Is “Gravy” in pet food really gravy? Or is it just water? – Truth about Pet Food

Another selective enforcement issue allowed by FDA that misleads pet owners.

If you were at a restaurant, and ordered mashed potatoes and gravy, but they delivered to you mashed potatoes and water…

You’d probably send the mashed potatoes and water back to the kitchen or demand a refund. After all, water is NOT gravy.

Except in pet food.

As example:

The above pet food – Sheba Perfect Portions Cuts in Gravy Roasted Chicken & Beef Entree – clearly tells pet owners the “roasted chicken & beef” are “in gravy“. But…when you look at the ingredients of the pet food, no gravy is found.

The ingredients ONLY list water, no gravy. There are thickeners (tapioca starch and xanthan gum) and there is coloring to make the water look like gravy (caramel color), but there’s no gravy.

And a dog food example:

This dog food – Blue Delights Filet Mignon Flavor in Hearty Gravy – goes one step further than the cat food. This pet food claims it’s not using plain ol’ gravy, they include “Hearty Gravy”. But again, when you look at the ingredients, no gravy (or hearty gravy) is found.

The pet food includes beef broth and water, but neither of these ingredients are gravy.

Gravy is specifically prepared – perhaps using water or broth as an ingredient. Gravy is cooked separately from other food items, often with particular seasonings (depending on the recipe). If you’ve ever tried to make gravy, you know that there is a skill involved to make good gravy. It takes time and expertise. Certainly, broth or water is NOT gravy.

The FDA is fully aware that pet food manufacturers are misleading pet owners with gravy. In February of 2020, the FDA withdrew Compliance Policy CPG Sec. 690.400 Water and Gravy in Pet Food. This policy included some very incriminating information – about the FDA and many pet food manufacturers. (Perhaps that’s why FDA withdrew it.) But thanks to the WayBack Machine, we have access to FDA’s original policy regarding water and gravy in pet food.

This FDA policy requires manufacturers to list water in the ingredient list, and acknowledges that some pet food manufacturers use “gravy” in misleading ways.

“In addition, a number of manufacturers have adopted the practice of declaring “gravy” as an ingredient of the pet food in a variety of ways. Some contend that the listing of gravy in the order of descending predominance, followed by a parenthetical listing of its components, conforms to the requirements of the regulations (21 CFRa) in that “gravy” consists of the common or usual name of an ingredient. However, the industry has admitted, in many cases, that the “gravy” is not even formulated as a separate ingredient.”

Why does FDA allow manufacturers to include “Gravy” in the pet food name when they have knowledge that “in many cases” gravy is not gravy? We can assume this is another issue of selective enforcement – FDA only taking action on issues that concern them. Not issues that mislead pet owners.

Granted, water replacing gravy isn’t a life threatening pet food concern. But, it is misleading consumers. Gravy alludes that more care and time was taken to prepare the pet food. Gravy connects the pet food to human food. Water doesn’t do any of that.

A pet food named ‘Cuts in Water’ or ‘in Hearty Water’ wouldn’t sell as well, would it?

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food

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