Pet Food Recalls:

As you’re reading the headlines thinking about the dogs and cats contaminated by the pet foods as well as the surge in pet food recalls, the question remains: Which contaminated food is still being sold in stores? Have they all been obliterated? According to the Food and Drug Administration, it inspected approximately 400 stores nationwide and still discovered some dog and cat food products impacted by last month’s recall (April 2007) of Menu Foods and other manufacturers.

As pet food recalls dominate the news, it makes the BARF diet, the evolutionary diet, that much more appealing. After all, it is quite daunting to think of Menu Foods and the recall of 60 million cans and pouches of wet pet food which were sold under several brands. Whereas the raw food diet, BARF, involves feeding dogs and cats what they have programmed to eat throughout the centuries, the pet food recalls raise questions about the safety in canned products for our beloved pets.

For instance, some suppliers used tainted wheat gluten from China. Approximately 70% of wheat gluten used in human and pet foods originates from Europe or Asia. Basically, wheat gluten was initially developed in Asia as a human food. In fact, it’s as natural protein from wheat or wheat flour. When it’s been extracted in the wet form it’s called gum gluten which is dried into high protein powder. However, when it’s rehydrated it regains its original form. Wheat gluten is primarily found in pet food (and even fish food) as a protein source, in human cereals, and special bread and baked goods. Gluten provides elasticity of dough (for instance, the chewy factor of a bagel is attributed to gluten).

While wheat gluten may seem okay on the surface, the melamine found in the gluten has become the issue surrounding the pet food recalls. Unlike the BARF diet which is a raw food diet, melamine is a chemical. It’s a white powder and a chemical compound made of carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen. This potent material is often used for kitchenware, manufacturing of fertilizer, and floor tiles. In lab tests it’s been determined to be toxic and while the actual effects on dogs and cats have not been thoroughly tested, this begs us to ask: with so much negative press about processed pet foods and undoubtedly harmful ingredients such as milamen, why not try the alternative pet food diet, like the natural BARF diet? For instance, in this raw food diet, foods have ingredients which you can pronounce and understand. They’re gluten and grain-free and are encompassed with water, vitamins, and nutrients – essential for your pet and cat’s health.

While this pet food recall has been a very daunting time for the contaminated pets and their worried owners, it’s important to get back to the basics with BARF.