How can you tell if your dogfood has horsemeat in it?

Question

The ingredients are on the bag but what would they call it? I am sure it won't be listed as horsemeat would it?

Answer 1

I am sure it is better than Mcdonalds

Answer 2

Most people would not ask the question, so no, it is rarely printed.

When dog food is formulated, it is often formulated with specified meats. But there is no declaration that the animals did not die of natural causes, did not die as road kill. So, if the package does specify beef and chicken, those may be dead stock. If it does not specify any kind of meat, then any kind may be used, it can be road kill, or it can have died from natural causes.

It would be a good idea to get the road kill picked up so  that dogs do not spend time at roads edge, or in the middle of the road.  But some people will find it offensive to have road kill in their dog food.

When horses die, they are used as pet food, and other than for brands that specify a given animal they may contain horse. Even if all of the meat were from a horse, the term meat or meat by products would cover disclosure requirements.

Answer 3

Some meat protein can be what's called tankage.  Tankage is made from dead animals that are cooked down and is usually from farm animals that have died from natural causes or accidents, but can include the few animal parts from slaughterhouses that are not used for human food.  Before you go eating your dog's food, be warned that sometimes the animal can be getting rather offensive by the time the dead wagon gets there to pick it up.  Incidently, one time my mom fed her cats some canned food and included was part of a boar hog's p***s.  If you've ever seen one, you'd know that it's impossible to mistake something else for one.    

Answer 4

According to the attached blog post from the SPCA, horse meat is not used for human OR pet consumption in the US, but is shipped overseas from the US for consumption by both people and animals there. That is not because it is illegal, but because the American public has a special regard for horses that is not necessarily shared in the rest of the world and companies wouldn't want to have to defend this use.

If your dog food says "meat by-product meal,” as an ingredient then it could (legally) contain any number of meats and they wouldn't be required to tell you if one of them was horse meat. If you want to be really positive you are not getting horse meat you should choose a food that  lists "chicken by-product meal” or some other such specific ingredient, in which case they are forbidden by law to have anything else. So, if the only meat used was from horses they would be required by law to label it as such.

Answer 5

No, they would never label it as horse meat. But the fact is that it is very unlikely that your dog food would have horse meat in it. Almost all horse meat is shipped overseas, mainly to Europe, where it is highly valued as human food.