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Jerrybo66's avatar
Jerrybo66
Explorer
May 22, 2017

Pork absent from dog food.

I'm an ingredient reader for dog food. It seems that a lot of different animals are used in dog food ingredients except pork. Is pork so bad for dogs? If so why haven't many blogs mentioned it? Another thought. My Granddad said that every part of a hog is used except the squeal and with that they make records. He wasn't a modern music lover. Seeing the color of Jimmy D's sausage I can imagine almost everything is used for sausage. Other ingredients such as glands, organs etc. depending on the type of sausage. My thought, if every part of the pig is used for human consumption including intestines that get a higher price than for dog food then there's nothing left for the dog food industry...Just wondering ?????

19 Replies

  • Wanderlost's avatar
    Wanderlost
    Nomad II
    May 23, 2017
    I sure wish the pet food industry would go "hog wild" for wild pigs. With wild pigs decimating so many areas of this country, having a market for the meat could increase the number of wild pigs hunts and cut down on that population.

    I have a freezer full of wild pig right now, and would happily cook some up and feed it to my cat, if only he was interested in "people food." But noooo, he just has to eat his kibble...
  • Deb_and_Ed_M's avatar
    Deb_and_Ed_M
    Explorer II
    May 23, 2017
    Mark, you are too much fun!! :-)

    And still our dogs will eat just about any disgusting/rotted/fecal thing they find - and they survive :-)
  • BCSnob's avatar
    BCSnob
    Explorer
    May 23, 2017
    westernrvparkowner wrote:
    There is not an epidemic of dogs dropping dead from eating dog food containing wild boar meat. And I don't believe handling dog food contain said wild boar has caused a significant increase in human deaths. Much ado about nothing.
    Perhaps because the temperature used to freeze meat for shipping and the temperature used during the cooking of kibble are sufficient to kill any bacteria, viruses, or microorganisms that might be present in the raw meats used to make kibbles.

    Most recalls for bacterial contaminated processed foods occurred from dirty equipment inoculating the processed food after cooking much like touching cooked food with kitchen utensils (or hands) used on raw meat and then not properly cleaned.
  • westernrvparkow's avatar
    westernrvparkow
    Explorer
    May 23, 2017
    rockhillmanor wrote:
    Beerboy wrote:

    I'll see "wild boar" on a number of the grain-free dog food like Taste of the Wild.

    It's pork, though I guess maybe raised slightly different than domestic pigs? Or marketing lingo for pork.


    Wild boar is a huge fad right now. all it takes is searching and reading about the diseases of wild boar to change ones mind about feeding it to our pets.

    Wild boars have interbred with feral pigs and have become a nuisance all over the South.

    Local Hunters abound and I suspect that is where the dog food companies are getting the meat from NOT a breeding farm, because they carry so many dangerous communicable diseases to other livestock/animals no farm is going to breed them for market.

    ""The threat of disease transmission from wild pigs to other animals is probably of greatest concern to the livestock industry. Several of these diseases are swine specific (both wild and domestic), but others can affect cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, horses, and several species of native wild mammals. Infectious diseases that are significant to livestock and other animals include

    Pseudorabies Virus (PRV)
    Swine brucellosis (Brucella suis)
    Bovine tuberculosis (TB)
    FADs
    African swine fever
    Classical swine fever (Hog Cholera)
    Foot and Mouth Disease

    Which even makes it more dangerous to use in dog food. How did they EVER convince the pet owners that Wild Boar should ever be fed to dogs!

    Here is just one list of the zoonotic dangers of wild board/pigs. I.E. transferable diseases. Hunters are warned by the CDC of even touching these animals without gloves.

    ""Diseases that are transmissible from animals to humans are called zoonotic diseases. Many of these diseases are transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and handling or ingestion of infected tissues. Diseases can also be transmitted indirectly through contaminated water sources and possibly, through ticks. Zoonotic diseases transmissible by wild pigs include

    Leptospirosis
    Brucellosis
    E. coli
    Salmonellosis
    Toxoplasmosis
    Rabies
    Swine Influenza viruses
    Trichinosis
    Giardiasis
    Cryptosporidiosis

    http://wildpiginfo.msstate.edu/diseases-wild-pigs-public-health.html
    And you can get STDs, AIDS, and Ebola from human contact. Drinking water can give you Cholera and Dysentery. Breathing air can cause you to contract the common cold, Anthrax and the disease that has caused more human deaths than any other, the Flu.
    There is not an epidemic of dogs dropping dead from eating dog food containing wild boar meat. And I don't believe handling dog food contain said wild boar has caused a significant increase in human deaths. Much ado about nothing.
  • dturm's avatar
    dturm
    Moderator
    May 23, 2017
    BCSnob wrote:
    If meat for dog food was sourced from usda inspected processor it is fit for human consumption.


    Most of the pork produced in the US is done in the Midwest:
    Here are the top 10 states 'bringing home the bacon',
    according to the latest U.S. Census data.
    1.Iowa - $4.2 billion
    2.Illinois - $1.54 billion
    3.Minnesota - $1.47 billion
    4.North Carolina - $1.46 billion
    5.Indiana - $1.04 billion
    6.Oklahoma - $952.7 million
    7.Missouri - $791 million
    8.Nebraska - $657.5 million
    9.Wisconsin - $605.2 million
    10.Ohio - $542.7 million


    In this area, we get a lot of information about diseases and production methods since this is a major animal business related to veterinary medicine.

    Properly processed and raised like much of the porcine population is, the supply is as safe as any food in our chain of supply.

    From experiences I've personally had, it is more difficult to get into confinement pig farms than many isolation wards in hospitals.

    I think Pawz is correct
    But I think the idea that dogs and cats shouldn't be fed pork is like a lot of things--a little bit of solid reason (that can usually easily be overcome) mixed with a lot of unsubstantiated myth.


    Doug, DVM
  • BCSnob's avatar
    BCSnob
    Explorer
    May 23, 2017
    If meat for dog food was sourced from usda inspected processor it is fit for human consumption.
  • TyroneandGladys's avatar
    TyroneandGladys
    Explorer
    May 23, 2017
    Jerrybo66 wrote:
    My thought, if every part of the pig is used for human consumption including intestines that get a higher price than for dog food then there's nothing left for the dog food industry...Just wondering ?????

    Animals that are not fit to be slaughtered for human consumption.
  • BCSnob's avatar
    BCSnob
    Explorer
    May 22, 2017
    rockhillmanor wrote:
    If that is why you don't eat pork, you'd better give up:


    I already have...I am a vegetarian. :B:B

    and yet you are still at risk for getting:

    Listeria
    Salmonella
    E.coli
    Cyclospora
    Cryptosporidium
    Toxoplasmosis
  • BCSnob's avatar
    BCSnob
    Explorer
    May 22, 2017
    Good, more meat for me.

    Let's be clear, though, the minimal risks from pork are no different than the risks from other meat. Most of the diseases come from contact with the animals or animal carcasses and under cooked meat.

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