Should I buy organic pet food?
Feeding an organic diet can’t hurt, but it’s no guarantee against contamination. Although organic foods can be expected to be free of pesticides or other chemicals, some toxins occur naturally.

Would a homemade diet be better for my pet?
Some people haven’t bought commercial pet food in years. They prepare their own, using the same meats and other ingredients they’d eat themselves.

“It’s bewildering to me why a fresh, varied, unprocessed diet based on whole foods is understood to be good for humans, but only a processed, packaged, unvarying commercial diet is good for dogs,” says Christie Keith of San Francisco, who breeds and shows Scottish deerhounds and writes frequently about pet nutrition.

A home-prepared diet offers the security of knowing exactly what’s in the food — no by-products or mystery meat. But a potential disadvantage of a homemade diet — besides being labor intensive — is dietary imbalance when recipes aren't complete and balanced. And some vets discourage feeding raw diets because of the risk of contamination when meat isn't handled properly. 

For pet owners interested in going this route, commercial raw diets that meet Association of American Feed Control Officials standards can be purchased at pet-supply stores, and plenty of reliable sources offer recipes for balanced diets. The University of California School of Veterinary Medicine in Davis will analyze homemade diets for a fee. But if you don’t aspire to be Julia Chowhound, let common sense rule.

How can I tell if something might be amiss with my pet’s food?
Inspect food after opening a new bag, pouch or can, Datz recommends. “If there is an unusual appearance or odor, it’s best not to feed it. If a pet has any kind of illness after eating a new diet, stop feeding and contact a veterinarian,” he says.

What should I do if I suspect a problem?
Always contact the manufacturer if you suspect something’s wrong. In fact, for concerned consumers these days, the most important information on the label isn’t the ingredient list but the phone number for the manufacturer. Use it to ask exactly what’s meant by the terms “by-products,” “natural,” “human-grade” and “organic”; whether they produce the food themselves or outsource it to another manufacturer; and what kind of testing they do for contaminants.

And if your pet is showing signs of ill health, contact your veterinarian.

What else can I do?
Consider feeding a diverse diet, veterinarian Hofve suggests.

“Feed different kinds, different brands, different protein sources. I think that’s what’s going to protect us,” she says. “So many times in the past when toxicities or deficiencies or problems have been found, it’s always been in animals that eat the same thing, year in and year out. Those are the ones that get in trouble.”

There’s nothing wrong with variety, but Datz says there’s no evidence that pets can benefit from it. On the other hand, there’s no evidence that they won’t benefit from it. Of course, it wouldn’t necessarily have helped in the Menu Foods recall because so many brands were involved.

Bottom line? “I don’t know that anything we could have done would have prevented this,” Hofve says.

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