What Purina, Mars and Hill’s say about Human Grade Pet Food – Truth about Pet Food
Two make false statements about human grade pet food, one says nothing.
When a pet owner sees the words “Human Grade” on a pet food label, it means that all ingredients are human grade or edible and the pet food was manufactured per the same safety standards as human food. This is a significant difference because most pet foods (unfortunately) are feed grade. Feed grade pet foods are allowed by all regulatory authorities to include inedible (even condemned) ingredients and allowed to be manufactured under far lesser safety standards than human grade. Human grade pet foods have been official per FDA since 2004, and were legally defined by AAFCO in 2016.
So why are some pet food manufacturers still telling pet owners human grade pet foods don’t exist?
Purina
Purina tells pet owners “there is no legal definition for the term ‘human-grade‘.” This is a false statement, that Purina certainly knows – as many of their representatives attend every AAFCO meeting. Purina was in attendance at the January 2016 AAFCO meeting when human grade pet food was legally defined.
Mars Petcare
Mars Petcare Iams tells pet owners “While appealing to many pet owners, it is important to be aware that the term “human grade” has no legal definition and is used primarily for marketing purposes.” Again, this is a false statement that Mars certainly knows; Mars Petcare representatives are at every AAFCO meeting. Mars Petcare representatives were at the 2016 meeting when the human grade definition was approved.
Hill’s
Hill’s pet food has a category about human grade pet food, but confusingly – under this category not one word provides any explanation about “Human Grade vs. Feed Grade Food” as the headline indicates. Hill’s didn’t provide pet owners false information, they provided pet owners NO information about human grade pet food.
Pet food manufacturers providing pet owners false information isn’t new, but it is disappointing. It is further disappointing that regulatory authorities do nothing about the false information and the misleading images on pet food labels and websites. We will be reporting these two webpages (Purina and Mars) to FDA – and we encourage all pet owners to report false statements and misleading images to FDA. Send your complaints to: AskCVM@fda.hhs.gov.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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