Pet Food Fluoride Content by George
Glasser (National Pure Water Association - UK )
August 8, 2005
The recent cover-up scandal about osteosarcoma and drinking
water
fluoridation brought to mind research I had done several years
ago into
canine osteosarcoma which is fairly common among certain
breeds of dogs
and cats.
Because of the association between osteosarcoma and drinking
water
fluoridation, I contacted people whose dogs developed the
cancer to see
if they lived in fluoridated areas, but there was not even a
credible
anecdotal connection. It appeared to be a universal problem. I
dropped the
investigation until the new flap came up about fluoride and
osteosarcoma and I decided to take a fresh look at the issue
again.
OSTEOSARCOMA is the most common bone cancer in humans, cats
and dogs.
Osteosarcoma mostly occurs in male humans, dogs and cats.
In dogs, the disease is more frequently seen in larger breeds
such as
rottweilers, greyhounds, golden retrievers, etc.
Recent studies have also shown that osteosarcoma is also more
common in
taller people.
Osteosarcoma accounts for 85% of all primary bone tumours in
dogs, and
in the US - 8,000-10,000 dogs per year in U.S develop
osteosarcoma
(www.vetmed.lsu.edu/oncology/osteosar.htm).
In cats, osteosarcoma accounts for 70% of primary bone tumours.
In humans, about 5 children out of a million develop
osteosarcoma each
year. Osteosarcoma accounts for five percent of all primary
bone
tumours in children.
Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer/tumours
seen in
humans, dogs and cats.
CONNECTING THE DOTS:
If fluoride were possibly a factor - how did the animals get a
sufficient dose in their diet? My research suggested that it
was arbitrary and not
associated with drinking water fluoridation, if fluoride were
a factor.
The only other possibility was in their food.
It took nothing more than an Internet search using "fluoride
content +
dog food" and there it was:
A low-fluoride commercial dog food contains 40 - 60 parts per
million
of fluoride.
A high-fluoride dog food can contain up to 460 parts per
million of
fluoride (Marks TA, J Toxicol Environ Health.
1984;14(5-6):707-14.)
"A 1971 study at the University of Montana found the average
level of
fluoride in leading pet foods to be 11 to 193 ppm, with the
highest
found in canned pet food. If your dog weighs 100 pounds this
translates to a
daily consumption of 21 to 368 milligrams of fluoride from
commercial
food.
The government upper daily limit of 2.5 milligrams of fluoride
is said
to be safe for children over three years of age. The Montana
researchers
found that fluoride accumulates in pet's bones. 84 to 1535
milligrams of
fluoride was found in dog's leg bones. 74 to 1,190 milligrams
was found in the
bones of cats, and it increased with age."
www.leaflady.org/pethealth.htm.
Investigating further, some lower grade dog foods MAY CONTAIN
even
more - up to 2,000 parts per million of fluoride.
Interestingly, the only study I could find about dogs,
osteosarcoma and
fluoride was one where they were investigating fluoridated
drinking
water - Apparently, the researchers, not realizing that dogs
may already be
consuming several hundred milligrams of fluoride per day in
their food;
tens - hundreds of times more that the recommended dose for
humans of
1.0 milligram per day.
While there are fairly strict regulations about how much
fluoride can
be in the food of farm animals, the guidelines for pet foods
are fluid. I
could find no research for "safe fluoride levels" for cats and
dogs.
There is no fluoride intake criteria for pet dogs and cats -
it is all
based on ASSUMPTION and not science.
The reason that pets and dietary fluoride intake have been
totally
neglected is that pets do not represent an agricultural cash
commodity.
For instance, daily fluoride intake for breeding farm animals
and dairy
cows are lower than for animals raised for slaughter. The
reason for this is
high levels of fluoride can interfere with reproduction, milk
production and the general health of the breeding stock/dairy
cows.
"Safe levels of fluoride in the diet dry matter for finishing
[slaughter] cattle are no more than 100 ppm (0.01 percent) and
not more than 40 ppm
(0.004 percent) for animals to be kept in the breeding herd."
http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/ansci/g02081.htm
"Tolerance levels have been identified for domesticated
animals, with
the lowest values for dairy cattle at 30 mg/kg feed or 2.5 mg/litre
drinking-water. . . Symptoms of fluoride toxicity include
emaciation,
stiffness of joints and abnormal teeth and bones. Other
effects include
lowered milk production and detrimental effects on the
reproductive
capacity of animals."
www.inchem.org/documents/ehc/ehc/ehc227.htm
It seems that pets fall into the lower end of the 'safe limit'
priorities along with farm animals bred for slaughter - all
regulations for levels
of undesirable constituents of mineral supplements were
developed with
commercial agricultural ends in mind - profitability and cost
saving
for the farmer or rancher.
Unfortunately, pets are not considered an agricultural
commodity and
the agricultural standards are simply accepted without
reservation by
veterinarians for all animals. They do not factor in the fact
that pets
are pets and their owners are fond of them, and people want to
keep them
alive and healthy for as long as possible. People's pets are
not just
nameless cash producing commodities that either go to
slaughter or are put-down
when they no longer can produce milk or offspring.
While, volumes of research has been done on pigs, sheep goats,
chickens
and cattle with regard to adverse health effects from
fluoride, there is
very little information about pets such as dogs and cats.
Consequently, it
is safe to assume that many of dogs and cats who appear to be
suffering
with arthritis/dysplasia, spinal deformities, etc. may have
actually
developed skeletal fluorosis. The veterinarians don't have a
clue that fluorosis
might be the problem.
It appears that most veterinarians are completely unaware of
the fact
that there are cat and dog foods contain high fluoride levels
and the
physical problems that it can cause your pet dog or cat.
Researchers are looking at many of the health problems as
genetic
aberrations rather than toxicant related conditions such as
skeletal
fluorosis from high levels of fluoride contained in pet foods.
While a
particular breed may be genetically predisposed to those
health
problems, the contaminants in the feed may prematurely trigger
the events or even
make them more pronounced at a young age.
The addition of mineral supplements which contain high levels
of
fluoride is not a conspiracy, but plain old ignorance - your
pet is simply in
the same category as a farm animal bred for slaughter - no one
has ever
adequately investigated the long-term effects of fluoride
intake on
domestic pets or its impact on specific breeds.
While they have known that certain breeds are genetically
predisposed to
hip dysplasia (osteoarthritis), osteosarcoma, kidney
dysfunction, etc., no
one has done research to determine if the high levels of
fluoride in their
feed may exacerbate or even be the catalyst in triggering
these adverse
events.
Hip dysplasia is actually a form of arthritis of the hip
bones. Most
of the dogs and cats that are genetically predisposed to
dysplasia
develop the condition before they are two years old. However,
dysplasia may
well be misdiagnosed and is actually skeletal fluorosis - but
veterinarians
have not looked at this possibility because they haven't
thought outside of
the agricultural nutrition box.
The primary source of the fluoride in pet foods is from the
added
mineral supplements: defluorinated phosphate rock (which still
retains some
fluoride and is found in more expensive pet foods), raw soft
phosphate
rock, mono and tricalcium phosphate (made from a mixture of
phosphoric
acid and calcium carbonate). The less expensive the dog food,
probably, the
higher the fluoride levels because they use raw phosphate.
Raw phosphate, mainly because of it's fluoride content (3%
-4%) is most
physically damaging animal mineral supplement because it is
not
processed and the least expensive. These facts have been known
since the 1920s in
early animal nutritional research of fluorine in animal
nutrition.
Manufacturers are not required to list the fluoride of
contaminant
levels in pet food.
Could it be, that by simply changing the mineral supplements
added to
dog and cat foods, many of the maladies your pet may suffer
from can be
virtually eliminated or delayed until much later in life.
Visit this site www.dogpack.com/health/healthproblems.htm and
do
some of your own research by entering "fluoride" or
"fluorine*" with
the problem into an internet search.
From my research, I would suggest purchasing meat from the
butcher, and
if the animal needs mineral supplements - give them the same
quality
supplement that you would take yourself.
Also see: www.npwa.freeserve.co.uk/pollution.htm for more
information about phosphate rock.
* In animal nutrition, 'fluoride' is more commonly referred to
as
'fluorine'.
George Glasser
Press Officer/Water Quality Advisor
National Pure Water Association
www.npwa.freeserve.co.uk/fluoride.html
Provided by
New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation
www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof
