"E" was used as a preservative in such widely marketed dog/cat foods as ANF, NutriMax, Hills Prescription Diet WID (sold in vet hospitals!), Nutro, Purina, IAMS, Royal Canine, and more USA;
The Dog and Cat Breeders and assoc. worked to change the preservatives in the foods we feed our pets. We did not buy foods with Monsanto E as a preservative. Finally The Food companies started using Vitamin E as a preservative. A few and often most expensive still use "preserved with BHA" basically animal fat, dosed with Monsanto E. Another of the More expensive brands uses "all natural formula" with no preservatives, yet lists "E" as an antioxidant which they claim to be quite safe.
This happened years ago and the foods we feed our pets have been free of Ethoxyquin in about 90%.. Look for preserved with Vitamin E.
So many problems can be blamed on Monsanto E in animals and maybe humans.
I don't know if it is still in the food farm animals eat. I assumed it was not being used for food preservative anymore. I was wrong.
I have seen with my eyes a change in aquarium fish from healthy with good immune systems, stamina, to fish that are no where as healthy as they were 30 years ago. I have been shocked with the types that are almost impossible to breed or even keep now, Fish that were the easiest to keep and breed are almost gone.
I found Monsanto E, Ethoxyquin on every type of fish food I have found. Just think what this chemical could do over time to little fish. And we spend a lot of money thinking we are getting the best. I didn't check Frozen food.
I doubt we would be able to get enough tropical fish owners to cause this to change. It really makes me sick. I am on a quest, myself, to find a food that is not only good for my fish, without poison in it.
Don't get me wrong, it has to be preserved, but it can be done with something natural. It just won't last 20 years. :)
Comments
RE: OH NO! Monsanto E, Ethoxyquin in Fish food TOO!
I have looked at a many brands, types fish food. It appears most freeze dried fish food, does not have ethoxyquin. Always check to be sure. I imagine frozen does not have it either. But it is always smart to check. I found one brand that claims to be superior food. It doesn't list Ethoxyquin. Calcium Propionate is used as a preservative. Hopefully this is not the only one, I intend to keep looking. I am not recommending this food. I don't know a lot about it. Reading the ingredients, I am considering trying it. The Brand is Aqueon. They make several cichlid foods. Info about the preservative below.
I know that Ethoxyquin is blamed for pets not living as long as they did years ago. I don't hesitate to think the same for fish. There is a link below with some info about ethoxyquin and fish. Worth reading.
This is probably all I will say about this subject, unless I find a food with natural preservative. So far Frozen and Freeze dried are the only foods without preservatives. All food brands are different, so check labels.
If anyone else comes up with food without ethoxyquin, Monsanto E, please let us know.
calcium propionate
The use of calcium propionate (282) as a preservative in bread became widespread in Australia in the early 1990s. This preservative is rarely used in Europe or New Zealand, used increasingly in the UK, and is common in Australia and the US. Consumers are often confused by a label claiming “now with extra calcium”. Calcium propionate is used for the propionate, not the calcium. Calcium is added to bread in other forms.
Calcium propionate and the other propionates (280-283) occur naturally in many foods and dairy products like Swiss cheese. In small amounts they are not harmful but, as with other additives, the effects are dose related. Very few people will be affected by two slices of preserved bread but effects are cumulative, so can build up slowly over days or weeks, varying with the dose. This makes identification of the cause of symptoms extremely difficult. Like all additives, this preservative was not tested before approval for its effects on children's behavior and learning ability.
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http://www.pesticideinfo.org/references/91-53-2hsdb.doc
Hazardous Substances Data Bank,
National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD
ETHOXYQUIN
http://www.pesticideinfo.org/List_AquireAll.jsp?Rec_Id=PC35089&Taxa_Grou...
Toxicity Studies for Ethoxyquin on Fish - Toxicology studies from the primary scientific literature on aquatic organisms
Re: OH NO! Monsanto E, Ethoxyquin in Fish food TOO!
all i can say is WoW
OH NO! Monsanto E, Ethoxyquin in Fish food TOO!
Ethoxyquin is a quinoline-based antioxidant used as a food preservative and a pesticide (under commercial names such as "Stop-Scald"). It is commonly used as a preservative in pet foods to prevent the rancidification of fats. There has been some speculation that ethoxyquin in pet foods might be responsible for multiple health problems. To date, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only found a verifiable connection between ethoxyquin and buildup of protoporphyrin IX in the liver, as well as elevations in liver-related enzymes in some animals, but there are no known health consequences from these effects.[2] Until further evidence is reported, the FDA has asked pet food manufacturers to voluntarily limit ethoxyquin levels to 75 ppm.[2] However, most pet foods that contain ethoxyquin have never exceeded this amount.[2]
Ethoxyquin has been shown to cause mortality in fish.[3]
Ethoxyquin is also commonly used in spices to prevent color loss due to oxidation of the natural carotenoid pigments.
The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) in 1997 requested a voluntary reduction of ethoxyquin from 150 ppm to 75 ppm in complete dog foods. The work used to make the reduction request was never published in peer reviewed journals or made readily available to public or scientific scrutiny.
References
^ Merck Index, 11th Edition, 3710
^ a b c Pet Food Labels, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
^ Ethoxyquin at the PAN pesticide database