A Review of Pet Food Recalls from 2003 Through 2022.

This is a review of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalls of products that are for dogs and cats which took place from 2003 through 2022. It includes recalls for pet foods (food, treats, and chews), ingredients, supplements (vitamins and minerals), and drugs. There were 3,691 recalls during this period: 51% were Class I, 35% were Class II, and 14% were Class III. Food items and ingredients accounted for the majority or 68%, drugs for 27%, and supplements (vitamins and minerals) accounted for 5% of these recalls. Recalls that could be associated with dogs only accounted for 42%, with cats only 18%, and with multiple species 40%. The primary reasons for the recalls were biological contamination at 35%, chemical contamination at 32%, and cGMP violations at 8%. Almost 25% of the total recalls in the past 20 years were due to a melamine incident in 2007/2008 (73% of those were Class I). Salmonella recalls for the 20 years accounted for 23% of the total recalls (94 % of those were Class I). Although the recalls for vitamins and minerals accounted for only 5.6% percent of the total, 70% of those were Class I and 30% Class II. Pet food is a complex part of the processed food industry, and the processing of pet food is subject to at least 40 different federal regulations. To avoid recalls and be successful, pet food manufacturers need a robust food safety culture to meet all of these requirements to produce a safe product. In contrast, the melamine contamination (an adulteration event) in 2007/2008 which resulted in animal deaths and recalls is a prime example of the need for an effective and robust supplier approval program in order to avoid fraudulent suppliers in the future.

Complete nutrient content of four species of commercially available feeder insects fed enhanced diets during growth.

Commercially raised feeder insects used to feed captive insectivores are a good source of many nutrients but are deficient in several key nutrients. Current methods used to supplement insects include dusting and gut-loading. Here, we report on the nutrient composition of four species of commercially raised feeder insects fed a special diet to enhance their nutrient content. Crickets, mealworms, superworms, and waxworms were analyzed for moisture, crude protein, fat, ash, acid detergent fiber, total dietary fiber, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, taurine, carotenoids, inositol, and cholesterol. All four species contained enhanced levels of vitamin E and omega 3 fatty acids when compared to previously published data for these species. Crickets, superworms, and mealworms contained ß-carotene although using standard conversion factors only crickets and superworms would likely contain sufficient vitamin A activity for most species of insectivores. Waxworms did not contain any detectable ß-carotene but did contain zeaxanthin which they likely converted from dietary ß-carotene. All four species contained significant amounts of both inositol and cholesterol. Like previous reports all insects were a poor source of calcium and only superworms contained vitamin D above the limit of detection. When compared to the nutrient requirements as established by the NRC for growing rats or poultry, these species were good sources of most other nutrients although the high fat and low moisture content of both waxworms and superworms means when corrected for energy density these two species were deficient in more nutrients than crickets or mealworms. These data show the value of modifying the diet of commercially available insects as they are growing to enhance their nutrient content. They also suggest that for most insectivores properly supplemented lower fat insects such as crickets, or smaller mealworms should form the bulk of the diet.

Nutrition and health in amphibian husbandry.

Amphibian biology is intricate, and there are many inter-related factors that need to be understood before establishing successful Conservation Breeding Programs (CBPs). Nutritional needs of amphibians are highly integrated with disease and their husbandry needs, and the diversity of developmental stages, natural habitats, and feeding strategies result in many different recommendations for proper care and feeding. This review identifies several areas where there is substantial room for improvement in maintaining healthy ex situ amphibian populations specifically in the areas of obtaining and utilizing natural history data for both amphibians and their dietary items, achieving more appropriate environmental parameters, understanding stress and hormone production, and promoting better physical and population health. Using a scientific or research framework to answer questions about disease, nutrition, husbandry, genetics, and endocrinology of ex situ amphibians will improve specialists' understanding of the needs of these species. In general, there is a lack of baseline data and comparative information for most basic aspects of amphibian biology as well as standardized laboratory approaches. Instituting a formalized research approach in multiple scientific disciplines will be beneficial not only to the management of current ex situ populations, but also in moving forward with future conservation and reintroduction projects. This overview of gaps in knowledge concerning ex situ amphibian care should serve as a foundation for much needed future research in these areas.

Complete nutrient content of four species of feeder insects.

A variety of insects are commonly fed to captive insectivores but detailed nutritional analyses are only available for the most commonly fed species. Soldier fly larvae, Turkestan cockroach nymphs, tebo worms, and adult house flies were analyzed for moisture, protein, fat, ash, acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and selected carotenoids. The acid detergent fiber was analyzed for amino acids to estimate chitin content. Nutrient content varied widely between the four insect species. Ranges for the macronutrients were as follows: moisture (60.2-74.8%), crude protein (15.5-19.7%), crude fat (1.9%-29.4%), acid detergent fiber (1.4-3.0%), neutral detergent fiber (2.6-3.8%), and ash (0.8-3.5%). Energy content ranged from a low of 918 kcal/kg for house flies to 2,977 kcal/kg for tebo worms. The chitin content of these four species ranged from 6.7 to 21.0 mg/kg. The nutrients most likely to be deficient when these species of insects are used as food for insectivores are vitamin A, vitamin D, calcium, vitamin E, thiamine, iodine, and vitamin B(12) . The number of nutrients deficient vs. the NRC requirements for rats on an energy basis by insect species was as follows: soldier fly larvae (3), tebo worms (15), Turkestan cockroach nymphs (5), and adult house flies (6). These data are valuable in helping assess the nutrient intake of captive insectivores and in developing gut-loading diets to improve the nutrient intake of captive insectivores.

Water content of faeces is higher in the afternoon than in the morning in morning-fed dogs fed diets containing texturised vegetable protein from soya.

Faecal moisture content can determine whether faeces appear soft or firm, and faecal character can influence whether owners are satisfied with a dog food. In a previous study, dogs appeared to produce softer faeces after noon. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether time of defecation affected canine faecal water content. A total of eight hound dogs were fed one of four canned diets as a single meal each morning for 1 week per diet in a Latin square design. All four diets contained approximately 77 % moisture and, on a DM basis, 24 MJ/kg gross energy, 23 % crude protein, 32 % crude fat, 31 % N-free extract and 1 % crude fibre. The proportion of dietary protein from soya-derived texturised vegetable protein (TVP):beef was 0:100, 14:86, 29:71 and 57:43, respectively. Soya carbohydrate partially replaced maize starch as TVP increased. Faeces were collected by direct catch during the sixth morning and afternoon of each diet period. Mean faecal moisture content was greater in the afternoon than in the morning (79 v. 71 %; P = 0.01) and increased with dietary TVP (P ≤ 0.0001), and there was an interaction between time of day and percentage TVP (P = 0.003). Faecal moisture content differed from morning to afternoon only with TVP in the diet. Faecal wet weight was similar from morning to afternoon. This suggests that time of day and presence of TVP from soya should be taken into account when evaluating the effect of a diet on faecal form and moisture content in dogs fed once daily.

Estimate of chitin in raw whole insects.

Insects contain significant amounts of fiber as measured by crude fiber, acid detergent fiber (ADF) or neutral detergent fiber (NDF). It has always been assumed that the fiber in insects represents chitin based on the structural similarity between cellulose and chitin and the fact that the ADF fraction from insects contains nitrogen. In this study, a number of insect species that are raised commercially as food for insectivores were analyzed for moisture, crude protein (nitrogen x 6.25), fat, ash, NDF, ADF, and amino acids. Additionally, the ADF fraction was analyzed for nitrogen and amino acids to determine if proteins might be present in the ADF fraction. The ADF fraction contained a significant amount of amino acids accounting for 9.3-32.7% of the ADF (by weight). The presence of amino acids in the ADF fraction means that using ADF to estimate insect chitin results in an overestimation of insect chitin content. Using ADF adjusted for its amino acid content, the estimated chitin content of these insect species ranged from 2.7-49.8 mg/kg (as is) and 11.6-137.2 mg/kg (dry matter basis). Additionally, these data suggest that for the species measured here the amount of chitin nitrogen is quite small (as a % of total nitrogen) and that crude protein (nitrogen x 6.25) provides a reasonable estimate of the true protein for most species of insects. Zoo Biol 0:1-11, 2007. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.