As I followed the lawsuit story deeper, I came upon a webpage called Truth About Petfood. It discussed the need for TRANSPARENCY by petfood companies (gee, what a great idea!).
To date, the only assurance to actual quality/grade of ingredients pet food consumers have is the Pledge to Quality and Origin – a pet food transparency effort from their consumer group Association for Truth in Pet Food. Pet food manufacturers can argue all they want through the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau, but the real truth in pet food lies in actual grade/quality of ingredients. Are they pet grade or are they certified human grade?
TRUTH is a word not usually associated with pet food ingredients, so I needed to find out more. The Pledge provides company name, address and website. All ingredients in your pet foods/treats will be listed on the Pledge. This includes all meats, organ meats, by-products, by-product meals, meat meals, fish, fish meals, oils, fats, grains, vegetables, fruits, flavorings, supplements, vitamins and minerals. The quality information and origin information in provided in respective columns. And the stated information will be signed by a CEO or President of the company as their Pledge.
Here is the interesting part -there are currently only 22 companies that have signed the PLEDGE, and not one of them is a big name. Not Science Diet. Not Iams. Not Royal Canin. Not Purina. Not Nutro. Not Blue.
Check it out for yourself:
http://associationfortruthinpetfood.com/the-pledge/
I commend these 22 companies, and am going to look closer at their products and encourage you to do the same. We as consumers need to make a stand about the importance of SAFETY, QUALITY and transparency in the petfoods on the market. I want HEALTHY choices for my patients as well as my own pets, not just marketing hooey with nothing to back it up.
Maureen Flatley, DVM
Fox Valley Cat Clinic
