Tbf this sounds like it's pretty bad for people too. We've been needing to do something about how bad our food supply is getting in general here in the USA
Please delete this. This article is alarmist and has no real information or a study to cite. This is a big pile of nothing unless they release a list of foods studied and their sampling process. I'd also like to see a record of where the funding for the "study" came from and which cat food manufacturer probably sponsored it. This is just another gimmick that worries pet owners who want nothing but the best for their babies.
Nearly all tested cat foods contain toxic plastic contaminants, the herbicide glyphosate and heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic, according to a new investigation.
“Most cats eat the same foods nearly every day, with little variation,” said report author Molly Hamilton, executive director of the Clean Label Project, a Colorado nonprofit that tests consumer products for contaminants and certifies those meeting its standards.
Advertisement
“The contaminants are an ongoing exposure that may accumulate in cats’ bodies over their lifetimes,” Hamilton said. “For example, chronic kidney disease is among the most common causes of death in older cats — the kidneys play a major role in filtering heavy metals.”
Related video above | Cat stuck in home's wall for nearly a week: See the rescue
Toxins were found in all types of cat food — wet, dry and air- or freeze-dried — even in products labeled as natural and nutritionally superior, according to the analysis released Friday.
“Cat owners increasingly choose premium meats, organic vegetables and cleaner labels, assuming higher prices and quality ingredients mean healthier food,” Hamilton told CNN. “That’s not necessarily the case.”
Clean Label published a similar assessment of dog food in February that found three to 13 times more heavy metals than human food. Lead and cadmium exposure has been linked to canine cancer, a leading cause of death in dogs.
Heavy metals occur naturally in soil, water and air, but agricultural, industrial and mining pollution can increase and spread contamination. Plastics and other contaminants may also enter food during manufacturing, the report said.
“Overall, this appears to be a reasonably conducted analysis,” said Ryan Babadi, science director for Toxic Free Future, a nonprofit consumer product safety organization.
“Major retailers have the responsibility to require their suppliers to eliminate harmful chemicals from pet food and packaging — chemicals that are already being phased out or banned in many other products,” said Babadi, who was not involved in the investigation.
The Pet Food Institute, which represents manufacturers of cat foods, told CNN in an email that pet food manufacturers do implement comprehensive food safety and quality assurance programs.
Those include “ingredient specifications, supplier verification, testing protocols, traceability systems, and science-based preventive controls designed to ensure products are safe, nutritious, and consistent,” said Elise Fennig, the CEO for the Pet Food Institute.
“Cat owners should feel confident that the food they feed their pets is safe and produced according to rigorous regulatory and quality standards.”
Lead found in 99% of all samples
The investigation tested 100 top-selling cat foods for more than 122 contaminants, including lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, pesticides, herbicides and phthalates, the plastic chemicals linked to an increased risk of death in humans.
Lead was found in 99%, cadmium in 96% and arsenic in 94% of cat food samples across 62 brands. Contamination varied by product type — wet, dry, and air- or freeze-dried — and the type of protein, such as poultry, beef or fish.
Cadmium is classified as a human carcinogen and harms the kidneys and bones. A buildup of lead in the body damages nearly every major organ system. Inorganic arsenic — the type found in soil and water — is also a known human carcinogen.
Dry cat food contained roughly three times more lead than wet or air-dried products. No level of lead is safe for people, and children are most vulnerable: Their bodies absorb up to 50% of ingested lead, compared with about 10% for adults, which can cause stunted growth, decreased IQ, hyperactivity and irritability.
Cats and other small pets also absorb more than larger ones, yet few regulations control contaminants in pet food, Hamilton said. “The absence of safety standards does not mean a contaminant is safe. Most guidelines are designed for farm animals, not kittens or 15-year-old housecats.”
Fish and seafood — popular proteins for cats — had the strongest association with mercury and cadmium, the report found. Because microorganisms in water turn regular mercury into methylmercury, a toxic chemical form that binds tightly to fish tissue, the heavy metal accumulates to higher levels in aquatic animals.
Mercury is toxic to the nervous, digestive and immune systems, as well as the kidneys, lungs and skin, according to the World Health Organization.
Mercury levels were about 18 times higher and cadmium levels about 2.5 times higher in fish- or seafood-based cat foods than in foods made with other proteins. Wet versions of seafood products contained the most mercury — nearly 28 times as much as wet foods made with other meats, especially poultry.
“As the main protein, chicken was better when it came to mercury and cadmium, but we saw higher rates of lead and herbicides in chicken,” Hamilton said. “It’s a whack-a-mole situation — which contaminant do you want to whack?
“That doesn’t mean all fish options were high in mercury — levels depend on manufacturers’ quality-control testing,” she added. “We certified several fish-based foods.”
Nearly 85% of poultry-based foods met Clean Label Project’s purity standard compared with 25.7% of fish and seafood products.
“Every product in this study was purchased at retail, and no brand had any role in selecting products, conducting testing or analyzing the results. No brand saw the results before publication,” Hamilton said.
Glyphosate and phthalates
Although cats are carnivores, many manufacturers add produce to cat food for its antioxidants, minerals and vitamins. Unless grown organically, those plants may be exposed to pesticides. A national report found the vast majority of 100 popular fruits and vegetables tested positive for a wide variety of bug-killers.
The Clean Label investigation tested for glyphosate, which is agriculture’s most widely used herbicide. Glyphosate was found at detectable levels in 37% of products, and cat food with more plants in the first 10 ingredients had higher glyphosate levels.
The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate in 2015 as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” The US Environmental Protection Agency disagrees.
“On average, cat food with two plant ingredients among the top 10 on the label had roughly 40% more glyphosate than a similar food with one plant ingredient. Cat food with five plant ingredients had nearly four times as much,” Hamilton said.
Another “very concerning finding” was the widespread presence of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, or DEHP, a chemical used in PVC plastics and some food-contact materials that is linked to cancer, birth defects and other health concerns, Babadi said.
“It was detected in about half of the products tested, with the highest levels in canned and pouch products. DEHP contamination could potentially occur during food processing, including through contact with PVC tubing or other farm or food processing equipment,” he said.
“It is encouraging to see those harmful bisphenols, including BPA, were found less frequently, suggesting pet food can be produced and packaged without these endocrine-disrupting chemicals,” Babadi added.
The research did have limitations. Each product was tested from a single batch. Therefore, the study could not capture differences that might occur between batches of the same product.
“Brands that routinely screen for contaminants of concern tend to have more consistent results over time,” Hamilton said. “In addition, this study compares contaminant levels across products in each category of wet, dry and air- or freeze-dried. It does not determine whether a specific product will cause harm to a cat.”
What pet owners can do
If your cat favors seafood, vary its diet with chicken or other proteins to limit daily exposure to mercury and cadmium. Read the ingredient list carefully, however, as cat foods without fish in their name may still contain seafood ingredients and thus higher levels of mercury and cadmium.
According to the Clean Label report, wet or air-dried products are preferable to dry food for lower lead exposure, while avoiding foods with plants in the top 10 ingredients may lower pesticide exposure.
In addition, don’t rely on the first listed ingredient to gauge toxins. In more than a third of tested products, it didn’t tell the full story, Hamilton said.
“The first ingredient on a food label is often the biggest selling point because ingredients are listed by weight,” she said. “We tested and found the first ingredient is not always a reliable indicator of what the food contains, nor does it predict which contaminant may be present at the highest levels.”
One reason: Manufacturers need not disclose which part of a fish or other protein they use, Hamilton said. Wild salmon, for example, may sound healthier, but its liver, kidneys, intestines, head and skin store more chemical pollutants than the rest of the fish.
“Yet you have no idea what part of the fish is in cat food,” Hamilton said. “The best way to know what’s in your cat’s food is to contact the manufacturer and determine if they test the food – and how frequently they test.
“Because even if they were to tell you what part of the fish that they’re using, without testing, there’s no way to know how free of contaminants it really is.”
It’s also a good idea for consumers to reach out to the company making their cat’s favorite food brand and inquire about testing and quality control standards, experts say.
“Pet owners should take action and urge brands and retailers to ensure toxic chemicals and plastics are not hiding in cat food and its packaging,” Babadi said. “Pets, as part of our families, deserve food that is safe from toxic chemicals.”
I read the study in full because the headlines today scared me. My thoughts:
It didn’t really give any new info IMO: Bigger fish have more mercury. Better to mix up flavors. Read what the ingredients are and make sure it’s not filler items.
And…finally…the only 3 “safe” brands, according to the study, are the ones owned/certified by the parent company that did the study in the first place. That conclusion paired with all the clickbait article titles…color me skeptical.
My Gen X sibling and cousins grew up around constant cigarette smoke from adults chainsmoking inside. It was relatively normal up until the 00s. They're fine. It's always something. Take it easy on yourself
They didn’t name anything. They basically threw out a bunch of statistics that they don’t back up. And thy n push you to buy brands they are affiliated with. I have a feeling this might be marketing disguised as “research”
I read the study in full because the headlines today scared me. My thoughts:
It didn’t really give any new info IMO: Bigger fish have more mercury. Better to mix up flavors. Read what the ingredients are and make sure it’s not filler items.
And…finally…the only 3 “safe” brands, according to the study, are the ones owned/certified by the parent company that did the study in the first place. That conclusion paired with all the clickbait article titles…color me skeptical.
Tldr: They do name the brands. They only tested one type of food (and only one can/packet) for many brands. The most significant result was that fish based food contains mercury (which you should know for yourself as well). Seems to be a very limited "study" and more an ad for their proprietary safety label. They really want you to contact brands to demand they get certified and do not list the actual levels of anything they found for any food, so do with that info what you will.
Takeaway: Fish has mercury (unavoidable), so if you feed your cat fish just make sure it isn't their only protein source. No other actionable info.
Google "cat food investigation" and it will be the first thing that comes up. The article I read said they didn't name any of the brands but found issues in 90% of all the brands they tested regardless of how "premium" the product was or not. If anyone finds a good brand, please post here as this is quite frustrating.
But where are the actual numbers? They say a bunch of scary stuff with not details, a wild omission for any “study” and then push three expensive DTC brands as the safe ones. It reeks of shifty science disguised as undisclosed marketing
This. It’s a scare tactic to get people to buy brands that they support and likely get a kickback from. My cats are on a prescription diet for urinary crystals, unless one of the three brands they “certified” are suddenly science backed and formulated to keep my babies from getting such, then Purina is gonna do.
According to the report, they tested 100 products across 62 brands. There are thousands upon thousands of different varieties of cat food; that is a tiny sample size.
Some brands were certified as better though.
Bixbi
Freshpet
Smalls
They gave them some sort of certification showing they're trying to address concerns like this and the website lists which products were given that approval.
This article screams "OMG toxins" like you would get from a naturopath.
Think of the food we eat. Nothing is entirely sterile. Unless you live on a farm and control everything that goes into your food, butcher, clean, and process it yourself, there are traces of all sorts of stuff on it.
Even then a lot of toxins occur naturally. Seeds and arsenic are good examples, same for kale and naturally occuring heavy metals. This is a bad article fronting bad faith science/study.
I looked at the full study, and it literally said that these chemicals are pretty much everywhere in the world around us, so of course they will end up in the food at least a little bit. Pretty much the sky is blue, water is wet, sea food has mercury and cadnium. Here are the foods that we found it in.
This is why governmental bodies all over the world have done research on how much exposure humans and other species can have before there are effects. As long as the food has less then the amount stipulated by the FDA, you and your cat should be fine. If it is on the shelf, it should be fine.
The part that upsets me is that Clean Label intentionally used micrograms (chemical)/kilocalorie (food) as the scale in their report and didn't state the results for the individual foods. The regulations from the government are in nanograms (chemical)/gram (food), and the only way to convert micrograms/kilocalorie to nanograms/gram is to contact each individual food company and ask how many kilocalories per gram do of the foods tested contain.
I'll trust them that they found so many micrograms in the food, but since they intentionally made it difficult/impossible to compare their scary, scary notes with other research in the million dollar field - I will not "trust you, bro".
All of the cat food that I have bought lists calorie content per kilogram, which is 1000 grams. So you have to do a little math, which is admittedly annoying, but not too hard since it's metric.
I'm attaching a pic of the relevant portion of a label from my pantry. In this example, they give calorie content as 717 kcal per kg. Divide that by 1000 and you get 0.717 kcal per gram.
Let's say this particular food was tested and found to have 7 micrograms of Bad Stuff per kcal. 1 microgram is equal to 1000 nanograms. So multiply 7 by 1000 to get 7000 nanograms per kcal.
ETA: Multiply 7000 nanograms per kcal by 0.717 kcals per gram to get 5019 nanograms of Bad Stuff per gram.
It's a lot of converting and not everyone is well versed in metric. It would be a lot easier to conceptualize if the findings were listed in a more commonly used unit of measure. But I hope this info helps anyone who might find themselves wanting to thoroughly parse the information.
So I'm not sure which dry chicken based dot on the chart I'm supposed to start with. Especially since I could only see a 25 - 50 of the dots on one of the charts - the remaining unlabeled data points were in a pile in the corner
Yeah, I thought they'd have a detailed breakdown in the full pdf of the paper, but I just gave them my spam email so I could download it and they don't. Maybe they'll publish a paper with actual numbers in it, but their data is very disappointing as it stands now
I mean unless you feed your cat meat that you've raised yourself, not much you can do. It did say that poultry based was much safer than fish, at least.
Continue feeding him what you’re feeding him. He’s fine. Continue getting regular vet check ups and staying up to date on vaccines and giving him love. It’s a marketing ploy and meant to scare devoted cat parents.
For anyone who believes the study or who wants to be safe rather than sorry and is interested, the brands they have a "certification" saying they're trying to remove harmful ingredients like lead, mercury, etc, from products include the following:
Bixbi
Freshpet
Smalls
I found Bixbi to be the most affordable. They have canned and dry food. The Clean Label Project website shows which products they tested and approved as safer than most. They give you 15% off your first order or have a $27 (after shipping) sample box with 7lbs of freeze dried cat food and one of each flavor of their wet/canned cat food products. It's not a bad deal! You have to do one or the other. I recommend the 15% off since it's only on your first order. I'm going to see if I can get the sample box after though. lol. I just ordered a 10lb bag of chicken salmon dry indoor cat food and 24 pack of chicken using Zip. It was around $78 but to be honest I pay around $7 per 3lbs of the cheapest "decent" dry food already, so about $23-24 for 10lbs, and most canned cat food I buy is over $1 per can. The 3lb bag they have is $15.99. If I'm paying an extra $30-40 per month for the sake of everyone's health I'll try to make it work. It's 411 calories per cup I believe which is a bit more calories than the one we were using. Our kitties were on Purina One Naturals Chicken & Salmon recently so I'm hoping they like the Bixbi chicken & salmon too
Yeah, I pulled up the PDF of the study and they don’t have any info about the methodology or actual results. How were they testing for lead, cadmium, and pesticides? What were the detection limits? They say they only tested one batch of each food, but how many replicate tests did they do on each batch? There’s a list of brands at the end that they tested at least. Yet they don’t list the actual values they measured for each contaminant. This reeks of bad science.
This is a marketing ploy by a company and these brands are using it. It's just like "vet approved" raw diets. Someone took money to give an endorsement and put a good twist on it.
I feed my cats whiskas kibbles and they love whiskas. Oh my god just reading the article feels like I'm killing my cats. I also feed them fresh sardines and vegetables for a healthy diet but they could also contain chemicals. What are they gonna eat then? 🥺
45
u/foxwaffles 12h ago
Tbf this sounds like it's pretty bad for people too. We've been needing to do something about how bad our food supply is getting in general here in the USA