An investigation of selected chemical contaminants in commercial pet foods in Egypt

Abstract

Abstract. Our study aimed to identify the levels of various contaminants in both wet and dry commercial pet foods in Egypt. A total of 20 local and imported pet food products (3 samples each) were screened for heavy metals by atomic absorption spectroscopy, for mycotoxins by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and for nitrate and nitrite levels by nitrate-nitrite spectrophotometry. Cat food, on average, had greater concentrations of the metals cadmium, chromium, lead, and tin than dog food. Of the investigated metals, only tin concentration exceeded the safe level compared with the standards of the National Research Council and the European Commission for the dog and cat. According to the guidelines of the Association of American Feed Control Officials for canned pet foods, the nitrate and nitrite contents of examined foods greatly exceeded the recommended level. No total aflatoxins were detected in the surveyed samples. None of the samples analyzed had levels above international limits established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations for ochratoxin, and only 1 sample exceeded the level for aflatoxin B1. Of the 20 samples analyzed for zearalenone, 4 samples had higher levels than the FAO maximum tolerable levels. These results indicate that pet foods marketed in Egypt, especially cat foods, occasionally contain contaminants that could result in adverse effects in pets.

Target Analysis and Retrospective Screening of Multiple Mycotoxins in Pet Food Using UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS

“…In line with that, ZEN (and its derivative forms) were found in 91% of the here analyzed samples at levels ranging from < LOQ to 60.6 µg/kg. These results are in agreement with recent surveys carried out in Brazilian [23,25], Egyptian [21], Polish [22], and Austrian [30] pet food samples (Table 3).…”

“…Even though investigations on mycotoxin distribution in feedstuffs are regularly conducted by competent authorities, the information on mycotoxin distribution of feedstuffs is limited [21]. Among the available studies focused on mycotoxins occurrence in feedstuffs, most of them have been performed in feed aimed to livestock production, whereas scarce literature have reported the occurrence of these toxic compounds in pet foods [22,23,24,25].…”

Pet Food Quality Assurance and Safety and Quality Assurance Survey within the Costa Rican Pet Food Industry

“…Mean values for lead (508.52 ± 305.72 and 703.01 ± 705.40 mg kg −1 for puppy and adult dog food, respectively) were consistently higher than other heavy metals (Table 8). These values are low when compared with previous reports of cadmium and lead in dog food in concentrations of 0.20 ± 0.01 and 3.23 ± 0.08 mg kg −1 , respectively [72]. Low amounts of these contaminants are expected, as Costa Rica is a country without a mining industry; therefore, heavy metal contamination in the compound feed may come from mineral sources [23,73].…”

Evaluation of selected ultra-trace minerals in commercially available dry dog foods

“…There have been some studies regarding trace and ultra-trace mineral contamination of commercial pet foods in a few countries including the USA. 14 – 16 However, there are no recommended dietary allowances or safe upper limits determined for the ultra-trace minerals described, and neither AAFCO nor NRC provides recommendations for dietary intake of these minerals in dogs. Toxicity of these elements has been examined in some species, yet the relative intake or amounts of these ultra-trace minerals have not been reported in dogs.…”