It's like eating fruit loops every day..

The last few days, I've had several shares on my facebook wall of people posting horror stories about their dogs getting sick eating Beneful. It seems like majority exhibit the same symptoms such as lethargy, refusal to eat, ataxia, organ failure and eventually death. A lot of vets ask the owners whether the dogs have gotten into anti-freeze, they have not. One thing that is in common is that they have all been eating Beneful, or recently began to eat when the symptoms surfaced. 

Beneful is one of those foods I truly despise. Yes, there are a lot of horrible foods on the market, but what ticks me off about this brand is their blatant brainwashing through cutesy commercials showing real meat and veggies falling into a bowl from a sky. Except that it's all a big fat lie. 

Granted, I will never fully trust any pet food companies, even high end ones like Natura, Champion and Fromm have skeletons in their closet, most do. The reason I hate Beneful is that it's complete rubbish and they continue to say that it's the best on the market, despite the evidence. 

What's so awful about it? Lets take a look

Ingredients: Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corngluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar,propylene glycol, meat and bone meal, tricalcium phosphate, phosphoric acid, salt, water, animal digest, sorbic acid (a preservative), potassium chloride, dried carrots, dried peas, calcium propionate (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, added color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium carbonate, copper sulfate, Vitamin B-12 supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.

The controversial  ingredients are in red. I will bypass some of the obvious ones like corn, byproducts, unnamed meat and bone meal and digest. I'm sure those who read this blog are fully aware that those things are far from ideal for any animal to be ingesting, certainly not dogs. 

One ingredient stands out from the rest is Propylene Glycol. What is it exactly?


Propylene glycol (also known as 1,2 propanediol) is a relatively small molecule with two alcohol (hydroxyl) groups (-OH). It is a colorless and odorless liquid and is completely water-soluble. PG is a synthetic product obtained from the hydration of propylene oxide, which is derived from petroleum products.Propylene glycol is considered Generally Recognized As Safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and it is used as an humectant (E1520), solvent, and preservative in food and for tobacco products, as well as being the major ingredient in the liquid used in electronic cigarettes (along withvegetable glycerine and, more rarely, PEG 400). It is also used in pharmaceutical and personal care products.^[4] Propylene glycol is a solvent in manypharmaceuticals, including oral, injectable and topical formulations, such as for diazepam and lorazepam that are insoluble in water, use propylene glycol as a solvent in their clinical, injectable forms

Propylene glycol is an approved food additive for dog food under the category of animal feed and is generally recognized as safe for dogs,^[30] with LD₅₀ = 9 mL/kg. That said, the figure is higher for most laboratory animals (LD₅₀ at levels of 20mL/kg).^[31] Similarly, propylene glycol is an approved food additive for human food as well.^[32] The exception is that it is prohibited for use in food for cats due to links to Heinz body anemia

So, what does this all mean, and why is it used in pet food?

The answer is quite simple, you see propylene glycol is used for retaining moisture. Since most dry commercial food is only about 10% moisture, Purina needed to create an illusion of "meaty" food, without actual meat in it. If you look back on the ingredients, it's got a whole lot of plant matter with beef being #7 on the list. Even if it is real beef, being water inclusive, it will slide down the list even further after cooking. 
So how do you dupe gullible pet owners? mix some corn, wheat, rice, soy and byproducts, add artificial coloring to make it look like bits of meat and veggies, and add chemicals, so the texture resembles something edible. 

Oh and don't forget sugar, why else would a dog eat this garbage? 

Long time ago, pet food companies discovered that dogs love sweet things, aside from sugar being highly addictive, this was a great way to make inedible livestock feed, into a gourmet meal. 

So back to the topic of propylene glycol, is it really safe? it's already been established that it's toxic to cats. What about the mixed households that have cats who like to snack on dog food? What about long term consumption of this "safe" chemical, even in low doses? 
Is it a coincidence that the dogs that have been affected by this food exhibited signs of anti-freeze poisoning? 

Here's what an Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry have to say:

Propylene glycol is a synthetic liquid substance that absorbs water. Propylene glycol

 is also used to make polyester compounds, and as a base for deicing solutions. 

Propylene glycol is used by the chemical, food, and pharmaceutical industries as an 

antifreeze when leakage might lead to contact with food. The Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) has classified propylene glycol as an additive that is “generally 

recognized as safe” for use in food. It is used to absorb extra water and maintain 

moisture in certain medicines, cosmetics,or food products. It is a solvent for food 

colors and flavors, and in the paint and plastics industries. 

Propylene glycol is also used to create artificial smoke or fog used in fire-fighting 

training and in theatrical productions. Other names for propylene glycol are 1,2-

dihydroxypropane, 1,2-propanediol, methyl glycol, and trimethyl glycol. Propylene 

glycol is clear, colorless, slightly syrupy liquid at room temperature. It may exist in air

 in the vapor form, although propylene glycol must be heated or briskly shaken to 

produce a vapor. Propylene glycol is practically odorless and tasteless.


Is this really something you want in your pet's food? 

It serves absolutely no purpose other than making the food look appetizing to people, not dogs. 

What's worse is that Purina is completely adamant about their practices and continue to claim that their food is safe. In fact if you head over to their facebook page (Beneful), you will see the same regurgitated auto responses to every question and concern posted by other pet owners. 

All legitimate answers continue to be ignored and blocked, but I get a feeling that it's about to get a whole lot more uncomfortable for them due to social media outrage and their refusal to cooperate. 

So what can you do about it? 

First and foremost, be informed. If you have done your research and know your facts, stand your ground. Educate others without being pushy or aggressive. A lot of pet owners mean well, they simply do not know any better. They rely on commercials and vets to dispense nutritional advice, in most cases those are the least credible sources. 

If you can take a moment to sign and share this petition, maybe it'll get the attention of local media and eventually some stricter laws will be passed to ensure that our pet's food is safe and nutritious. 

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/698/277/365/demand-that-beneful-dog-food-be-discontinued/

Last but not least, use common sense. Despite of what pet food companies want us to think, fresh and natural is always better. If it sounds repulsive on a bag of food, chances are, it is and probably a whole lot worse in real life. Yes, dogs are very adaptable creatures. I'm sure they can survive eating all sort of junk. I've seen many strays in my lifetime, most live off table scraps and whatever they can find. They also look terrible and have very short life spans.

Our pets mean a world to us, many of us think of them as members of the family, shouldn't they eat like it too?