Pet owners haven’t forgotten that massive Melamine Pet Food recall of 2007 that killed hundreds of dogs and cats and sickened thousands more. Since then, pet food manufacturers have generally been held in low esteem by pet parents.
That bad public image is further enhanced by the dynamic duo of Dr. Google and Prof. Google, both of whom many pet owners rely upon for their information. Both lead people to lots of good information and lots of bad information.
Much of the good information is fairly technical and may be hard for most of us to follow. Pretty much all of the bad information is easy to understand and much of it feeds preconceived notions, prejudices and biases; i.e., dog food is made from road kill and dead zoo animals.
Contrary to popular belief, pet food is among the most heavily regulated food products in America. Manufacturers are required to register with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and submit to regular auditing by its inspectors.
Auditing is the term for a multi-level process that examines and evaluates such things as management systems, certifications to certain food safety and quality standards, the condition of premises and products, and legal compliance, to name a few.
In addition, manufacturers conduct ongoing internal audits, plus they must comply with state and federal rules and regulations. For example, the Federal Trade Commission regulates labeling and advertising claims and USDA regulates the quality of meat and determines which animals may be used in pet food.
Each state evaluates the products and their labels to make sure both comply with its requirements before they can be sold within its borders. And there are 57 different states’ requirements to comply with! No, wait. There are only 50.
While there are companies that have been penalized for inadequacies in their plants, the vast majority keep up with current technology and employ safety practices we’d never think of; even simple things such as installing hand-washing stations and foot baths.
Other safety and sanitation practices include utilizing positive airflow, creating established walking patterns to minimize contamination, and applying protective coatings to floors and walls to maximize sanitation.
By the way, the foot baths aren’t luxurious benefits for employees. They’re shallow pans of solution used to disinfect the bottoms of shoes. Before employees enter certain areas, they step into the foot baths.
Production runs are continuously audited during the manufacturing and drying processes, and many companies employ independent laboratories to conduct those audits or to confirm the company’s own results.
Most manufacturers audit their suppliers and also require them to test ingredients and provide test results before shipping. When ingredients arrive at the manufacturing facility, most companies test them at the door.
From there, the machines take over. Manufacturing equipment features sensors and monitors that scrutinize such things as pH, proper temperature, proper ingredients and screening for metals.
Sensors also confirm, for example, that protein, fat, fiber and moisture levels are maintained within the values stated in the Guaranteed Analysis, and that the equipment is sanitized prior to a production run of a different product in that same equipment.
History has shown that not all companies are virtuous, and that includes many industries. But most of them make a sincere effort to be.
