4D Animals are allowed by FDA to be used in pet food. For more info -can call FDA Vet, Randall Lovell - (240) 453-6857
There were 12 the AAFCO *answered*! Below are two snippets from the only two I was interested in #2 and #4
Except for reformatting for easier reading, it is exactly as is stated !
2. Does AAFCO maintain lists of allowable and/or forbidden ingredients? If so, what's not allowed?
Feed and food regulations explicitly provide several due processes for ingredient approval including:
a.) Prior sanctioned (which is essentially feed/food grains);
b.) GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe – an official review process for certain ingredients);
c.) Food Additive Petition (which is a more exhaustive review that GRAS because of the nature of the feed additive);
d.)
An approved new animal drug (very few are approved for use in pet foods at all);
e.) An AAFCO Feed Ingredient Definition (which means that FDA has done a review for safety).
There is no list of forbidden ingredients because they are forbidden unless they are approved.
The AAFCO Official Publication (OP) contains the most comprehensive list of approved feed ingredients available; however, some approved ingredients are not in the OP because they are listed elsewhere, such as in the Federal CFR.
If an ingredient is not approved, it is forbidden. The establishment of safety, efficacy and utility through one of the aforementioned due processes is required before an ingredient can be used in a feed or food product.
<SNIP>
4. Am I correct that parts from sick, dying, or dead animals are allowed? Doesn't this pose a health risk to pets?
Animal by-products which may include materials from animals which died by means other than slaughter are explicitly defined as adulterated
unless the materials are rendered in compliance with animal health and protein product regulations to destroy any potential microorganisms which may be in the products.
The processes used are deemed to be adequate to control risk of disease.
<SNIP>
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MY COMMENTS:
So, the answer to the first part of question #4 is .......
YES Of course they go into the pet food ! That is clear and answered clearly in question #2 which says
if it is not approved it is forbidden !
Renderings contain dead animals......we all know that much! So, as long as it is rendered, properly, (#4) then it is
APPROVED based on renderings not being forbidden to go into pet foods, so there fore according to
#2 it falls under APPROVED, since it is NOT FORBIDDEN!
So then the second part of that #4 question- How safe is it really?
Well, If it was
*SAFE*, humans could eat it and they would not be so worried about *mad cow disease* ending up in it either.
They (the FDA) also would not have seen the need to try to stop the practice either, which they did as evidenced by the documents that both, Garth Merrick, of Merrick Foods and his sister company *Karem*, presented to the FDA to try to prevent that from happening.......!
So ends that idea of it being *safe* .........
The link to this article ( .pdf File) can be found on there website here.
http://www.aafco.org/ On the left hand side of the page . It says questions and answer on Pet Food or , here is the direct download to the .pdf File
http://www.aafco.org/Portals/0/Public/Q ... ODREGS.PDF
