Furthermore, other additives and preservatives in non-fat ingredients are not required to be labeled. Another concern is pesticide residues, antibiotics, and molds contained in pet food ingredients. Meat from downer animals may be loaded with drugs, some of which are known to pass unchanged through all the processing done to create a finished pet food. One toddler who habitually snacked from the cat's bowl of dry food died of an allergic reaction to penicillin, which was found to be in the cat food at levels over 600 times that allowed in human food products. In the past four years there have been two major recalls of dry dog food by different manufacturers due to mold contamination of grain ingredients.
Some fungal toxins are very dangerous.
The second recalled food killed more than 20 dogs before action was taken. When selecting a commercial food for your animal companion, be sure to read the label. Although percentages are misleading due to the variable moisture content of processed foods, they are the only data available. While they are not perfect, they are better than most. Several brands are now preserved with Vitamins C and E instead of chemical preservatives.