• No chicken in dog food marked as “with chicken” or no beef in cat food labelled “with beef”? It is possible.
• This is the result of pet food inspection carried out by the Trade Inspection.
• Irregularities were found in nearly 20% of products.

More than half of Poles (52%) have a pet, usually a dog (42%) or a cat (26%)*. Some of us have both a dog and a cat. The Euromonitor International data collected in recent years show that Poles spend over PLN 2 billion on pet food annually. Therefore, it is worth considering what food we give to our pets.

In the third quarter of 2018, the Trade Inspection inspected pet food. It checked quality (laboratory tests) and labelling. Trade inspectors visited 84 stores, both specialty stores and chain stores. They uncovered irregularities in as many as 35 of them. The inspectors controlled 478 batches of pet food for dogs, cats, rodents, birds, fish, rabbits and others. They voiced reservations about 90 batches, i.e. 18.8%.

Laboratory tests

80 batches of dog and cat food were tested in the laboratory. Irregularities occurred in 22 of them (27.5%). E.g.:

• In dog food marked as “beef with chicken” there was no poultry, but pork.
• There was no chicken or beef in dog food, although the label clearly said: beef 58%, chicken 7%.
• The fat content in canned food was higher or lower than declared.
• The moisture content in dry dog food was higher than declared, and the moisture content in canned food was lower than declared.
• In cat food labelled as “beef” and “beef + lamb” there was no beef, but pork.

As a result of measuring the net content of packaging, the inspectors stated that the amount of dry and wet (canned) food was in line with what the packaging said.

Product labelling

The trade inspectors checked the labelling of products. The following irregularities were found:

• no labels or information was provided on replacement packages after dry food was repacked in the store into smaller packages,
• no information in the Polish language was provided,
• no instructions on how to serve pet food,
• using the following terms: “best before”, “minimum expiration date”, “expiration date” instead of: “use before” or “best used before the end of…”.

Following the audit, the Trade Inspection sent 11 notices to the veterinary supervision authorities and 12 requests to courts demanding that those responsible for placing pet food on the market be punished. Three individuals have been fined.

Consumers should always:

• look for information on the packaging about the type of pet food, e.g. whether the product provides an animal with all nutrients or whether it must be served with supplements,
• check what animals the food is intended for and read the instructions for use,
• check the minimum storage period,
• read the ingredient list and pay attention to whether the producer gave the percentage content of each ingredient,
• pet food sold in bulk should be sold directly from the original packaging, and information about it must be available to the customer, regardless of where it is sold.
• Do you have doubts about pet food labelling? Report them to the competent provincial inspectorate of the Trade Inspection.

*The survey called “Animals in Polish Households” conducted by Kantar Public in April 2017.

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