The "Bad Boy" On The Label

Our Border Collie, Tippy had experienced some serious
problems in the past that required 2 major surgeries. After
the very expensive vet bill the second time around, I finally
asked the vet what was causing the problem.

He looked down at me with that professional stare and
promptly announced it was the garbage food we were
feeding her.

His remedy was the particular brand of food that he
was currently promoting. All well and good. Of course
I had never given nutrition a thought. Dog food was dog
food, and you bought whatever was cheapest......$9.95
for 50 pound was the norm.

Boy was I ever in for a surprise!

So we switched to his brand, and also began a diligent
search for the truth on what the causes of disease in our
pets were.

The more I studied, the more I became shocked at what
was really being put in our pets food. One recent conversation
with one of our readers, who happened to be a Regional
Manager for Brand X, prompted me to write this article.

For 5 years this very nice, intelligent, and quite caring lady
had actively promoted Brand X, until it became apparent that
one substance in that food was definitely proven to be
a carcinogen. That brand also happened to be the same one
the vet had recommended we feed Tippy.

As she related to me, "I could no longer in good consciousness
promote that particular brand of food and so had to resign my
job."

The bad boy on the label ==> Ethoxyquin

The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture for toxicology information
lists ethoxyquin in their Farm Chemical Hand-Book as a
pesticide, used in fruit scald control. It is also used as a
rubber preservative. It is FDA approved for use as an
antioxidant for carotenes vitamin A and E and the prevention
of the development of organic peroxides.

It is approved at 150 ppm in paprika and chili powder, and
because it is used as a preservative in livestock feed, the
following residue allowances in human consumed animal
products as follows: 5 ppm in or on the uncooked fat of
meat from animals except poultry; 3 ppm in or on the
uncooked liver and fat of poultry, 0.5 ppm in or on the
uncooked muscle meat of animals, 0.5 ppm in poultry eggs,
and zero in milk.

The above information brings up the question why the
FDA allows such a small amount of ethoxyquin residue
(5 to .5 ppm) in human consumed foods yet allows such
high amounts (150 ppm) to be used in pet food and livestock
feeds?

In the case of the dog, pound for pound, a dog  is
consuming up to 300 times more ethoxyquin than allowed
for people. (depending upon the weight) Also many dog
food manufacturers are not always listing it as an ingredient
on the packaging, but sometimes merely print "E".

Ethoxyquin is used as a preservative in such widely
marketed dog foods as: ANF, NutriMax, Hills Prescription
Diet WID, Nutro, Purina, IAMS, & Royal Canine USA.

Monsanto's (the manufacturer) own cautionary warnings
in using and handling this product: They warn that it may
cause allergic skin reactions, irritation to the eyes and skin.
They advise that workers must wear eye and respiratory
protection. The container of ethoxyquin has a very
prominent skull and crossbones with POISON written in
capital letters.

Ethoxyquin is listed and identified as a hazardous chemical
under the criteria of the OSHA Hazard Communication
Standard (29 CFR 1910, 1220).

The Chemical Toxicology of Commercial Products says
that ethoxyquin has a toxic rating of 3 (on a scale of 1 to 6,
with 6 being super toxic requiring less than 7 drops to
produce death). At that level it can slowly develop
depression, con-vulsions, coma and death; skin
irritation and liver damage.

In a recent study by The Department Of Pathology, Nagoya
City University Medical School Japan, it was found:
ethoxyquin promoted kidney carcinogenesis. Also,
it significantly increased incidence of stomach tumors and
enhanced bladder carcinogesis.

The FDA maintains it is safe, yet have asked pet food
manufacturers to "voluntarily" lower the levels to 75 PPM.

I've included some of the better sites that inform you of
ethoxyquin below, including the FDA report. I suggest
you take some time and read these, then you will be
able to make an informed decision on your own.

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/ANS00119.html

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/Ethoxyquin.htm

http://www.mindspring.com/~woofsportsusa/petfoodpreservatives.htm

http://www.listservice.net/wellpet/ethoxyqu.htm

http://www.groomers.com/tidbits/food.html

You know fellow pet lovers, I get a lot of letters from folks
telling me about their pet's sickness or diseases and then
asking what they should do.

I'm really convinced that a major reason why our pets are
getting sick is because of the high levels of toxins in the
foods, plus the nutritionally inadequate foods they eat.

Believe me, it's far, far easier & cheaper to prevent
disease than try and cure it.

Dave

Keeping Your Pet Healthy
http://healthypetnet.com/dave