The Australian Pet Food Industry is currently self-regulated via the Pet Food Industry Association of Australia (PFIAA). The Industry sets its own standards using a voluntary code of practice.

RSPCA Australia considers companion animal nutrition to be one of the most important aspects of pet care. Therefore, RSPCA Australia advocates the comprehensive regulation of the Pet Food Industry along the entire supply chain. This should  include an independent adverse reporting system, systems to ensure product safety and reliable and accurate labelling of pet food products to inform pet owners about any ingredients and/or treatments pet food products may have been subjected to.

RSPCA Australia is currently working directly with the PFIAA and Federal and State Governments to develop national standards for manfactured pet food. RSPCA Australia is also represented on the Primary Industries Ministerial Council Pet Food Controls Working group. Both groups are addressing safety issues regarding domestic and imported pet food and fresh 'pet meat' products.

Specific areas of concern include:

• The lack of legislative control over what is incorporated into pet food, and in particular, safety issues relating to added preservatives (the controls over the use of preservatives for humans are much stricter than for animal food)
• The lack of any legal requirement for full and accurate labelling of the ingredients in pet food -  for many pet foods, the only labelling of ingredients provided is the minimum analysis which covers the percentage of crude protein, fat, fibre, moisture and salt. Listing other ingredients (including preservatives) is optional. Where there is no full ingredient list, owners are unable to make informed decisions regarding the contents and safety of the product
• The lack of regulation for accurate labelling to inform owners of any treatments the product may have been subjected to
• The lack of an independent adverse reporting system

Two recent issues highlighted the need for more stringent regulations with regard to product safety standards: the irradiation of imported Orijen pet food has been linked to severe feline neurological disease with a number of cats dying or being euthanased; and imported chicken jerky treats the ingestion of which has been associated with serious kidney disease in dogs, particularly small breed dogs.

If you are concerned about the lack of regulation of the pet food industry please comment on the draft standard (see RSPCA guidelines) 

You may also wish to contact your local MP to express your concerns. Please see the attached article " How can I lobby government to improve animal welfare?" for further information.

If you are concerned about what you should feed your pet dog or cat (or other animal) the following precautions may be taken:

• Choose high quality premium commercial foods that include a full list of ingredients on the packaging. You may wish to contact the company directly to enquire about the ingredients including the addition of any preservatives and /or treatments that may have been applied to the product e.g. irradiation
• Only feed raw meat/meat products that are labelled for human consumption - you may wish to obtain meat products from your local butcher, where appropriate legislation usually affords protection against the use of preservatives in human-grade meat products
• Feed a varied diet

Articles of interest

1. Thiamine deficiency due to sulphur dioxide preservative in ‘pet meat’– a case of deja vu Australian Veterinary Journal Volume 83, No 7, July 2005
2. Leukoencephalomyelopathy in Specific Pathogen-free Cats Vet Pathol 44:912-916 (2007)
3. Effects of Gamma Irradiation and Pasteurization on the Nutritive Composition of Commercially Available Animal Diets Journal of the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science Volume 47, Number 6, November 2008 , pp. 61-66(6)