I have just shared the following with breeders but feel obligated to pass along

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

So skip the parts as they are related to breeding and food ~ or not, but consider putting to your food company or those you consider to the 'written test' as suggested many a time by Karen. Here is the entire original post I made:


irregular cycles, missed conceptions, stillborns, fading
Puppy? Such tragedies and definitely that which represents probably the
hardest part of what we do as breeders. That which many hesitate to talk of
while silently it rips their hearts out.

It has been a while friends. In addition to 'life' I have been spending
much time with some in depth examinations of pet food, specific
ingredients, numerous chemicals we handle often if you are around dogs,
potential alternatives and more. Take it for what you will, I have been
trying to bring this particular look to a more complete status and I have
recently taken an enormous amount of heat from an anonymous (?) source so
have been reluctant in my posts. But as this is flowing in I cannot in good
conscious not share it with those I often share these thoughts with,
especially breeders.

So we all know of ethoxyquin right? Well I'll tell you it is bad enough
that the *not so premium* foods still have garbage in it, but when you
think you are getting a *premium* product at a premium price it really
fires me up. More info. to follow that I do want to share and you may have
even seen this before my day around here but it is worthy of a look for
those that have not seen it.


The excerpt below has been taken from a letter you will want to read on
this site ~ http://www.holisticvetpetcare.com/ethoxyquin.htm by Gloria Dodd
DVM

"Not only are chronic degenerative diseases of pets on the increase, but
breeders complain of increasing frequency and numbers of reproductive
problems: irregular estrus cycles, missed conceptions, stillborns,
“fading puppy” syndrome, increased neonatal deaths and malformed
puppies with missing limbs, organs, hydrocephalus, cleft palates, etc."

Coincidentally a similar excerpt from Jean Dodd DVM ~
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/Ethoxyquin.htm

"Since the late 1980's, the incidence of chronic disorders in purebred dogs
appears to have increased. These disorders include dysfunction of liver,
kidney and thyroid, reproductive problems, autoimmune diseases and other
immune dysfunction, birth defects in pups, increased stillbirths and
neonatal mortalities, neoplasia, allergies and problems with skin and coat
condition. Most concerns have focused on inbred or closely linebred dog
families."

Now for the cringing stuff because I know so many rely on this product. I
have recently been permitted to view correspondence from Diamond Pet food
to a consumer I know of locally in regards to a no grain food popular among
families and breeders alike, especially for cost. I am not going to name it
because I do not need any legal hassles right now, but I am certain you can figure it
out ~ if not email me privately.

"XXXXXXXXXXX does not add ethoxyquin to any of the formulas.

Fish meal is required by law to be preserved with ethoxyquin. Ethoxyquin is
most effective at preventing rancidity in the highly volatile fish meal.
Rancidity in ingredients can lead to severe illness.

Most of the ethoxyquin is destroyed in the cooking process, requiring other
preservatives to be used. Tests for ethoxyquin are run routinely on
XXXXXXXX products. The results are typically less than 5ppm. The amount
allowed, and considered to be safe, by the FDA is 75ppm."


This was dated July of 2009 and I have since found similar copies of letters posted
around the web. As a follow up we have contacted many manufacturers
verbally and in writing and have asked if they can guarantee that there is
NO ethoxyquin present in their products. Some have replied they cannot,
some have not responded and others have said they can say there is none.

Coincidence in regards to health concerns and breeder noted difficulties
with this chemical? Maybe, but we each deserve to have full disclosure of
our choice and make the decision that works best for us. It is my
recommendation to our puppy families that they initiate written
communication with any company in question and ask them the same question ~
can you guarantee there is no ethoxyquin in your product? You may wish to
do the same or at the very least explore your options and have a plan B.
Look for any fish meal ingredient (in many brands it is in formulas you
would not anticipate it like chicken, etc... and it is present in all 3 varieties of referenced above XXXXXXXXXXX brand), I think you will be stunned
with the results of your closer look.



Dianne
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dianne Carter
Trinity Doodles
http://www.trinitydoodles.com
[e-mail]

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

Let me confirm first because in my very tired brain I can't recall which of 2 I have already previously mentioned. Don't want to spew fiction =)

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

Update to ethoxyquin list. I have become aware of an article from Susan Thixton addressing this same issue and she has a more complete list of who preserves fish meal with what. See here:

http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/438/1/Risk-Ingredients-No...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Orijen states right on their labels that the food is ethoxyquin-free.
Susan Thixton tries hard, and does some good work, but she is not a nutritionist and doesn't always understand nutritional information. She also seems to me to be something of an alarmist. At any rate, if you look at the labels, I guess you dont' have to wait for a reply from the companies, lol.

[Tammy & Gracie]

I guess at this rate I might seriously consider homecooking........

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

It's the only thing you can truly trust anymore.

[Jacque Reynolds]

I just wanted to add a bit to this topic, first to thank Dianne for the wonderful information. If not for people like Dianne, information would be very slow to come to us.
I have lost a puppy to the melamine chicken tenders (dont' feed any chicken tenders, dried chicken, made in China...most brands are) and I almost lost an entire litter when the dog food was tainted with melamine. So I am very cautious and very aware of these dangers.
When I heard of this most recent information I was even more surprised to learn that the dangers of Ethoxyquin has been known since the 1950s! Some spices are preserved with this, but otherwise no foods meant for human consumption are preserved with it.
Although the Diamond food company says that "all fish meal is required to be preserved with Ethoxyquin" that is not the whole truth. It may well be that some manufacturers are required to use Ethoxyquin to preserve fish meal, but there are other, safer, preservatives that can be used.
I am copying a post from another forum that I found important to read on this issue.

"Here's the article. It's by Susan Thixton, "Truth about Pet Food":

******************************************************

Careful pet owners closely scan the list of ingredients looking for possible health risks. Thanks to our friends at AAFCO and the FDA, risk ingredients might not be listed on your pet food label, yet it could be in your pets’ food.

Health conscious pet owners, many that have learned the hard way to be cautious of pet foods, closely scrutinize their dogs’ or cats’ food ingredient list. They have become educated to the risks of some ingredients commonly used in dog foods and cat foods. However, thanks to lax pet food regulations, additives such as chemical preservatives that are added to the bulk ingredient prior to pet food manufacturing are NOT listed on the label.

Case in point, meet the pet food, pet treat, AND pet food ingredient preservative ethoxyquin. I have a loud alarm bell that sounds off when I hear this preservative mentioned. In essence, ethoxyquin is responsible for TruthaboutPetFood.com. This chemical preservative, according to my beloved veterinarian Dr. Bruce Catlett (who knew more about pet food in 1991 than most do today), was responsible for the bone cancer of my eight year old best friend Samantha; a ‘Rotten-weiler’. Dr. Catlett shed the first light of truth to me in 1991; he explained that ethoxyquin extended the shelf life of pet foods yet it was a high risk preservative.

Although I trusted my vet completely, it was difficult for me to believe back then that the #1 pet food in the U.S. would have such a lethal chemical in it. So, I called them. I’ll never forget what I was told. The pet food company that I so completely and blindly trusted, told me the dog food had a shelf life of 25 years! That’s a dog food remaining ‘fresh’ for more than 3 times as long as my dog lived thanks to a lethal chemical.

Today, you’ll rarely see ethoxyquin listed on a pet food label. Most pet food manufacturers add natural mixed tocopherols to preserve ingredients. However, because of the likelihood of rancidity of fish meal (ground whole fish and/or fish parts), many fish meal suppliers add ethoxyquin prior to ingredient delivery at the pet food manufacturing plant. And guess what? That ethoxyquin added to the fish meal, because it wasn’t added by the pet food manufacturer, is not required to be listed within the ingredients on the label.

Many dog foods and cat foods that state ‘Natural Preservatives’ on their labels, websites, and/or advertising contain fish meal preserved with ethoxyquin; a very un-natural chemical.

Dr. Jean Hofve, DVM states “Ethoxyquin is banned from nearly all human food products (except certain spices) due to its cancer-causing properties. Most manufacturers have changed to less-controversial preservatives, such as Vitamin E (tocopherol), but ethoxyquin is still used in many "prescription" foods. Ethoxyquin is required for imported fish meal, a prominent ingredient in many pet foods, but not listed on the label; there is a natural substitute (NaturOx) but it is expensive and few companies use it.” http://www.petfoodstory.com/pets/nutrit ... uide-to-pe t-food-additives-preservatives-contaminants.htm

The EPA states “The primary target organs affected by ethoxyquin in experimental animals are the liver and the kidneys.” http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/factsh ... 03fact.pdf

However, our good friends at AAFCO and the FDA (pun intended) strongly believe ethoxyquin is safe in animal foods. In a paper authored by David A. Dzanis published for the Animal Feed Safety Branch of the FDA: “Although used in some animal feeds since 1959, first accounts of purported adverse effects were received by FDA in 1988. Since that time, a notable number of consumer inquiries have been received. Despite the fact that ETQ (ethoxyquin) is approved for use in all animal feeds, reports of adverse reactions have been almost exclusively in dogs. Of types of dog food, the “premium” brands of dry dog foods are most often incriminated. However, no correlation of adverse effects with age, gender or breed of dog is apparent. The reported signs include liver, kidney, thyroid and reproductive dysfunction, teratogenic and carcinogenic effects, allergic reactions and a host of skin and hair abnormalities. There have been anecdotal reports that some of these conditions have resolved after replacement of the ETQ-containing diet with a diet thought to be free of ETQ. However, because of inconsistencies in labeling of pet food products containing ETQ secondary to its inclusion in other ingredients, the ETQ-free status of the replacement diets cannot be reliably established.

The original data upon which FDA approved the use of ETQ in animal feeds included a 1-year chronic toxicity study in dogs. Subsequent to the original food additive petition, a 5-year, multigenerational study in dogs was conducted by the manufacturer. The study failed to demonstrate adverse effects of ETQ at 300 ppm of food.”

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/reprint/121 ... l/S163.pdf

By the way, the FDA based it approval of ethoxyquin in animal feeds on ‘research’ conducted by Monsanto; the manufacturer of ethoxyquin.

Per Department of Homeland Security regulations, bulk fishmeal is required to be preserved at 400 ppm; ethoxyquin is provided as an example preservative. Section 148.04-9 (c) “At the time of production of the material, it must be treated with at least 400 ppm antioxidant (ethoxyquin); in the case where the material contains more than 12 percent fat by weight, it must be treated with at least 1000 ppm antioxidant (ethoxyquin) at the time of production.” http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/ ... 8.04-9.htm

Thank goodness, there are many pet food manufacturers that have chosen to avoid ethoxyquin regardless of the cost. I have this past week (9/3/09) emailed requests to dozens of pet food manufacturers (every manufacturer reviewed in Petsumer Report) asking if their fish meal ingredients (fish meal, ocean fish meal, salmon meal, and so on) are preserved with ethoxyquin. If they were not, I asked to know the specific method of fish meal preservation.

As of the writing of this article (9/5/09), the following are the companies that have responded.

Artemis Pet Foods
Per Diamond Pet Food (manufacturer) “all fish meal, ocean fish meal, and salmon meal ingredients are preserved with ethoxyquin.”

Breeders-Choice – AvoDerm Natural Pet Food
“Breeder's Choice does not use ethoxyquin in any of it's foods. However, because it is found in the food chain, trace amounts cannot easily be eliminated.”

Blue Buffalo Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved naturally with Naturox.”

By Nature Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved with natural tocopherols.”

California Natural, Innova, Evo Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved with Vitamin E and mixed tocopherols.”

Canidae/Felidae Pet Foods
Per Diamond Pet Food (manufacturer) “all fish meal, ocean fish meal, and salmon meal ingredients are preserved with ethoxyquin.”

Castor & Pollux Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved with Naturox.”

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Pet Foods
Per Diamond Pet Food (manufacturer) “all fish meal, ocean fish meal, and salmon meal ingredients are preserved with ethoxyquin.”

Diamond Pet Foods
Per Diamond Pet Food (manufacturer) “all fish meal, ocean fish meal, and salmon meal ingredients are preserved with ethoxyquin.”

Evolve Natural Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved with mixed tocopherols.”

Flint River Ranch Pet Food
“Fish meal is flash frozen until time of manufacturing; no preservative needed.”

Fromm Family Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved with citric acid.”

Kumpi Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved with tocopherols.”

Merrick Pet Foods
“Fish meal preserved with mixed tocopherols.”

Natural Balance Pet Foods
Per Diamond Pet Food (manufacturer) “all fish meal, ocean fish meal, and salmon meal ingredients are preserved with ethoxyquin.”

Nature’s Logic Pet Food
“Fish meals are preserved with natural tocopherols and rosemary.”

Newman’s Own Pet Foods
“Fish meals preserved with Vitamin E.”

Petcurean Pet Foods
“Fish Meal is preserved with Vitamin E.”

Premium Edge Pet Foods
Per Diamond Pet Food (manufacturer) “all fish meal, ocean fish meal, and salmon meal ingredients are preserved with ethoxyquin.”

Solid Gold Pet Foods
“Fish meal preserved with tocopherols.”

Taste of the Wild Pet Foods
Per Diamond Pet Food (manufacturer) “all fish meal, ocean fish meal, and salmon meal ingredients are preserved with ethoxyquin.”

Timberwolf Organics Pet Foods
“Fish meal ingredients are preserved with Vitamin E.”

TLC Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved with tocopherols.”

Many other pet food manufacturers were contacted, no response as of 9/5/09. The holiday weekend could be the delay in their responses.

Fish meals, NOT fish ingredients are a concern with ethoxyquin. As example, ‘salmon’ listed on a pet food label would not be an ethoxyquin preserved ingredient; ‘salmon meal’ might be. The ONLY way to know is to ask the manufacturer specifically. Warning however, some responses I have received did not directly answer my ethoxyquin question. As example, one manufacturer told me “we do not add ethoxyquin to any of our pet foods”. This response does NOT tell me if their supplier might add ethoxyquin. I am waiting for their follow up response.

All reviews in Petsumer Report Online have been updated with the above information and ratings have changed if needed; as more information comes in, Petsumer will be updated accordingly. Meat meal (example chicken meal containing muscle meat only or containing bones and/or internal organs) and fish meal preservative information is listed at the top of each manufacturer page with other company information.

Add to your growing list of questions to your pets’ food manufacturer “Is your fish meal ingredient preserved with ethoxyquin?” And for your pets’ health, don’t accept an evasive answer.


Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton"

[03pilqobzlvp7]

I thought this article was incredibly helpful; however, I was under the impression that Diamond Pet Foods was under contract to also produce Solid Gold and Merrick foods. Am I incorrect? If I am correct, why do they assure us that ethoxyquin is not used, while the others say they do use it in all fish meal?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I am pretty sure that Solid Gold has no association with Diamond ; I hope someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
And I think Merrick manufacturers their own food at their own plants.

[03pilqobzlvp7]

Someone had linked a Wikipedia article, which was the only complete list I came across. Of course, Wikipedia is not the most reliable resource, but I've pasted what it said about the brand manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods. I would also like to note that I confused Merrick and Kirkland, so that is not on this list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Pet_Foods
In addition, Diamond/Schell & Kampeter markets pet foods under the brands

Taste of the Wild (doing business under that name)
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul
Professional
Country Value
Premium Edge
Bright Bites (doing business as Sugar Creek Pet Products)

It also manufactures under contract for other companies, including as of 2009 at least some of the pet foods sold under brands or business names

Canidae Pet Food
Costco's Kirkland Signature
Solid Gold Health Products for Pets
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Kirkland is Diamond? I did not know that. Guess I won't be using it to mix with the EVO.

[Kathy Wilson]

I'm thinking it might be best to buy fish at Trader Joe's that has been flash frozen from Arctic waters. I'd suggest local fresh fish but too many times that fish is from polluted water. Haven't checked lately but Trader Joe's used to have a fish from Greenland called Turbot. Anyone ever tried it for their dogs?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thorough cooking will render just about any fish safe for dogs & humans alike. (Mercury can be a concern in certain types of fish, such as tuna, if fed too often. But bacteria, parasites, etc., are not a problem in well-cooked fish.)
I often give Jackdoodle fresh broiled fish. But it would be cost prohibitive to feed him that every day, as thrilled as he would be, lol!