The Clean Label Project has released their Dog Food Category Report, stating many popular dog foods contain high levels of heavy metals, plastic contaminants, and acrylamide. Here’s a breakdown of what they found through their research.
high levels of heavy metals found in many dog foods, Potashev Aleksandr Shutterstock
Testing a Variety of Dog Foods
The Clean Label Project team tested a total of 79 dog foods to check them for environmental and industrial contaminants. The products were categorized as dry, fresh/frozen, and air-dried and freeze-dried, and they wanted to see if these top-selling dog foods were as healthy as pet parents think they are, especially since there aren’t many regulations in regards to contaminants in dog food.
Brands included Acana, Blue Buffalo, Cesar, Fromm, Hill’s Science Diet, Natural Balance, Nature’s Recipe, Open Farm, Pedigree, Purina, Royal Canin, The Honest Kitchen, Wellness, and Ziwi Peak, among many others.
Dry Dog Foods Contained the Most Contaminants
Unfortunately, they discovered that the dog foods tested contained many contaminants. More specifically, they looked at levels of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead, phthalate (DEHP), and acrylamide.
The foods with the highest levels of these contaminants were the dry foods, followed by the air-dried and freeze-dried foods. On the other hand, fresh/frozen foods had lower amounts of contaminants compared to the other categories.
According to the report, dry dog foods had 13.3 times more arsenic, 6.1 times more cadmium, 20.7 times more mercury, 21.2 times more lead, 10.8 times more DEHP, and 24.1 times more acrylamide than fresh/frozen dog foods.
Researchers think the higher levels of heavy metals might come primarily from three categories of ingredients: meat by-products; added vitamin and mineral premix; seafood and plant-based carbohydrates.
Discouraging Results, but Pet Parents Have Options
While this information is unsettling, the good news is there are higher quality dog food options available-Clean Label Project even put together this list of dog foods that are rated high for purity.
After reading this report, some dog parents might consider changing the way they feed their companions. Switching to a fresh/frozen dog food might be a good idea if you want to reduce your pet’s exposure to various contaminants, but if you aren’t sure what’s best for your unique dog and their overall health, consult a veterinarian for guidance.
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