Dog Food additives and preservative

Preservatives: Some manufacturers are switching to natural preservatives, such as Vitamin C and Vitamin E, because of the publicity concerning ethoxyquin's safety. Natural preservatives are not as effective as synthetic ones, however they are safe. Consumers should be wary of dog foods that are labeled as "all natural," "preservative free" and other such labeled products. Dr. Lisa Freeman, DVM, writes in her article, Nutrition, that there is no legal definition of "all natural," and that "manufacturers define products by what they believe these terms mean." Sometimes a manufacturer may not have added any preservatives, but the meat or other ingredients may have had preservatives added to them by suppliers.

ILLNESS & DISEASE:

Low quality ingredients, excessive chemical additives, and poor labeling standards all result in problems for your companion pet, from skin allergies to cancer. The manufacturing processes of rendering and extruding may kill bacteria, but they do nothing to destroy the toxins produced by bacteria. Other toxins that are not necessarily removed during processing include:* Hormones, such as those used to fatten livestock or increase milk production,* Insecticide from flea collars on euthanized companion pets and patches from livestock, * Condemned and contaminated material from slaughterhouses, * Sodium pentobarbital, the drug used to euthanize pets