Do you know what is really in your dog’s food? An exposé by leading healthy pet food brand Pooch & Mutt has shown that Bakers, one of the UK’s most popular dog food brands, includes; crushed insects, known carcinogens, the controversial antioxidants BHT and BHA (which McDonalds and General mills have both stopped using due to public pressure) and potentially just 1% chicken in the ‘chicken’ recipe.

Shockingly, none of these ingredients are shown on the pack and are included in Bakers’ recently updated recipe, which was updated according to Bakers website because “We pride ourselves on listening to our customers and, since many of you have asked us to do something about this, we have” and despite the new packaging claiming “No added artificial colours flavours or preservatives”.

In the UK, pet food manufacturers have the option of declaring individual ingredients in their food, or declaring them by categories. Independent pet food companies, like Pooch & Mutt, tend to declare individual ingredients, as they want customers to know about the high quality ingredients that they put in their foods. Multinational companies like Mars (Pedigree, Chappie, Whiskas, Kitekat) and Nestle (Bakers, Bonio, GoCat) tend to list ingredients by category. According to the FSA this “allows for fluctuations in the supply of the raw materials used and provides flexibility for labelling ingredients”. In reality, this means it can be incredibly hard for customers to find out what is really in their dog’s food. Many owners choose to source natural, healthy ingredients for their pets themselves so at least they know for sure what they’re feeding their dog. Whatever owners decide, they may want to consider the way in which they feed it. Depending on the size of the dog, raised dog bowls for large breeds might be worth considering to reduce discomfort and to help prevent them from knocking their bowl over.

For pet owners, Pet Health is a huge concern, so it is worrying that ingredients in pet food are not always being labelled transparently. While it’s not news that many multinationals make ingredient choices based on profit over the consumer’s health, in most cases customers know that what they are buying is an unhealthy treat, which is consumed occasionally. This is not the case with pet food, as the ‘complete food’ should make up the majority of the pets’ diet and packs, such as the Bakers pack, contain multiple health claims. However, researchers across the world have found that pet food alone cannot provide all the nutrients necessary for them. While pet food must contain majority of pet’s diet, additional supplements like vitamin tablets and probiotics, which can be purchased from Peak Pets and similar web shops, can fill the nutritional gap. Moreover, pet owners who are keen on maintaining a good health of their furry friends could use different supplements to improve their health.