Preservatives

[Melody]

I'll get into this more as time permits, but for now I'd just like your thoughts on it.

Preservatives are present in many commercial foods, including high-end choices. I couldn't begin to list them all, its easier to list those that don't. Since that may be helpful to those wanting to avoid preservatives, I'd appreciate hearing about any that you know of as well. The following brands have no added preservatives:

Aquarian Foods (http://www.aquarian.com/en_us/index.asp)
Dainichi
Mike Reed's lines (http://www.dainichi.com/)
Julian Sprung's Sea Veggies (http://www.twolittlefishies.com/tlf_prod_foods.html?lang_id=1)

Some preservatives that you'll find on labels are Ethoxyquin (cacinogenic), BHT (cacinogenic), BHA (cacinogenic), propylene glycol (cacinogenic), potassium sorbate, citric acid (Vitamin C) and DL-Alphatocopherol (synthetic Vitamin E).

Something to be aware of is that according to Vet's, if food containing Citric Acid is pre-moistened, it can cause bloat in our four-legged friends. I can't see why that wouldn't apply to fish, or at least the chance of it is enough to make one proceed with caution.

[Katalyst]

In the past unconsciously I have, I recently purchased a large amount of food some with to my surprise and some without. Lack of a weekly paycheque means I'll finish up the foods I have now. But in the future I won't be buying them again.

[Melody]

I buy it if it has enough good reasons to - I figure crap food with no preservatives would be worse for the fish. However, I'd prefer it if the better foods managed to get by with at least the natural preservatives.

Absence on the label doesn't necessarily mean its not in there either. Last I heard, they don't have to declare it on the label, that's why I prefer to see it stated. The dog/cat owners have known that for quite some time now. That's where you'll find most of the info about preservatives in pet food.

We should be e-mailing these companies about it.:yes: Surely we could find a better preservative than anti-freeze.

[Melody]

This is interesting - apparently fish prefer food with no preservatives (http://www.naturalsciences.be/institute/associations/rbzs_website/bjz/back/pdf/BJZ%20134(2)/Volume%20134(2),%20pp.%20105-108.pdf) (.pdf) too. A tad heavy in the science dept, but an interesting read anyway.

[thegrandpoohbah]

Does the Uncle Rick's food have preservatives? If not then I am set since I have enough to last at least a year.

[Melody]

I don't know, to be honest. Send him a PM & then we'll know. :smile:

[happy_pitbull]

if food containing Citric Acid is pre-moistened, it can cause bloat in our four-legged friends. .


I was not aware of this ! Scary .... I wonder why this is so, and how long does it have to be pre-moistened for? Does adding water to the food right before eating count?



Min

[Melody]

I saw it mentioned in a couple of places, but can only find one again - it was a long time ago that I read it. Some intense Googling or queries at the larger dog forums should turn something up.

http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/view_choosing-a-good-kibble-dry-dog-food.htm

As quoted from the above link, "Citric acid as a preservative can also be problematic as it dramatically increases the risk of bloat if the food is moistened before feeding (according to veterinary research)."

Haven't a clue if it applies to fish or not, but its worth a note of caution.

[Melody]

This series of articles/lists, has been compiled and explained by Dr. Lisa Newman, N.D., Ph.D., Mike Adams and the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center. It includes lists of best to worst petfood ingredients, listed by frequency and a list of the worst pet food ingredients. It applies to all pet foods, with ingredients/preservatives also found in fish food.

Petfood Ingredients Revealed! (http://www.newstarget.com/Report_pet_food_ingredients_1.html)