Dietary Supplements and Animals
My-Dog.info > Dogs, Diet & Food
Dietary supplements for pets and other animals have been
marketed for many years; some are sold legally and others are
not.
Dietary supplements for animals, such as most vitamin and
mineral products, are considered animal feeds. Ensuring that
animal feeds are safe and properly labeled--a requirement of the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act--is part of the
responsibilities of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine
(CVM).
Foods for animals do not require FDA approval before they are
marketed, but they must be made with ingredients that meet at
least one of the two following requirements:
- be approved food additives, or
- be substances that are "generally recognized as
safe" (GRAS) for their intended use.
However, on a case-by-case basis, CVM has exercised
enforcement discretion for substances that do not raise any
safety concerns, often because the company has submitted the
information needed to list the ingredient in the AAFCO Official
Publication. The Association of American Feed Control Officials
(AAFCO) includes officials from all the states, the U.S. federal
government, Canada, and Costa Rica. These officials are
responsible for enforcing the laws regulating the production,
labeling, distribution, or sale of animal feeds. CVM often works
with AAFCO in regulating animal feeds.
Some foods and other products containing dietary supplements
for animals, such as St. John's wort, do not meet any of the
requirements. And some "dietary supplement" products
are being marketed to treat or prevent disease--for example,
chondroitin sulfate to treat arthritis. This moves a product from
the supplement category into the drug category. CVM officials,
who also regulate animal drugs, are concerned that these products
have not been shown to be safe and effective. And, some owners
may be using these products instead of getting appropriate
veterinary treatment for their animals.
Quite a few animal supplement products are being sold as a
result of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act
(DSHEA), passed by Congress in 1994, and these products generally
contain ingredients similar to those in human dietary
supplements. The FDA believes that DSHEA does not apply to
animals, and that many of the products being sold are in
violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The FDA
published an explanatory notice to this effect in the Federal
Register in 1996.
CVM officials are concerned about these products because there
are no scientific data showing that they are safe or even contain
the ingredients listed on the label. These concerns focus on
three main areas:
- Human food safety--Supplements that are used in food
animals must be shown to be safe for people who consume
products from the animals. Without these data, there is
no assurance that an animal-derived food is safe.
- Animal safety--Supplements must be shown to be safe for
the animals. CVM and AAFCO have not received data showing
that these products have actually been tested on animals
to show that a particular level is appropriate or safe
for the animals.
- Manufacturing quality--Supplements must be shown to be
manufactured to a consistent standard (for example, shown
to contain a given amount of the ingredient).
CVM cautions people to check with their veterinarians before
giving their pets or other animals any supplements, whether alone
or in a food product. "Many people do not appreciate that
dogs and cats are not small furry people," says CVM's pet
food specialist William Burkholder, D.V.M., Ph.D. "They
often think that a supplement that they may take themselves is
good for their pet, but that may not be the case."
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