Long ago I remember an article I read about Coca-Cola. I love my Coca-cola but when I found out it could remove paint from a car, rust from my car battery and eat through concrete I thought, hmmmm, is what we ingest truly safe? I started researching how the FDA approves its items and being a Biology major I even took a few classes on the process.
The FDA releases foods that have ingredients known as Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS). The FDA itself doesn't test these products. They are handed information from researchers who do level testing on rats. Basically they are testing LCD levels which are levels of concentration that lead to death. All products have a range which is proper and this is all that is necessary for FDA. FDA has been known to approve many things that were tested fine (but never on humans) only to find that they were in fact unsafe for humans. So just because it's FDA approved, are we truly safe?
Here is a breakdown of a treat I purchased at Wal-Mart. I will not be saying the name of the treat to protect the company right but you will be interested to know the breakdown of these products:
1. Propylene Glycol: This product can be converted to biodiesel and is used in antifreeze and as a de-icing agent for aircraft's. It causes water retention and Heinz body anemia in cats, which is cell damage to red blood cells which can also cause them to rupture. Not many studies have been done, but it would cause this in dogs too.
2. Potassium chloride: This is a METAL salt and it's main use is fertilizer. It is also used in full strength as a lethal injection for death row inmates. Having worked in the medical field I can tell you that too much potassium can lead to heart attacks.
3. Phosphoric acid: This product inhibits rust and is a component of cleaning products. It is also used in the dentistry community as an etching solution.
4. Garlic powder: While the ruling is still out on this and the levels are the most important thing, most vets agree that garlic can be toxic to dogs.
5. Calcium sulfate: Sure sounds harmless, we all need calcium. But this particular calcium can be recovered from drywall!!
The rest of the ingredients are a lot of acids (sorbic, citric and phosphoric) which can lead to issues of the stomach, fats (animal fats, animal digests) and BHA which preserves these fats.
This here is why we do what we do! Offering organic products that are safe for your pets. While $0.99 cents sounds great for a bag of treats are you really sure you want the above products going into your dogs mouth? If a typical vet visit for an annual checkup is $125 dollars per dog, imagine what it would be if your loved one got sick?
With all the pet treat and food recalls that have been happening, your dog deserves better. While we can't preserve our dog treats for years on a shelf like the major distributors can, we can guarantee freshness and no additives that are just simply for filler or longevity of product. At Best Behavior Barkery, we care about your pets safety!!
