Just reading Felicity Lawrence’s updated version of Not On The Label (probably one of the best diet books you’ll ever read because it just might put you off eating anything!) I thought that, as an avid listener to Farming Today, I was pretty savvy with regard to food production.
The following did shock me though and provides a salutary lesson to anyone who feeds their dog food intended for human consumption.
You might think that minced beef would be harmless but maybe not. I had assumed that cheaper cuts of beef used for mince would have a higher percentage of fat (and possibly a little connective tissue or similar) than prime mince. But it could be that really cheap cuts have considerably more than you bargained for. Some are of such low quality that yeast and malt extracts are added to “restore” flavour and colour. There maybe added sugar and salt too. So far, not great but not lethal for canines. Except that onion powder is also a frequently used additive.
Members of the allium family, including onions, are toxic to dogs and can cause severe anaemia and death if ingested in sufficient quantity.
Problems have been observed in dogs that have consumed as little as 0.5% of their body weight in onions and can occur if small amounts are ingested over time as well as if a large amount is ingested in one go.
So, stick to the dog food – and you might want to have a re-think about your own diet too.