Very Concerning Potential Requirement of Freeze Dried Pet Foods – Truth about Pet Food

November 11, 2023 Kar-Bay-Inc

From a VERY reliable source, TruthaboutPetFood.com has been told the FDA is considering requiring freeze dried pet foods to be treated with irradiation. This is a huge concern that pet owners need to voice their opinions on now – before it is too late.

The FDA tells consumers: “Irradiation does not make foods radioactive, compromise nutritional quality, or noticeably change the taste, texture, or appearance of food. In fact, any changes made by irradiation are so minimal that it is not easy to tell if a food has been irradiated.” And the agency tells consumers that irradiation is a “prevention” method “to effectively eliminate organisms that cause foodborne illness, such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli (E. coli).”

But…there is much controversy surrounding irradiation, and some specific to pet food.

In 2008 Champion Pet Food imported pet food into Australia. At the time, Australian regulations required any imported pet food to be either heat treated or irradiated. Champion Pet Food agreed to the irradiation treatment, but within weeks of the food being sold to consumers, cats began suffering serious health consequences – some suffered paralysis, others died. The Australian Parliament stated: “an irradiation treatment applied to pet food for quarantine purposes, may have been a factor in causing depletion of vitamin A, and the formation and release of free radicals in the imported Orijen brand pet food.”

The AVMA reported on the irradiation issues with Champion Pet Food stating: “Australia will no longer offer importers the option of irradiating imported cat food to reduce microbial hazards following reports of a possible link between irradiated food and neurologic damage in cats.”

And then we need to remember the thousands of pet illnesses and deaths linked to jerky treats imported from China, all of the treats were treated with irradiation. FDA testing of the jerky treats included “markers of food irradiation (such as 2-alkylcyclobutanones).” And in an update to consumers during the height of jerky treat related pet deaths, the agency stated “Currently there are no validated methods to determine the dose of radiation that was used to ensure the product was properly irradiated.”

Specific to human food, the Center for Food Safety states: “Radiation can do strange things to food, by creating substances called ‘unique radiolytic products.’ These irradiation byproducts include a variety of mutagens – substances that can cause gene mutations, polyploidy (an abnormal condition in which cells contain more than two sets of chromosomes), chromosome aberrations (often associated with cancerous cells) and dominant lethal mutations (a change in a cell that prevents it from reproducing) in human cells. Making matters worse, many mutagens are also carcinogens.”

“Research also shows that irradiation forms volatile toxic chemicals such as benzene and toluene, chemicals known, or suspected, to cause cancer and birth defects. Irradiation also causes stunted growth in lab animals fed irradiated foods. An important 2001 study linked colon tumor promotion in lab rats to 2-alkylcyclobutanones (2-ACB’s), a new chemical compound found only in irradiated foods. The FDA has never tested the safety of these byproducts. Irradiation has also been shown to cause the low-level production of furans (similar to cancer-causing dioxins) in fruit juice.”

Below is a radura symbol. It is required on packaged foods that have been treated with irradiation.

Opinion: This is NOT a symbol we want to see on freeze dried pet foods (or any style of pet food).

I personally would NEVER give my own pets a pet food or treat that was irradiated. We firmly believe this proposed decision by FDA is founded on their all-consuming fear of pathogens in pet foods, with little to no thought of the effect of irradiation on 30 plus ingredients (food ingredients and supplements) included in a pet food or the carcinogens produced by the by-products of irradiation.

And what if…the FDA’s potential plan to require freeze dried pet foods to be irradiated is only a starting point? My apologies to go down this dark path, but I believe we need to be continually cautious with FDA’s intentions and take action now before it is too late.

Please send the FDA a message – now, before the agency makes this concerning decision. Tell them NO, you do not support any regulation or Compliance Policy that requires/encourages irradiation of any style of pet food.
Email FDA at: AskCVM@fda.hhs.gov.
Tag FDA on twitter: #FDAanimalhealth.
Tag FDA on Facebook: @FDA.

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food

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