Ethoxyquin was developed by Monsanto in 1963 as a rubber stabilizer and herbicide. Since then, it's use has been expanded to many areas including stabilizing fats and oils used in animal foods. Ethoxyquin has not passed the minimum safety testing required by the FDA to be approved for use in human foods. The Merck dictionary of chemicals list it as moderately toxic, with a fatal dose between 1-16 oz. for a 150 pound person. Because of its high potency and excellent preservative properties it is sought as a cheap and effective means to stabilize low grade fats and oils.
Many pet food companies claiming to produce natural food are using a loophole in the law which allows them to not list chemical preservative if they purchase their ingredients pre-preserved from their supplier. The result is consumers are unknowing exposing their pets to BHA, BHT, Ethoxyquin, and other chemical preservative. The average 25 pound dog, eating a chemically preserved food, consumes between 4-6 pounds of chemical preservatives a year.
Recently several premium pet food companies have been found to be using fishmeal and or fish oil that was chemically preserved in this matter with ethoxyquin, while making the claim that their food was natural. This is not the case with VéRUS Pet Foods. All of the fats or oils used in VéRUS Pet Foods, including our Menhaden Fish meal and oil, are purchased naturally preserved. There is no ethoxyquin added to the fish at any point from catch, to feeding. Although this is a more expensive process, it is in keeping with our commitment to provide natural, healthy foods for your pet.
