Pet foods containing huge amounts of salt, sugar, oils and fats

The food we eat is subjected to incredibly close scrutiny - we fret over trans fats, count every calorie and agonise about cholesterol, sugar and salt.But we do not pay nearly enough attention to the food we feed our dogs, according to animal lovers.Dog food companies are producing tins and packets containing huge amounts of salt, sugar, oils and fats, a former industry insider claims.They are even putting in food colouring, despite the fact dogs are colour blind.Labels do not give us nearly enough information about what is in the cans we buy each week, campaigners say.David Jackson, a former pet industry nutritionist, has found a product advertising as a 'succulent moist chicken' meal - but it contains just 4 per cent chicken.The Bakers Complete Chicken and Vegetable meal details on its ingredients lists unidentified 'meat and animal derivatives in the chunk' as making up 26 per cent, with chicken making up just 4 per cent.Mr Jackson has set up a new website, whichdogfood.co.uk, to inform dog owners about the food we feed our four-legged friends.He claims that the additives and fat in pet food is contributing towards dogs' obesity and behavioural problems, including hyperactivity.Mr Jackson, who used to work as a nutritionist for a number of pet food companies, said: 'For so long, pet food manufacturers have been able to get away with producing, frankly, awful foods for our pets.'The most successful foods in the UK all have two things in common - low grade ingredients and elevated prices.'Most consumers simply aren't aware that alternatives exist and the health problems that low grade foods often bring are so widespread that many pet owners simply disregard them as a normal part of a dog's life.'So many dogs are living short, problem-filled lives and nobody is blinking an eye.' His claims are dismissed by multinational giants - including Nestle and Mars - which dominate the £500million-a-year industry.And some vets are also sceptical.The British Veterinary Association said dogs have adapted to eating almost anything so do not need to pay as much attention to their food as humans.Robin Hargreaves, the association's president, told the Sunday Telegraph: 'My advice to my clients is you can feed most dogs most things.'They are scavengers so I don't get as precious about diet as some might because they have coped with an incredible variety of foods over thousands of years.''Mars and Nestle have paid some people a lot of money to formulate diets and the chances are they will make a better dog food than you will.' He said that the dog obesity is due to feeding dogs too much, rather than the wrong things, as well as a lack of exercise.A spokesman for Bakers, which is owned by Nestle, said: 'Regarding the 4 per cent declaration, this is a pet food industry-wide labelling requirement.'That doesn't mean there is only 4 per cent of that meat in the food.'Our recipes will also contain other meat proteins such as poultry, turkey and lamb. These will be classed as 'Meat and animal derivatives' rather than listed individually to allow for supply fluctuations during the year depending on availability and in some instances the seasons.' Mars Petcare UK - which owns Pedigree - said: 'Mars Petcare is globally recognised for its expertise in pet nutrition.'Our understanding of the needs of pets is based on 50 years of scientific research from the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, which is the world-leading scientific authority on the health and nutrition of pets and continues to advance the frontiers of our knowledge on pet nutrition.'In the UK our main-meal wet pet foods contain up to 60 per cent meat and animal derivatives and our dry food range contains approximately 20 per cent.'Owners who feed their pets a complete Pedigree meal can have confidence that they are fulfilling their pet's nutritional needs.'(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az