The-Truth-About-Pet-Foods

United States Patent No. 5030458, 1991
Method for preventing diet-induced carnitine
deficiency in domesticated dogs and cats
Austin L. Shug, PhD; Bruce W. Keene, DVM, MS
Summary: “Pets, particularly the carnivores, are at great risk for developing
L-carnitine deficiencies. As Table 1 indicates, dog and cat
foods are extremely low in free L-carnitine levels as compared with
that found in raw ground beef. Most pets are maintained strictly
on commercial pet food diets and are thus kept chronically deficient
in L-carnitine... the plasma L-carnitine concentration of a
normal, otherwise healthy dog, previously maintained on a commercial
pet food diet*, is substantially deficient in carnitine as compared
with the plasma carnitine levels found in other mammals.”
Diets used: “Complete and balanced” premium processed pet food.*
Dr. Wysong’s comments: The very act of pet food processing destroys
or eliminates important nutrients such as L-carnitine. Not
only can foods be called “100% complete” and be void of L-
carnitine, AAFCO will not even permit L-carnitine to be supplemented
because they haven’t “approved” it yet!
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Veterinary Forum, Volume 9, pages 34-5
Research in the pet food industry: an overview
George F. Collings, PhD; Tim Allen, DVM;
Michael Hand, DVM, PhD
Summary: “These protocols were designed to assure that pet foods would
not be harmful to the animal and would support the proposed lifestage.
These protocols were not designed to examine nutritional
relationships to long-term health or disease prevention.”
Dr. Wysong’s comments: How can something designed to assure no
harm, not also assure long-term health or disease prevention Is
lack of health or disease not harm Consumers buying AAFCO
protocol “proven,” “100% complete” diets assume – and rightly
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