Posted: October 10, 2008, 5 a.m. EDT
Despite the world’s largest pet food recall last year, a national survey released this week revealed many pet owners don’t know what ingredients are in their pets’ food.
The pet food survey was conducted online in August by Harris Interactive and commissioned by the Wellness brand of natural pet food and treats. Of the 1,305 U.S. pet owners surveyed, 906 were dog owners, and 783 were cat owners.
According to the survey, two-thirds of the pet owners said they feed their pets as if they were members of their families. However, 56 percent of pet owners said they always or often read the label of their own packaged foods, compared to 38 percent of dog owners and 38 percent of cat owners who said they always or often read the labels on their pets’ food. Wellness also reported that only 38 percent of those surveyed said they understand all the ingredients listed on their dog food and cat food labels.
Additional findings released by Wellness included:
- Fifty-six percent worry their cat or dog food contains ingredients they wouldn’t want their pets to consume.
- More than half dog or cat owners (55 percent) don’t know what federal body is charged with regulating pet food quality.
- When asked to name the first ingredient listed on the label of their cat’s dry food, 48 percent of cat owners answered they are not sure.
- When asked to name the first ingredient listed on the label of their dog’s dry food, 44 percent of dog owners answered they are not sure.