more than 220 pet illnesses” are linked to Midwestern Pet Food’s failed testing procedures.
The truth is that corn can be a safe and nutrition providing ingredient – IF the manufacturer properly tests every incoming shipment of corn AND tests every batch of pet food for all mycotoxins.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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