Dangerous Ethoxyquin IS in Pet Foods!

Written by a member of CP's Medical Team

I found a rather lengthy article about ethoxyquin in dog foods.

Ethoxyquin is considered a definite carcinogen. I believet hat most of us look at ingredient lists to make sure it's not in foods we purchase for our beloved Cairns.However, if it's added to an ingredient before it is delivered to the pet food manufacturing plant it DOES NOT NEED TO BE LISTED ON THE PACKAGE! Fish meal is very fragile and therefore ethyoxyquin is a fairly certain preservative for it. Unfortunately, some of the pet foods we trust do allow ethoxyquin to be used as
preservative to fish meal they purchase.

So today you'll rarely see ethoxyquin listed on the label but:

Many dog foods and cat foods that state ‘Natural Preservatives’ on
their labels, websites, and/or advertising contain fish meal
preserved with ethoxyquin; a very un-natural chemical.

Dr. Jean Hofve, DVM states “Ethoxyquin is banned from nearly all human food products (except certain spices) due to its cancer-causing properties.Most manufacturers have changed to less-controversial preservatives, such as Vitamin E (tocopherol), but ethoxyquin is still used in many "prescription" foods. Ethoxyquin is required for imported fish meal, a prominent ingredient in many pet foods, but not listed on the label; there is a natural substitute (NaturOx) but it is expensive and few companies use it.”

The EPA states “The primary target organs affected by ethoxyquin in experimental animals are the liver and the kidneys.”

However, our good friends at AAFCO and the FDA (pun intended) strongly believe ethoxyquin is safe in animal foods. (I have cut off the rest of this paragraph as it's loooong.)

As of the writing of this article (9/5/09), the following are the companies that have responded.

Artemis Pet Foods
Per Diamond Pet Food (manufacturer) “all fish meal, ocean fish
meal, and salmon meal ingredients are preserved with ethoxyquin.”
Breeders-Choice – AvoDerm Natural Pet Food
“Breeder's Choice does not use ethoxyquin in any of it's foods.
However, because it is found in the food chain, trace amounts cannot easily be eliminated.”
Blue Buffalo Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved naturally with Naturox.”
By Nature Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved with natural tocopherols.”
California Natural, Innova, Evo Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved with Vitamin E and mixed tocopherols.”
Canidae/Felidae Pet Foods
Per Diamond Pet Food (manufacturer) “all fish meal, ocean fish
meal, and salmon meal ingredients are preserved with ethoxyquin.”
Castor & Pollux Pet Foods (Organix and Ultramix)
“Fish meal is preserved with Naturox.”
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Pet Foods
Per Diamond Pet Food (manufacturer) “all fish meal, ocean fish
meal, and salmon meal ingredients are preserved with ethoxyquin.”
Diamond Pet Foods
Per Diamond Pet Food (manufacturer) “all fish meal, ocean fish
meal, and salmon meal ingredients are preserved with ethoxyquin.”
Evolve Natural Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved with mixed tocopherols.”
Flint River Ranch Pet Food
“Fish meal is flash frozen until time of manufacturing; no
preservative needed.”
Fromm Family Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved with citric acid.”
Kumpi Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved with Naturox Plus.”
Merrick Pet Foods
“Fish meal preserved with mixed tocopherols.”
Natural Balance Pet Foods
Per Diamond Pet Food (manufacturer) “all fish meal, ocean fish
meal, and salmon meal ingredients are preserved with ethoxyquin.”
Nature’s Logic Pet Food
“Fish meals are preserved with natural tocopherols and rosemary.”
Newman’s Own Pet Foods
“Fish meals preserved with Vitamin E.”
Petcurean Pet Foods
“Fish Meal is preserved with Vitamin E.”
Premium Edge Pet Foods
Per Diamond Pet Food (manufacturer) “all fish meal, ocean fish
meal, and salmon meal ingredients are preserved with ethoxyquin.”
Taste of the Wild Pet Foods
Per Diamond Pet Food (manufacturer) “all fish meal, ocean fish
meal, and salmon meal ingredients are preserved with ethoxyquin.”
Timberwolf Organics Pet Foods
“Fish meal ingredients are preserved with Vitamin E.”
TLC Pet Foods
“Fish meal is preserved with tocopherols.”

Many other pet food manufacturers were contacted with no response.

Fish meals, NOT fish ingredients are a concern with ethoxyquin. As example, ‘salmon’ listed on a pet food label would not be an ethoxyquin preserved ingredient; ‘salmon meal’ might be. The ONLY way to know is to ask the manufacturer specifically.

However, some responses I have received did not directly answer my ethoxyquin question. As example, one manufacturer told me “we do not add ethoxyquin to any of our pet foods”.

This response does NOT tell me if their supplier might add ethoxyquin. I am waiting for their follow up response.


The whole article is available here and I urge you to read it:

It is not up to date so I'll be looking for updates to find out what other companies have responded to the requests for information. Meanwhile I'll take a printed copy of this info with me when I go to the pet food store and make my selections based on those companies who answer "NO ETHOXYQUIN"!