**AAFCO Update** In August, we reported that AAFCO and the Pet Food Committee had agreed to commission a work group to address the copper issue in pet food. <<hyperlink to that blog post>> That is happening, and I’ll detail more of what’s going on within this working group below, but the discussion is — unintentionally — revealing something that should excite ALL nutritionally defensible pet food companies. A “copper lining,” you could say.
First things first, what is the issue with copper in pet food? Copper is, after all, an essential nutrient. The problem is that an excess of copper CAN potentially cause some liver damage. This is why they’re tossing around a “controlled copper” label. There is a LOT of discussion around this, and here is the copper lining:
The reason so much discussion about “controlled copper” on a label is exciting to truly defensible pet food manufacturers is this: It points to the fact that AAFCO is seeing MORE interest in nutrition labels by discerning pet parents!! Essentially, seeing the words “controlled copper” may lead a pet parent to research copper in pet food. I would venture to say they do not want this.
BUT WE DO! THIS is great news for us because the more curious and educated pet parents are about pet nutrition, the more demand they will be for the pet food we produce, and the more they know the less they’ll tolerate the B.S. in common pet foods.
