Bha Preservative In Dog Food

Commonly used artificial preservatives in dry dog foods include ethoxyquin butylated hydroxyanisole bha and butylated hydroxytoluene bht.

Bha preservative in dog food. Though some dog food companies prefer a safer and natural preservative because the fda still claims bha is safe to ingest and use in dog foods it is often found as one of the last ingredients as an additive and preservative for dog food. Tocopherols from nuts and seeds citric and ascorbic acids from citrus fruits carotenoids from some fruits and vegetables can all act as natural preservatives. Vitamin e is an antioxidant preservative like vitamin c and will stabilize fat and oils. Vitamin e also known as mixed tocopherols is another natural preservative that bolsters dog nutrition.

It has been directly linked to cancer in dogs and humans. It s very common today to find cranberries and blueberries added to dog foods. 6 red 40 bha used as a preservative dl methionine purina dog chow. 1 the national toxicology program of the department of health and human services warns that bha is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen cancer causing agent 2.

Bha is on a short list of additives allowed in pet foods meant only for preserving the life of the food. Butylated hydroxyanisole also known as bha is an antioxidant primarily used as a preservative in food animal feed cosmetics rubber and petroleum products. 1 yet to this day ethoxyquin is still commonly found in many popular brands of dog food. In addition the preservative is not permitted for use in australian dog foods nor is it approved within in the european union.

They are very effective at preventing fats from becoming rancid the primary problem we face in preserving dry dog food and can greatly extend the product s shelf life a year is typical. Plus it is a necessary nutrient for your dog so it is a great natural preservative for dog food. However the fda allows bha to be added to human food and dog treats at certain levels and classifies the preservative as generally regarded as safe the idea is that although bha might cause cancer in lab rats its metabolized differently by other animals humans and dogs in particular and it s used in foods at amounts well below levels that would cause problems. The most common preservatives used in pet foods are bha bht and ethoxyquin.

Two more to avoid. Synthetic preservatives are known as bha butylated hydroxyanisole bht butylated hydroxytoluene propyl gallate propylene glycol and the one that leads the hot debate ethoxyquin. Bht can be found in embalming fluids cosmetics petroleum products pharmaceuticals pesticides and much more. Bha is primarily used in preserving human and dog cat foods and is one of the most widely known dog food ingredients to avoid among dog owners and nutritional specialists.

Whole grain corn poultry by product meal animal fat preserved with mixed tocopherols form of vitamin e corn gluten meal meat and bone meal brewers rice soybean meal barley whole. Ethoxyquin has been under investigation by the fda as a possible cause for certain liver and blood problems.