How to navigate the pet food market and buy the safest food
With no mandated safety standards, confusing labels and a smorgasbord of options from premium to paleo pet food, how can you buy the safest, healthiest food for your cat or dog?
NSW
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Navigating the pet food market can be overwhelming for consumers.
With no mandatory safety standards, no public recall system and no regulator that can take action when something goes wrong, choosing the safest products in Australia’s self-regulated pet food market can be tricky.
We asked Dr Cherlene Lee of My Vet Animal Hospital in Waterloo and RSPCA NSW vet Jade Norris what owners need to know.
WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE FEED THEIR CAT OR DOG?
A diet that is complete and balanced, appropriate to the animal’s unique health requirements and life stage as certified by feeding trials. Ask your vet to advise.
There are several things you can look for.
● If a high-quality balanced premium commercial pet food is the basis of a pet’s diet, check it complies with AS 5812:2017. You can look up accredited manufacturers here.
● Check the label says “complete and balanced” and “feeding tests”, standards set by Association of Animal Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). Meeting AAFCO standards is the bare minimum any pet food should meet in Australia.
● Foods that do not have adequate micronutrients will not have ‘complete and balanced’ written on the label. They are essentially treats.
WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE BEST AVOIDED?
Toxic ingredients such as garlic and onions.
WHAT ABOUT RAW MEAT PRODUCTS?
The RSPCA has concerns about the use of sulphite preservatives in pet meat, pet rolls and pet mince, which can cause thiamine deficiency and lead to animal fatalities.
Dr Norris said any raw meat or raw meaty bones offered to cats and dogs must be human-grade only. This is because some pet food products (e.g. pet meat/pet mince/pet rolls and bone products) can contain sulphite preservatives which can kill pets rapidly.
Pet owners should also avoid sausages, sausage meat and cooked manufactured meats as they can also contain sulphite preservatives.
Check with your vet first that raw meaty bones are suitable for your particular pet.
There are more details on minimising the risk of sulphite preservatives here.
WHAT ABOUT ANIMALS WITH SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDS?
If a pet has allergies, Dr Lee said it’s not enough to trust the flavour on the packet.
Always, always check the types of protein.
“If your pet doesn’t have allergies, reading ingredients lists can actually be misleading, so the main thing I have owners look out for is potentially toxic ingredients like garlic and onion.”
If your pet is older, talk to your vet because your older pet will have more specialised needs.
IS PALEO OR GRAIN-FREE BETTER?
Some dogs or cats may be allergic to grains, or unable to digest grains properly but not every dog or cat has gluten-intolerance, Coeliac’s or inflammatory bowel disease.
Dr Lee said as these cases are often unique, a veterinary nutritionist is the best point of call.
“Interestingly, grain-free diets have been linked to heart disease in the US,” she said.
“The cause is still largely unknown, except that it seems to be an epidemic linked to not feeding grains. Uniquely, these cases of heart disease were cured by feeding grains.
Further research is warranted.”
MEAT BY-PRODUCTS LIKE ORGANS: GOOD OR BAD?
In Australia, across the different states, meat has to pass inspection to be deemed fit for animal consumption and various states specifically bar meat from diseased carcasses from being designated as “pet-grade”.
The problem with the term “offal/by-products” is actually a separate matter.
“Offal isn’t bad. But which organs are they feeding?,” Dr Lee asks.
“Is it liver, which can result in hypervitaminosis A in excess?
“Is it the neck, which can result in hyperthyroidism if it includes the thyroid gland?”
At the end of the day, it isn’t feeding organs that is “bad”, it’s a diet with the wrong proportion of macronutrients and micronutrients.
CAN DOGS AND CATS HAVE A VEGAN OR VEGETARIAN DIET?
In one word, no, it won’t meet their micronutrient needs and for cats, it can be fatal.
Dogs and cats are carnivores, said Dr Norris, and must have animal meat in their diet.
“Cats are obligate carnivores — a true carnivore, which must eat meat to survive.” she said.
“Dogs have carnivore anatomy but can also have some appropriate plants in their overall diet and hence dogs can be fed a suitable omnivorous diet.”
ANY FINAL TIPS ON SEEKING OUT QUALITY?
“Make sure the company is engaging veterinary nutritionists, who often do a minimum of five years of study on top of having gone to vet school,” said Dr Lee.
“Reading up for them isn’t just Googling intensely, it’s reading journal articles and running feeding trials and seriously weighing up the gaps of knowledge we have in pet nutrition. It’s really not enough to just go with a person who has a passion for pet food.”
Originally published as How to navigate the pet food market and buy the safest food
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