Ethoxyquin in dog food...

[Apdfranklin]

What is this ingredeint exactly?

[RawFedDogs]

It is a chemical that has been used as an insecticide and has been linked to cancer in rats. If you feed a dog food that has fish in it, it probably also has this chemical in it. USDA requires that any fish caught by commercial boats that cannot be used for human concumption be "denatured" with ethoxyquin. This is the fish that ends up in dog food. The dog food companies don't have to list it as an ingredient because it was put on the fish before they bought it. Some dog food companies add it to the food at the dog food plant to use as a preservative. In this case they must list it as an ingredient.

It is illegal to use ethoxyquin in human food.

It's been a couple of years since I read all this but I think it is pretty accurate. If it's not, i'm sure someone will chime in.

[Snowden]

Orijen's 6 fish dog food is the only dog food with fish in it that I know does not use/buy fish that have been treated with Ethoxyquin. If your looking for a great fish based dog food I would recommend Orijen's ( any of thier dog foods). My 11 month old Newf loves it!! I also give him Human grade Wild Alaska Salmon, Sardines, Mackerel Daily with his food.

[LoveNewfies]

Whatever food you decide to feed, if it contains fish, particularly fish meal, ask the company for a copy of the certificate or guarantee from their supplier stating that ethoxyquin is not used in the product they use. Some will even provide test results from sample tests.

[rannmiller]

I'm pretty sure Wellness also guarantees ethoxyquin free protein sources, including fish.

[ILuvLabs]

This is a good page to bookmark for future use. Covers ingredients to avoid (& there are many):

The Dog Food Project - Ingredients to avoid

[BoxerMommie]

Orijen's 6 fish dog food is the only dog food with fish in it that I know does not use/buy fish that have been treated with Ethoxyquin. If your looking for a great fish based dog food I would recommend Orijen's ( any of thier dog foods). My 11 month old Newf loves it!! I also give him Human grade Wild Alaska Salmon, Sardines, Mackerel Daily with his food.

Wellness also guarantees this, as does , Solid Gold, Canidae (well they used to, not sure about since they changed formulas, etc), Nature's Variety, California Natural, Innova, Natural Balance, and a few others. There ARE quite a few companies that do not use it and do not buy from suppliers that use it.

[FriskFantastic]

It is illegal to use ethoxyquin in human food.

It's been a couple of years since I read all this but I think it is pretty accurate. If it's not, i'm sure someone will chime in.

I'm chiming in.

I've spent the past 4 weeks learning about dog nutrition, pet food brands and all the myths and truths surrounding dog and cat food ingredients.

Did you know ethoxyquin IS used in human food?
It is used as a preservative and for colour retention in spices like paprika and chili powder. It is also used on pears and a few other fruits as an anti-oxidant so that they don't become "scalded" as easily. Scalded is just a fancy way of saying "getting brown bumps and bruisies" you see on pears frequently.

Here is a paper from an unbiast organisation. The US Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/fac...s/0003fact.pdf

Ethoxyquin has been in used in petfood for over 35 years and is approved by the FDA and the AAFCO. Ethoxyquin is a synthetic anti-oxidant whose role is to protect fats, fatty acids, and fat-soluble vitamins from rancidity.

Also, did anyone know that there is not a single scientific paper out there stating that ethoxyquin causes any harm to animals when used at or below its approved dosage? (150ppm)
Sure anybody can sit at a computer and write an article saying anything they want, there are plenty of those around, but as far as papers from legitmate sources there is Zilch...not a single one.

You can find plenty of trustworthy sources stating Ethoxyquin is harmful is in doses 33 or more times (depending on the test animal) the allowed level in petfood, but none saying anything bad about levels around the permitted level of 150ppm. If it was proven harmful, then it would not be approved for use. Most of your vitamins and minerals are also toxic at high levels, depending on the vitamin, anywhere from 25 times to 1000 times the recommended daily dosage can be lethal. Look up Vitamin A, it is a pretty toxic vitamin in high doses, why aren't we picking on that too?

A lot of these "Bad Ingredients" are not actually so, but definitly look that way superficially. If you dig a bit, quite often you can't find any scientific proof, just personal opinions on messageboards and websites.

[PeanutsMommy]

You are right that EQ IS in human foods.

My thing is if the dog is fed the same food with EQ in it 150PPM they eat that food everyday for so many years does it build up enough to become harmful?

IMO, thats where the problem is. Sure in small doeses its fine but when it is eaten all the time it is going to cause a negative effect.

[FriskFantastic]

You are right that EQ IS in human foods.

My thing is if the dog is fed the same food with EQ in it 150PPM they eat that food everyday for so many years does it build up enough to become harmful?

IMO, thats where the problem is. Sure in small doeses its fine but when it is eaten all the time it is going to cause a negative effect.

I wouldn't say it's going to have a negative effect.

No studies have ever shown that, but then I can't picture those studies lasting much longer than 5 years.

I would say we don't know, just like we don't know the side-effects of birthcontrol over 15-20 years, or even the effects of eating frog legs for 5 years. The tests are too costly and time consuming.

Personally I don't feel the need to worry about it if there are no proven effects after 5 years. Depending on the breed of dog, that's roughly 1/2 to 1/4 of it's life. I just worry about overall quality of the product.