Ethoxyquin… Dangerous Dog Food Preservative

Hi William… I try to address the ethoxyquin issue in nearly every food I review. However, we only select a “typical” dog food from each product line. So, it’s possible some can fly beneath our software’s radar. Not sure when I’ll be able to create that list. Still trying to keep up with the nearly daily changes in recipes and continuing to work away at our To Do list of new foods.

Unfortunately, we never know the exact amount of ethoxyquin in any product. We can only guess. With only rare exceptions, ethoxyquin is only found in fish meals. And the amount cannot (by U.S. law) exceed 75 parts per million. And the further down the ingredients list you find a “suspect” fish meal, the lower the likely amount of ethoxyquin present.

Good news… thanks to the public’s growing objection to and awareness of ethoxyquin, most better manufacturers are rapidly switching over to ethoxyquin-free fish meals. In general, most of our 4 and 5-star foods (with only a few exceptions).

Suggestion… read our reviews before buying and avoid the lower-rated dog foods. Just doing this will greatly decrease your risk of feeding your dog this controversial preservative. Hope this helps.

Hi Sandy… Yes, you’re correct. But ethoxyquin is added at the time fish are transported for production into fish meals. We never accept these statements regarding any fish meal product unless a company specifically assures consumers they do not use fish meals unless they are ethoxyquin free.

Hi Roger… We’ve also not been able to find assurances on the Wellness website their fish meals are ethoxyquin free. And when we don’t find any written confirmation, we always assume the fish meal is not free of the chemical. In any case, you may want to contact Wellness Customer Service to find out.

Hi Nic… For years, the US Coast Guard has required the use of a preservative while specific fish materials are transported by boat. This is due to the explosive nature of the stored fish product itself (which can seriously endanger the lives of the boat’s crew).

However, newer regulations no longer mandate that preservative to be ethoxyquin. So, some companies are now using natural preservatives to control the explosive nature of the material.

Dog food manufacturers must pay a higher cost to obtain these naturally preserved meals. I know it sounds “fishy” (sorry for the pun) but companies (like Diamond) should be recognized in a positive way for using these better ingredients.

Hope this helps explain this issue a little better.

Hi Lacy… First, I am not aware of TOTW using anything but bison. But if you’d like to confirm that fact, you may want to call Diamond Pet Customer Service number at 800-442-0402. They’re very helpful whenever I have questions.

Regarding ethoxyquin, here’s a copy of a letter I received from Dr. Janet Rettenmaier (one of the staff veterinarians at Diamond) on July 17, 2010:

We are now using naturally preserved fish mean in all of our products. Even prior to the transition to natural mixed tocopherols (vitamin E), there were absolutely no health risks involved with feeding any of these foods. The switch to mixed tocopherols to preserve our fish meal was a response to customer demand. Fortunately, we were able to secure a supply of naturally preserved fish meal and shelf life studies have proven that we are able to maintain the product’s freshness throughout the shelf life of the product.

Homeland security does outline preservation using ethoxyquin, however alternative methods of preservation are available by special request. Our supplier has obtained all the required permits in order to use the natural preservative instead of ethoxyquin.

Janet L. Rettenmaier, DVM, MS
Director of Veterinary Services
Diamond Pet Foods

Hope this helps. I find this letter very reassuring.

Hi Irma… ethoxyquin is usually only associated with fish MEALS… not (normally) with plain fish ingredients by themselves. Many manufacturers use ethoxyquin-free fish meals, too. When I can easily locate the information, I usually try to say so in my reviews.

Yes… as I mentioned, most fish meals DO contain ethoxyquin… and the amount is directly related to how far down the ingredients list you find the fish meal. Most of the time when the fish meal is down the list a ways, there’s only a trace… a few parts per million. That doesn’t make the food safe… but it does make it safer.

There are plenty of trace contaminants in the people foods we eat… as well as the air we breathe, too. And none of us are particularly happy about that fact. But… as always, the lower the concentration of any contaminant, the better.

Hi Sara… when I say that by law ethoxyquin cannot exceed 75 ppm I am referring to the fish ingredients only. If that particular ingredient makes up 5% of the food, then assuming ethoxyquin content of the fish meal is at its legal limit of 75 ppm… then there’s probably only a trace (5% x 75 ppm = 3.75 ppm) of ethoxyquin in the food.

I wouldn’t be overly concerned about this. And I don’t know of any dog food manufacturer that adds ethoxyquin directly to a food. So far, I’ve only seen it added to fish meals before they are sold to pet food manufacturers.

Diamond makes some very good dog foods… and many contain fish meal. In most cases, that fish meal probably contains ethoxyquin.

Natura may have sold out to Proctor and Gamble… but so far, no changes. I’d wait and see what happens with Natura… and react only IF they change their quality… or recies. Right now, Natura brands still look like some of the best available.

Hopefully, that won’t change.

Hi Linda… that’s a very good question. I’d like to think the FDA has some real scientific reason for setting this standard… and not just because they believe dogs aren’t as important as humans. Many of us love our dogs as much as we cherish the members of our own human families.

Hi Kevin… Thanks to your recent comments, I’ve re-written much of this post in an attempt to clarify the way we deal with ethoxyquin in our ratings. After reviewing my earlier version, I can see where it would cause so much confusion. And for that, I apologize.

Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to find anything definitive regarding just how much ethoxyquin is safe and/or how much is really in a finished dog food. I spoke with Dr. Brookshire today at Diamond Pet and I found her very helpful. But she was still unable to forward the results of any tests that confirmed her claims that ethoxyquin content is reduced to only 2 ppm.

However, in her defense, I believe it’s all a matter of simple math. If the FDA limits ethoxyquin (EQ) content to 75 ppm in a finished product… then it stands to reason that the most dangerous situation would be applying that same limit on direct addition to a specific dog food as a preservative.

On the other hand, as I understand it, fish meals are also limited to the same 75 ppm when they sell the ingredient to the dog food manufacturers. That would mean a single ingredient would contribute dramatically less EQ to the overall product than with direct addition by the manufacturer.

Also, think about how very insignificant a contributor to EQ levels a fish meal would be when it is listed as ingredient number ten (as it is in 4Health Dog Food). What if that fish meal ingredient represented 3% of the pre-cooking weight of the entire product. That dog food would then be 97% fish meal-free! Assuming (a maximum reading) of 75 ppm, the fish meal would contribute only the very tiniest amount (2-3 ppm) of EQ to the overall dog food.

Hey… I’m not endorsing the use of EQ. No, definitely not. But I am trying to allay some of the hysteria about the chemical. Fish meal is an extremely common dog food ingredient… even in many decent quality dog foods.

By the way, who’s to say 4Health wouldn’t really be more accurate at three stars? But based on the big picture, we still feel four stars is appropriate. Sometimes, these foods are simply on the “borderline”.

Thanks for calling this EQ rating confusion to my attention. Hope this helps.

Hi Kevin and Bonny… I’ve been reading (with interest) all your comments regarding ethoxyquin. And I can understand the confusion. I believe there is a significant difference between ethoxyquin used in fish meals vs ethoxyquin being added directly to a final dog food product as a preservative. I’m in the process of collecting critical information regarding this important issue and I promise to report back to you (here) with my findings… very soon. How do you guys feel about ethoxyquin if two dog foods contained major differences in the chemical’s composition? By the way, thanks for this interesting discussion.