Pawz4me wrote:



Dog food manufacturers don't have to list ingredients that they themselves don't add to the food. I believe menhaden fish is one common pet food ingredient for which ethoxyquin is often used as a preservative, but it would be used by the supplier of the fish. So even though it's there, it wouldn't have to be listed as an ingredient on a dog food label.

dturm wrote:

I am amused by the low fat diets. We treat inflammatory and skin problems by ADDING fats, granted they are specific Omegas and fatty acids. Dogs and cats just don't have the problem with cholesterol, triglycerides and fats that people do. In 34 years of practice, I can count on one hand the number of dogs I've seen that have had these problems.

The only reasons to limit fat is in calorie control, a very good reason considering that fat has more calories per weight than any other food stuff, and "quality of stools" and diseases like pancreatitis. Some dogs do get loose stools with higher fat content foods and high fat foods can lead to bouts of pancreatitis in susceptible individuals.

Doug, DVM

From DogAware.com wrote:

Some dog breeders and consumer advocates suspect ethoxyquin of causing cancer, though studies don’t seem to bear that out except at very high levels (5,000 ppm or more). On this point, the EPA concluded, “potential cancer risk is below the Agency’s level of concern.” The artificial preservatives BHA and BHT are considered more likely carcinogens.

BHA and BHT are used in human and pet foods to keep fats from going rancid. Both have been linked to cancer in laboratory animals; it’s unknown whether they cause the same in people and dogs. There is evidence that certain people may have difficulty metabolizing BHA and BHT, resulting in health and behavior changes. Again, we don’t know if the same is true for our dogs.

dturm wrote:

I'm having a little trouble with the "facts" being stated in this thread. I've done a pretty thorough search on my veterinary sources and have found little evidence that ethoxyquin in the levels currently in food have been shown to cause the maladies described. There are dozens of websites citing "facts" with no supporting evidence, just supposition and opinion by interested individuals.



The thing is, we don't really know AND there is a reasonable alternative to using BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin by using tocoperol, vitamin C and other natural products.

While the risk may be overblown, since there are alternatives I agree it would be prudent to choose foods without these additives.

Doug, DVM