Pet Food Vet

22/09/2024

Someone was complaining about Dr. Karen Becker's pet food recipe as just raw pet food. However, that’s not quite true. They do include more ingredients than just raw meat. The recipes are formulated to create balanced nutrition. While I tend to go more the route of BalanceIt recipes and JFFD DIY--both which add vitamin-mineral supplements, I do so because the vit-min supplements are formulated by human grade supplement companies. I graduated in 1983 from CSU and back then all we did was calculate Kcals. In 1992, I worked for Hill's as a PSR, and got totally trained on nutrition itself. In 2007 we had the malamine recall, which seriously shook up my solid belief in the safety of pet food. In 2008, I joined the Army Veterinary Corps Reserves and learned how to be an Army Food Auditor and experienced the global food supply chain, while in charge of food for a base of 20,000 people in warzone. I had to write a Food Defense plan, so the incoming food wasn't intentionally contaminated. This led me into a deep dive on pet food safety to try to understand pet food recalls. I got my Masters of Science in Food Safety (2019 MSU Vet School) and became a PCQI-Animal Food. This means I am FDA certified to write food safety plans for pet food companies. I can send food in to my local food safety lab to check for contaminants and for Guaranteed analysis. I am the past president of the American Assn of Food Safety and Public Health Veterinarians and am an alternate Delegate to the AVMA Food Safety Comm. I've seen behind the curtain, and I no longer accept what pet food companies say about safety, so I darn well can check the food myself and will. Bottomline, we all want safe healthy pet food for our pets. Folks be careful out there.

23/08/2024

Just thought I'd post my podcast on pet food safety: PET FOOD VET

Podcast · [object Object] · Pet food recalls are an ongoing global tragedy. All podcast classes are free to the public; no pet food is sold here. A veterinarian for over 37 years, Dr. Donna DeBonis also has her Masters of Science in Food Safety and is certified in manufacturing Pet Food Quality As...

16/07/2024

Serious recall on Diamond Shruumz products at V**E or Cannabis stores so far. One of the "magic mushroom" brands causes severe side effects including neuro abnormalities, depression, seizures, and death. I post this because some people think it's funny to share stuff with pets to get them high. For my veterinary colleagues, please be mindful of this if any come in with these signs below. FDA recommends people call Poison Control; likewise, I advise to call Animal Poison Control for pets.
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FDA and state partners have collected multiple samples of Diamond Shruumz-brand products for testing and analysis. Additional sample analysis is ongoing, but as of June 25, 2024 test results for two individual chocolate bars collected from a retail store have identified:
BRAND:
Diamond Shruumz

SYMPTOMS:
People who became ill after eating Diamond Shruumz-brand products reported a variety of severe symptoms including seizures, central nervous system depression (loss of consciousness, confusion, sleepiness), agitation, abnormal heart rates, hyper/hypotension, nausea, and vomiting.

SUBSTANCES Identified so far:
4-acetoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (4-acetoxy-DMT, also known as O-acetylpsilocin or psilacetin)
There may be variability in test results across products with different formulations as well as potential variability across lots and batches of the same product.

Do not eat, sell, or serve any flavor of Diamond Shruumz- Brand Chocolate Bars, Cones, and Gummies. FDA’s investigation is ongoing.

20/05/2024

AAFCO created a 'revision' to pet food regulations, and it is adopted by Feed associations. They gave this signed agreement to legislators and directed them to incorporate it into law. So, now pet food labels will look exactly like human food labels. This is not making pet food safer. Instead, it makes the pet food ingredients *appear* they are safer, because the label looks the same. However, the animal food supply chain comes from ingredients that are rejected from the human food supply chain.

What can you do to make sure that you feed safe food to your pet? Feed human grade pet food, because it is processed and transported under the far safer human food supply chain.

/PRNewswire/ -- Heads of departments of agriculture unanimously voted to support the Association of American Feed Control Officials' (AAFCO) revised Model...

16/05/2024

ATTENTION PURINA POULTRY GAME FEED RECALL:
(Selenium Toxicity--Purina uses this vitamin -mineral premix in other foods--CAUTION!!!)

*Purina Game Bird 30% Protein Starter Crumbles. Optimum Nutrition for Strong starts and healthy Game Birds and Turkeys. *

Net Wt. 40 lb (18.14kg) UPC 8 04273-06513 7. Product Code 3005640-305. Formula Code 542W. Manufactured by Purina Animal Nutrition LLC Arden Hills, MN 55126.

Buy Purina 30% Protein Starter Game Bird and Turkey Feed, 40 lb. at Tractor Supply Co. Great Customer Service.

12/04/2024

Feed recall-please share!

Get more from Dr. Donna DeBonis, the Pet Food Veterinarian on Patreon

10/04/2024

I have my Masters in Food Safety with my project on Pet Food Recalls. You absolutely can make your own pet food nutritionally complete. Many of my clients use JustFoodForDogs nutrient supplement that goes with their recipe. I also advise BalanceIt, which has a website where you can create a wonderful variety of recipes and add the BalanceIt supplement. Both of these companies had their recipes developed by Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionists (the latter wrote our 1st small animal veterinary nutrition text for Vet School). There are a few recipes that also can be made with ingredients that contain all of the nutrients (check Dr. Karen Becker's book, THE FOREVER DOG). Having done a deep dive on the past 20 years of pet food recalls for my Masters, coupled with working for Hill's 30 years ago, and working as a Army Veterinary Corps Certified Food Auditor, I have a unique skill set and experience as a veterinarian. It is clear that the Animal Food Supply chain--which is a different set of regulations-- is much more unsafe than the Human Food Supply chain. I close with the fact that like me, Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins worked for Hill's. After she resigned, she wrote the book NOT FIT FOR A DOG. For more about pet food safety, to understand about reading labels, and more, listen to my podcast on SPOTIFY: PET FOOD VET. I also do Pet Food Consultations. www.donnadebonis.com My new book on pet food recalls will be available soon on Kindle.

Dr. Donna DeBonis provides consultations on Forensics, Court Animal Advocate, and Pet Food Safety. Her special interest is in poisons and toxins.

05/03/2024

There are hundreds of complaints by pet owners as well a dog and cat deaths. As you know many recalls begin with consumer complaints, which are generally filed with the FDA. Samples are submitted and tested. However, our biggest challenge are the *unknown* contaminants, which is why the Melamine recall of 2007 killed over 3000 pets across every brand of pet food. If we don't have a test for it or don't even suspect a non-food toxin, then many pets will sicken as may pet owners. In the PBB contamination of livestock feed in Michigan in the 1970s, dairy farmers and their families got sick because they consumed the milk products of their own cattle. It took months for the contaminant to be figured out (see movie BITTER HARVEST by Ron Howard). I got my Masters in the topic, so I could go on.

27/02/2024

Pentobarbital in pet food. Is that a real thing? Post your comments below. Also, in the comments, I quote a sentence from the FDA. Check this 'archived article' from 2002 FDA research about this topic.

The low levels of exposure to sodium pentobarbital that dogs might receive through food is unlikely to cause them any adverse health effects.

25/02/2024

https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/questions-answers-contaminants-pet-food I am not impressed with the FDA 's answers about contaminants. Take a look and ask me why.

FDA CVM Q&As about Contaminants like Pentobarbital in Pet Food.

25/02/2024

Here is my favorite recommendation of human-grade fully nutritious cat and dog food: www.RaisedRightPets.com/DrDebonis , and save 20% with this code PETS20

Family owned human grade pet food company that works with veterinarian, Dr. Karen Becker to formulate limited ingredient recipes that are low in carbs.

28/01/2024

WHY REPORT PET FOOD ISSUES? Right now there is a recall on baby applesauce that babies ate fine, until it was contaminated with lead and chromium. It was found because parents reported this on the FDA website, THEN the FDA did tests and found the toxins in the cinnamon. Spices are GRAS ( GenerallybRegardedvAs Safe), so it took the FDA some time to determine it was the cinnamon that was contaminated and tbey were finally able to trace the source back to a new Guatemalan packer who decide to add weight and color to cinnamon. Reports are exactly how pet foods and human foods are recalled, not because the pet and human food companies tested food that accidentally left their facility. Why do you think there is an Adverse Event Portal on the FDA Website to report pet and human food adverse events? I am a veterinarian with my Masters of Food Safety. Everyone must report adverse events so we can keep our food supplies for both humans and pets safe. I applaud every one who comes forth and takes the effort to do so.