Pet Food Antioxidants - An Update
My-Dog.info > Dogs, Diet & Food
In recent years, pet owners have become increasingly aware of
the use of preservatives in their pet’s food. For the most
part "preservatives" refer to the use of antioxidants
and their use is essential in the production of dry pet foods.
Without them oxygen would react with fats, oils, fat-soluble
micronutrients and pigments resulting in rapid deterioration of
the food through a process known as peroxidation or
auto-oxidation, resulting in off flavours, texture changes,
malodours, colour and nutrient loss, as well as harmful
byproducts.
The success of antioxidants will vary both with their type as
well as the stage of manufacturing at which they are added.
Generally, the earlier in the production process the antioxidant
is utilized, the more effective it is in enhancing shelf life.
Antioxidants can be categorized as synthetic or natural. The
most common synthetic antioxidants are ethoxyquin, as well as
butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene
(BHT). These are preferred by pet food manufacturers due to their
high effectiveness and low cost. For example, 150 PPM of
ethoxyquin is equivalent to 1000 PPM of mixed tocopherols
(Vitamine E).
With the high usage of the Internet by pet owners as a source
of information (and misinformation), pet food manufacturers are
under increasing pressure to avoid the use of synthetic
antioxidants in favour of natural sources. The recent completion
of a five year study to investigate any negative effects of
ethoxyquin led the AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control
Officials) to lower its requirement to 75 PPM from 150 PPM.
Although this study found no harmful effects, consumer pressure
has resulted in the use and marketing of natural antioxidants
rapidly becoming the industry standard.
Plants, including herbs and spices, have provided a large
range of compounds including Vitamin C, citric acid and a number
of plant phenolic and carotenoids which control the oxidative
processes. Of the naturally occurring antioxidants, Vitamin E is
the most common. There are actually eight different forms of
Vitamin E, but they are usually mixed and act together. Citric
acid also assists in stabilizing and regenerating the antioxidant
effects of the tocopherols. Additionally, compounds have been
isolated from a number of herbs and spices that have shown
commercially viable antioxidant activity. Sage, thyme and
rosemary are some examples, with rosemary extract containing
eight different phenolic compounds, which, like the tocopherols,
also act together.
The difficulty with many of the natural antioxidants,
particularly with the tocopherols, is not only their relatively
high cost, but their own greater susceptibility to be broken down
and weaker antioxidant activity when compared to synthetic
antioxidants. This latter characteristic would shorten the shelf
life of a dry food. Manufacturers attempt to manage this problem
by using a complex variety of different antioxidants which have
different properties, act together with one another and are
effective in limiting the auto-oxidation process.
The practical consequence of the trend to natural antioxidant
systems is a significantly diminished shelf life for the pet
food. This impact has been less significant with small animal
veterinary diets, as they tend to be lower in fats with lower
levels of unsaturated fatty acids than commercially available dry
pet foods. Nevertheless, it behooves consumers to store dry pet
foods carefully, to control inventory levels, practice stock
rotation and to adhere closely to the "best before"
dates on packaging materials.
Reprinted with permission from www.animalhealthcare.ca
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