Hidden Dangers in Your Dog’s Kibble: Preservatives & Dyes

Preservatives

• What are they?

Food preservatives are additives applied to food to guarantee its stability during its useful life and prevent any microorganism from damaging it and making it unsuitable for consumption.

In dog food:

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and ethoxyquin are the most commonly used artificial additives in pet food.

• Why are they dangerous?

BHA: It is a synthetic alkylphenol. This chemical is difficult for the dog's body to process and eliminate, so it usually accumulates in adipose tissue. It causes allergies, impairs liver function, increases blood lipid levels, and even affects the fetus in pregnant pets.

BHT: Accumulates in adipose tissue as a metabolic toxin. It can trigger significant changes in the immune system, thyroid, and liver, leading to cancer and allergies.

Food coloring:

• Why do they use dyes in dog kibble?

When a dog finds food, it first identifies its smell since it is its most developed sense. If it likes it, it proceeds to perform a visual examination. Since it is not within its range of vision, it is impossible to determine whether it is appetizing, although, in any case, the aroma denotes that there is nothing to fear.

• Examples:

Tartrazine/E102: This may cause neurochemical and behavioral effects, including hyperactivity, aggression, and insomnia. It is also linked to asthma, allergies, thyroid tumors, lymphomas, ADHD, and chromosome damage.

Red 40 or E129: It is an artificial petroleum-derived food coloring that has been shown to cause bladder cancer in laboratory animals over the long term. It is also related to ADHD and hyperactivity in children.