From: healthier4all@... <healthier4all@...>
Subject: [HWFC-CAFE] Some Dog Foods May Deliver Toxic Doses of Fluoride
To: HWFC-CAFE@yahoogroups.com
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 8:45 AM

http://www.thedaily green.com/ environmental- news/latest/ dog-food- fluoride- 470
63002

With the memory of the melamine pet food scare still fresh in the minds of
many pet owners, a group is publicizing a new threat: potentially toxic
doses of fluoride in dog food.

An Environmental Working Group analysis found concerning levels of fluoride
in 8 of 10 dog foods tested. The concentration of fluoride was up to 2.5
times higher than the safe level the Environmental Protection Agency sets
for drinking water (there is no standard for pet food). Together with
drinking water from the tap that has been fluoridated, some puppies may be
exposed at five-times the safe limit, according to Environmental Working
Group -- though it must be said that the safe limits were not designed
specifically for dogs.

Fluoride is a controversial substance when it comes to human health. Every
major national health organization -- including the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and the American Dental Association -- endorse the
addition of fluoride to drinking water to counteract tooth decay. But
there's a strong undercurrent of dissent: Some claim that fluoridation does
little to help tooth health (owing to the method and timing of exposure) or
worse, that it may contribute to a rare form of bone cancer found in young
boys.

Does it have positive or negative effects on dogs -- and what is the
appropriate level of exposure for pets? Those are questions without clear
answers.

According to the Environmental Working Group, the fluoride in dog foods
originates in bone meal and animal by-products. EWG recommends choosing dog
food brands free of bone meal and meat by product ingredients like chicken
by-product meal, poultry by-product meal, chicken meal and beef meal. As EWG
puts it: "Any ingredient described as 'animal meal' is basically ground
bones, cooked with steam, dried, and mashed to make a cheap dog food
filler."

For tips on what good ingredients to look for, and how to read a dog food
label, see these tips at

dogfoodproject. com.

Find this article at:
http://www.thedaily green.com/ environmental- news/latest/ dog-food- fluoride- 470
63002