FDA Releases 16 Dog Food Brand Names Linked To Canine Heart Disease

“Sixteen brands of dog food may be associated with a heightened risk of heart failure in dogs, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA isn’t suggesting that pet owners stop feeding their dogs the particular brands yet, but some vets are already advising against “grain free” foods.

The FDA is currently investigating more than 500 reports that appear to link dog foods that are marketed as grain free to canine dilated cardiomyopathy. The FDA has been warning about the foods based on peas, lentils or potatoes since July 2018, but the statement released late last week is the first time the agency has identified the 16 brand names.

The brands are ordered by the number of cases linked to them, which ranged from a high of 67 to 10:

1. Arcana
2. Zignature
3. Taste of the Wild
4. 4Health
5. Earthborn Holistic
6. Blue Buffalo
7. Nature’s Doma
8. Fromm
9. Merrick
10. California Natural
11. Natural Balance
12. Orijen
13. Nature’s Variety
14. NutriSource
15. Nutro
16. Rachael Ray Nutrish

Most of the reports were associated with dry dog food formulations, but raw food, semi-moist food, and wet foods were included. The FDA has not suggested owners change their pets’ diets.

In a statement, the Pet Food Institute, whose members make 98 percent of U.S. pet foods and treats, said it and its members “have convened nutritionists, veterinarians and product safety specialists for more than a year to better understand whether there is a relationship between dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and diet.” PFI agrees with the FDA’s statements that this is a complex issue with many factors requiring scientific evaluation.

Heart failure is a known issue for larger breeds of dogs, such as Great Danes and German Shepherds, Gelzer said. The breeds most frequently reported to the FDA for the heart disease were golden retrievers, mixed and Labrador retrievers. But recently the condition started showing up in smaller breeds, which is what caught the attention of veterinarians and eventually the FDA.

“For us at Penn, we started to see cases in late 2017 that stuck out as unusual because they were in smaller breeds such as springer spaniels and beagles that you don’t typically see with canine dilated cardiomyopathy,” Gelzer said.”

“Knowing there had been studies showing that diet could play a role in the development of heart disease in dogs, “we started making investigations into what each owner was feeding.”

Ultimately Gelzer and others found there was a common denominator: grain-free dog foods, which had replaced grains with substitutes such as lentils, peas, and chickpeas.

Source: NBC News.