Ethoxyquin Toxic to Fish & Inverts

[Melody]

Ethoxyquin is a preservative commonly used in fish flakes & pellets. We've talked about it before but I spotted a post in another forum that made me have another look. I hadn't done much for indepth studying as it applies to fish & inverts specifically. I wish I had of - even Omega One is now off my shopping list. I've edited and expanded on my answer elsewhere to share with my friends here.

According to epa.gov, "Two studies indicate that ethoxyquin is toxic to aquatic invertebrates, and mildly toxic to fish." It concludes that there isn't a risk when Ethoxyquin is used as a pesticide because it isn't water soluable.

The first excuse you'll hear from some of the fish food industry, is that all fishmeal contains it and therefore all fish food with fishmeal contains it. However, that's nonsense, or at the very least it's outdated. Last year I spoke to a Canadian producer of a premium Herring Meal that contains all natural preservatives, for example. Fishmeal being transported by boat is required to use this preservative due to combustion issues, but not all fishmeal is transported by boat.

Manufacturers can no longer hide ethoxyquin simply because it's in an ingredient. They must answer for the end product and what it contains, regardless of how it got there. Whether it's enforced for pet food other than dogs or cats is anyone's guess, but that's how it's supposed to be.

With the natural craze in the pet food industry, there are more and more options available to manufacturers, including excellent natural preservatives. Many ingredients that were formerly only available with Ethoxyquin are now available with all natural preservatives. Ethoxyquin is cheaper so it's used more often, and consequently the ingredient containing it will be cheaper so the manufacturer uses it more often. There's no way to pretty it up, it simply isn't necessary.

There are many pet foods available now that do not use this preservative and I'm hoping it's only a matter of time before we see the same trend in fish food. Obviously if safety was an issue in regards to effective preservation, dog and cat food manufacturers wouldn't risk producing foods without it. Fish deaths are difficult to diagnose, dogs & cats are not.

This topic is hyped on both sides of the coin, from industry propaganda to fear mongerers. Therefore I believe it is crucial that we track solid sources of information and base our decisions as consumers on facts. Things tend to disappear online so I saved an image of the EPA assessment (http://www.epa.gov/opprd001/inerts/trimethylquino.pdf) references, which includes the studies cited. If I can track them down at some point, I'll add those too.

So yup, that's it for me. If I can't find a fish food without it, I won't feed my fish flakes/pellets any longer. I was just using commercial fish food as a vitamin supplement so I'm used to feeding them other things anyway. I own too many inverts and any level of fish toxicity is too much, in my opinion.

First order of the day? I like Omega One fish food otherwise, so I'm going to try to convince them to change their ways.:yes: If they do that, I'll start recommending them again.

Everyone can write to the fish food companies, and they can start asking questions like "Do you use naturally preserved fishmeal"? If they don't know we're concerned and aware, they won't change anything. If all they'll do is try to justify it, move on to a company with the good business sense to know that consumers are the boss... and we're not as stupid as they think we look.:mad:

_

[Melody]

I'd like to enlist your help in compiling a list of processed/commercial fish foods (as in flakes & pellets) without Ethoxyquin. So far I only know of two:

Dainichi (who also cold-processes their vitamin supplementation)
HBH Natural formulas
Pond Logic Organic Fish Food (Ponds)

I do still feed Dainichi, I forgot about them in the above rant as I use it mostly for snails, shrimp and the Cichlid :rolleyes: . I have no idea if they use fishmeal that contains it for sure, but as far as I know they can no longer hide it if they do. What confuses the matter is the same rules don't apply across the board, most are focused on dogs & cats. However, with the market demanding products without it for dogs & cats, it's entirely possible that fish foods use naturally preserved fishmeal too. I'd like a firm answer on that though.

If you're very concerned and want another option, please check out the recipe section (http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12). Nothing beats real, whole foods.

[Melody]

Some interesting (and more tangible) revelations on this topic!

Regulations: Even those transporting fishmeal by boat can obtain special permission to use other preservatives.

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations - Special Permit (http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=ff611531eee65502fb5fcbd139c71674&rgn=div8&view=text&node=46:5.0.1.1.4.1.6.3&idno=46)

The FDA confirmed this via phone - there are no regulations that make fishmeal preservation with Ethoxyquin an absolute necessity.

That leaves not even a small excuse for using fishmeal preserved with Ethoxyquin, or no acceptable ones anyway.:Smile:

Labelling: Here is a response from someone who is certainly far more qualified than I am to discuss label regulations:

I was with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the early 1990s when the debate regarding the preservative ethoxyquin was at its peak, so I became intimately involved with the issue. The controversy never totally went away, but lately there has been a resurgence of discussion and concern among the pet-owning public, particularly pertaining to the presence of undeclared ethoxyquin in petfood formulations.

It has been asserted that when ethoxyquin is added indirectly, the regulations do not require it to be declared on the petfood label. That is not wholly accurate. For a labeling exemption as an “incidental additive” to apply, the level in the final product would have to be low enough to where it no longer had any technical or functional effect [21 CFR 501.100(a)(3)(i)]. Considering that fish meal processors may add 1,000 ppm or more, the residual amount of ethoxyquin in the petfood still could be functional, hence would have to be declared.

Also, FDA regulation 21 CFR 573.380 expressly specifies that any animal feed containing ethoxyquin must declare it, which is unique language compared to the codified requirements for other approved food additives. That statement can be interpreted as superseding any labeling exemption. In fact, if memory serves me, in the 1990s FDA did advise that ethoxyquin must be declared whether added directly or indirectly, irrespective of source or level. ~ David A. Dzanis, DVM, PhD, DACVN

[Melody]

I contacted Wildlife International and they've told me who to contact for permission to obtain copies of the studies cited, which is reasonable enough. There's a 'nominal fee' but that shouldn't be an issue, supposing their definition of 'nominal' is the same as mine :laugh: . They were very prompt, helpful and friendly in their reply.

This is quickly turning into a club article. Very interesting, if alarming, stuff. While mildly toxic chemicals may not kill the fish, any level of toxin may impact everything from normal development to breeding. :wideeyed:

[Xiph]

I have been in a deep blue funk since reading your first post. Sigh. :no:

I am under the impression that all flake and pellet food have Ethoxyquin. Even if it is not added directly while making the flakes/pellets it will be in the fish meal, as required by law (from what I have read). If anybody had a special permit to use other preservatives, I suspect they would be shouting it out in their advertising.

[Melody]

They aren't required by law to use it in fishmeal and there are fishmeal manufacturers who don't. It's only necessary if they want to transport it by boat, which often means cheap overseas suppliers. That's what the special permits apply to.

There's many more options now with the natural pet food craze. In fact, most dog and cat food manufacturers no longer use it because of the negative image it creates, yet they still use fishmeal. We just need fish food to catch up.

They do promote it, but their competitors try to convince people that all fish food has it anyway, which is rubbish. They have to answer for the end product and what it contains. Can you imagine what would be hidden if they didn't? They could buy fishmeal (or any ingredient) mixed with practically anything to make it cheaper, and get away with it. Any ingredient could hide behind it, including artificial colour in foods that claim to not have it, hormones in foods that claim to not have them, etc. That would defeat the whole purpose of having to list ingredients.

Here is the ingredient list for HBH's natural color food. Notice the natural preservatives such as Rosemary:

HBH TROPICAL COLOR FLAKE NATURAL:
Fish Meal, Soy Flour, Krill Meal, Wheat Starch, Shrimp Meal, Fish Oil, Brine Shrimp, Squid Meal, Brewers Yeast, Wheat Gluten, Beet Powder, Soy Lecithin, Red Pepper Powder, Garlic Powder, Astaxanthin, Natural Mixed Tocopherols (Preservative), Rosemary Extract, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin A Acetate, Choline Chloride, a-Tocopheryl Acetate (source of Vitamin E), Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Biotin, Pyridoxine HCl, Folic Acid, D-Activated Animal Sterol (source of Vitamin D3), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Magnesium Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Citric Acid, Salt
-----------------------------------------------------

The rumours came back up based on those underhanded people intentionally spreading it. The pet parent community got wind of it and paniced, that's why the expert above has tried to clarify it all.

[Xiph]

It's only necessary if they want to transport it by boat

That is why I thought Omega One and everyone else has ethoxquin. Even when I don't see it listed I figured it is there, such as in Mike Reed's and Ken's flake foods.

I've never really looked at HBH it is not in my lfs, I'll give them a look.

I did want to use Dainichi Veggie Deluxe when I had platties, I think the reason I decided not too is because it would be way too big for them. Certainly it would be for Heterandria formosa and Cardinal Tetras (although I'd get a different formula for them).

[Melody]

They continue to use it because it's cheap and nobody has complained. The rest use it because it's cheap and they lie their way out of it by saying every food has it.

Which reminds me, I have to write to Omega One. We need to do that so they know we're not happy - that's how consumers got it out of dog and cat food. They can still legally use it as long as they declare it on the label, but consumers kicked up a fuss. There's not much in the way of proof when it comes to dogs and cats, but these studies speak volumes in regards to aquatic creatures.

Some of the dog/cat food companies also tried to tell consumers they 'have' to use it, when the others were saying no. Some professionals went digging and found out it wasn't at all a legal obligation. There are many fishmeal manufacturers on North American soil - they don't need to transport by boat. Omega One produces their own meals, so they have never had that excuse either.

The Canadian producer that I spoke with last year has been going great guns in serving the pet food industry. Natural is all the rage, but it's more expensive. Considering how ridiculous the markup is on fish food, they should be giving us the good stuff.

Dainichi has baby formulas, but not all of my fish will take pellets. They probably would if I forced the issue, but I like to feed a varied diet so that will never happen. HBH isn't my top choice for ingredients, but their vegie formula is pretty good by comparison to other vegie flakes. The above example is from their natural line though, I'm not sure if they use ethoxyquin in their other formulas or not. The bulk flake sellers usually carry HBH.

[Melody]

Now here's something that will work in our favour! We are fortunate because people eat fish. Therefore, fish food has to be regulated.

If one is to comply with the current government definition of 'organic', you can't feed organic farmed fish a food that contains a synthetic pesticide (which is what ethoxyquin is used for).::D:

Obviously this fishmeal is coming from somewhere and obviously the larger fish food producers are already meeting the needs of organic farmers. It should be a simple enough matter to bring that into the pet market. We need to tell them we want it though.

On the same note, I found an organic fish food for pond fish enthusiasts and added it to the above list.

[Melody]

Just a brief update...

I've decided to take it right to the industry to see what they do with it. I have the avenue to do so since I write for the Petfood Industry magazine website. I'm just finishing up the article. Since it is an industry publication, it allows me to present the business advantages of opting for one of the many alternatives.

I'm also hoping that they'll be able to snag a copy of the studies.:yes:

[Melody]

Pardon the business angle and necessary 'all pets' lessons in this short article, but here it is for what it's worth. The URL may change when they bring me into the new design of their print magazine website (PetfoodIndustry.com) as an official contributor, which is scheduled for mid-July. I'll try to remember to check it.

Ethoxyquin Toxic to Fish & Invert's: How the Industry Should Respond (http://www.petfood-connection.com/profiles/blogs/ethoxyquin-toxic-to-fish-amp)

Now let's hope they listen!

[Melody]

I stumbled upon a 2008 study so I thought I'd add it to our collection of info.

"Animal food safety law has established the upper limit of EQ in animal feed at 150 mg kg-1. However, the risk of EQ at the approved level for aquaculture feed (150 mg kg-1) to fish health is unknown. Here, we examine the effect of EQ on the immunity of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). EQ concentration in the blood reached 0.16 mg L-1 in fish fed EQ at the approved level. This level of EQ inhibited phagocytic activity of leucocytes in vitro and antibacterial activity of whole blood in vivo. Furthermore, pyknosis in the liver was observed throughout the duration of feeding..." ~ The synthetic antioxidant, ethoxyquin, adversely affects immunity in tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), Aquaculture Nutrition Volume 15, Issue 2, pages 144–151, April 2009

So the dose approved for a German Shepherd will hurt a fish smaller than my pinky? Ya think? :frown:

There are lots of natural pet foods out there now that use ethoxyquin-free fishmeal, to a point where new testing methods have been developed so the fishmeal can be tested in-house. It's long past time for fish food to join them.