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Unregulated food industry putting pets lives at risk

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Article image for Unregulated food industry putting pets lives at risk

Concerns about the lack of regulation in the pet food industry were first raised with the federal government 12 years ago, but the industry remains unregulated.

There are no mandatory standards for pet food, no system to issue public recall notices, and no industry regulation.

Pet behaviouralist Laura Vissaritis said the lack of regulation isn’t good enough.

“How many dogs have to die from contaminated food before the government starts to take it seriously?,” she said.

Ms Vissaritis said figuring out which packaged food is good for your pet is near impossible.

“I don’t think you can know,” she told 3AW’s Kate and Quarters.

“Often they’re full of fillers, colourings, preservatives.”

She said the lack of regulation doesn’t just help poor quality pet food producers hide, it also disadvantages companies who do the right thing.

“There are lots of dog food brands that you can buy in pet warehouses and things like that, which specialise in pet food only, who are doing the right thing,” she said.

“But because the products aren’t regulated we can’t actually say what is okay and what isn’t okay.”

Ms Vissaritis suggested supplementing store brought pet food with home made food.

“I feed my dogs kibble, but I also feed them fish and veggies,” she said.

“I know that what I’m giving my dog I’ve actually cooked myself, and I know I’m giving them their daily intake of those vitamins and minerals.”

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