ForestWind Siberian Cats

Pet food companies are allowed to include road kill, dead farm animals, expired human grade meats, and even euthanized companion animals as the ingredient "meat and bone meal."

Here’s a just released video of AAFCO’s (Association of American Feed Control Officials), President finally admitting, on camera, that it’s allowable (and, in fact, a fairly common practice), for rendered pets to end up in pet food.

The AAFCO is the regulatory body that sets guidelines for pet food and pet food ingredients in the USA.

The following quote is from the Truth About Pet Food Site, and their discussion of the recent EPA report. "One more confirmation to the horror many of us have suspected for years; an EPA document clearly states Rendering Facilities "obtain animal by-product materials" from "animal shelters."  Along with another EPA report, the evidence is mounting; current pet food regulations must be changed."

From the EPA document itself comes the below horrifying quote,

"Meat rendering plants process animal by-product materials for the production of tallow, grease, and high-protein meat and bone meal.  Plants that operate in conjunction with animal slaughterhouses or poultry processing plants are called integrated rendering plants.  Plants that collect their raw materials from a variety of offsite sources are called independent rendering plants.  Independent plants obtain animal by-product materials, including grease, blood, feathers, offal, and entire animal carcasses, from the following sources:  butcher shops, supermarkets, restaurants, fast-food chains, poultry processors, slaughterhouses, farms, ranches, feedlots, and animal shelters."  

http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch09/final/c9s05-3.pdf

Rendered pets are allowed in pet food because many commercial pet food companies value the cheap protein that comes from including "meat and bone meal."

Short brief from AAFCO on "how pet food is regulated."

After reading the above, you may want to reconsider making your own pet food at home. We grind our own raw food from the same fish, fowl, and red meats that we use at our own table. HERE is our recipe.