Pet Food Processing - January 2024 - 13

The current debate over
copper in pet food should serve
as a rallying cry for the industry
to advocate for sound scientific
prospective research. "
BSM Partners
impact the nutrition of 80 million dogs in the United
States alone. Clinical trials with anecdotal treatments,
though essential for sparking research conversations,
cannot ever provide definitive conclusions.
Focus on brands, not nutrition
A critical concern arises with brand-shaming, exemplified
by the FDA's release of 16 brand names associated
with reported cases of DCM. Executives must recognize
the risk of regulators or veterinarians prematurely drawing
causation without thorough investigation. This scenario
was evidenced by the discrepancy between reported
DCM cases and a lack of meaningful documentation
about dogs' diet history.
The potential establishment of arbitrary maximums
for copper levels raises similar issues, implying the safety
of brands based on unproven thresholds. We see the
Cornell-based researcher's attempts to solicit information
from brands as a similar approach used by some of
the researchers who were behind asserting that grainfree
pet food was causing DCM.
Opinion-based articles amplify confusion
A recommendation is being circulated through AAFCO
to include " low copper " claims, adding another layer to
the complex landscape. The proposal of the " low copper "
claim reported to the AAFCO Expert Panel was
based on the JAVMA viewpoint article. This exact situation
draws similarities to the 2018 commentary, published
in JAVMA, drawing a correlation and causation
of BEG (boutique brands, exotic protein, and grain-free)
diets to canine DCM.
This opinion-based article was misinterpreted as objective
scientific data by pet owners and the FDA. There
have been at least two retraction letters for this article
with over 200 signatures from veterinarians, animal scientists
and other pet industry personnel in support of
removing the article that is causing so much confusion.
These opinion pieces can lead to massive market issues.
For example, if there is an arbitrary upper limit, almost
every product on the market is going to be suspect
and would need to be tested and potentially reformulated.
Therefore, it is imperative to navigate the fine line
between responding to consumer concerns and avoiding
premature, non-scientifically supported claims that may
fuel market instability.
The current debate over copper in pet food should
serve as a rallying cry for the industry to advocate for
sound scientific prospective research. Nutritional guidelines
pivotal to the health of pets should only evolve
based on thorough scrutiny and unbiased expert reviews.
As leaders in the industry, fostering an environment
where decisions are informed by comprehensive,
rigorous research and ensure the wellbeing of pets remains
the priority.
PFP
Stephanie Clark, Ph.D., CVT, PAS, CFS, Dpl. ACAS, VTS
(Nutrition) is a board-certified companion animal nutritionist
and assistant director of Special Services at BSM
Partners. Sydney McCauley, Ph.D., PAS, Dpl. ACAS is a
board-certified companion animal nutritionist and manager
of Product Innovation at BSM Partners. Bradley
Quest, DVM, is the principal of Veterinary Services at
BSM Partners.
www.petfoodprocessing.net | January 2024 | PET FOOD PROCESSING 13
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Pet Food Processing - January 2024

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