new study: Analysis of Toxic Trace Metals in Pet Foods Using Cryogenic Grinding and Quantitation by ICP-MS

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

Have you seen this new study? After reading it, if you are so inspired, I

encourage you to share it with your vets.

Gratefully,

kendra

-----Original Message-----

" Analysis of Toxic Trace Metals in Pet Foods Using Cryogenic Grinding and

Quantitation by ICP-MS "

http://digital.findanalytichem.com/nxtbooks/advanstar/spectroscopy0111_v2/in

dex.php#/50 part 1, pp. 46ff, January 2011 Spectroscopy

http://digital.findanalytichem.com/nxtbooks/advanstar/spectroscopy0211/#/48

part 2, pp. 42ff. February 2011 Spectroscopy

you can print out the article by using the print icon within the page

display (on right edge of the right-hand page)

pet food laboratory testing results have been published in Spectroscopy

Magazine.

Some pet foods contain toxic levels of arsenic, lead, mercury, and even

nuclear waste.

Quoting the Paper " Analysis of Toxic Trace Metals in Pet Foods Using

Cryogenic Grinding and Quantitation by ICP-MS, Part 1 " published in the

January 2011, Spectroscopy Magazine...

" For this investigation 58 cat and dog foods were bought from local stores

or donated by the authors and other pet owners. The samples consisted of 31

dry food and 27 wet food varieties. Of the 31 dry foods, 18 were dog food

and 13 were cat food samples. The wet foods comprised 13 dog food and 14 cat

food samples, representing pet food contained in cans and pouches. "

" Pet food prices ranged from the " bargain " store foods priced at $0.02/oz to

gourmet or specialty foods purchased from pet suppliers priced at $0.42/oz.

Three canned foods for human consumption were tested, including tuna fish,

sardines, and chicken, which were sampled for comparison and control

purposes. "

" The analysis of all the pet food samples showed that the highest

concentrations of toxic elements were found in the dry foods of both cats

and dogs. Out of the elements studied, dry food had the highest elemental

content for 13 of the 15 elements examined. Dog food had the highest result

for nine of the 15 toxic elements and cat food had the highest concentration

for six of the 15 elements. "

" The dry dog food contained the highest concentrations of the following

elements: beryllium, cadmium, cesium, antimony, thorium, thallium, uranium,

and vanadium. The wet dog foods contained lower concentrations of the toxic

elements studied than the dry dog foods. The dry cat foods contained the

highest results for five of the 15 elements including arsenic, cobalt,

molybdenum, nickel, and lead. The wet cat foods showed the overall lowest

concentrations of the toxic elements studied than any of the other pet foods

studied. "

" The presence of several other elements in some of the pet food samples was

unexpected. Uranium, beryllium, and thorium are often associated with

nuclear energy and mining. As stated earlier, concentrations of over 500

ìg/kg of uranium were found in several of the dry dog food samples. A few of

the dry cat food samples had concentrations of over 200 ìg/kg of uranium. In

these samples of high uranium concentrations, there were also found to be

the highest concentrations of both beryllium and thorium. "

" Part II of this article will examine in detail the data shown in Tables

IV-XI and will calculate the toxic metal exposure levels of the pets on a

daily basis, based on typical size portions. It also will look for a

correlation with the cost of the individual pet foods. The exposure levels

will then be compared with EPA and WHO risk assessment values generated for

the human population, scaled to the weight of a medium-sized dog or an

average-sized cat. "

Spex CertiPrep President Ralph Obernauf (a pet owner who lost his dog

questionably early)

[Guest guest]

>

> " The presence of several other elements in some of the pet food samples was

> unexpected. Uranium, beryllium, and thorium are often associated with

> nuclear energy and mining. As stated earlier, concentrations of over 500

> ìg/kg of uranium were found in several of the dry dog food samples. A few of

> the dry cat food samples had concentrations of over 200 ìg/kg of uranium. In

> these samples of high uranium concentrations, there were also found to be

> the highest concentrations of both beryllium and thorium. "

Disturbing but not surprising. A German TV show recently checked trace element

levels in hair from random people in the city. Most of them had strongly

increased levels of heavy metals, and many also had strongly increased uranium

levels. They didn't discuss where all this stuff is coming from, it definitely

was not 'occupational hazard'.

As you may know, Germany has many nuclear power stations and two nuclear waste

deposits of which at least one is leaking into the environment (but that is in

another part of the country than where they were testing).

P.S.: I guess that for human food they sometimes just mix down the dog food with

other stuff, so the contamination is just below the official norm. We have seen

many food scandals lately in Europe, where industry is passing industrial waste

products (e.g. fats with high dioxin content) around as input material for human

or veterinary food production. If these companies get caught they get a fine or

are closed down in really serious cases (in which case they just start a new

company and continue business as usual, it is sooo profitable ...).