Q:
As a keen betta keeper, I've just been reading abut your
new product "Betta Banquet" and am interested
in one of the ingredients in it and wonder if you would
be so kind as to advise the amount of Ethoxyquin used in
it? Everything else sounds really terrific for my group
of fish here.
Ethoxyquin is often used, I believe, as an antioxidant or
preservative, but it is also used as a pesticide and has
been attributed to certain defects and illness in pets.
I understand the FDA is concerned about its use and has
requested that pet food manufacturers lower the amounts
used in their food products.
If this is the case, why would you use it at all in your
product?
A: We are aware of this issue, however
based on all of the current findings and opinion of the
FDA ethoxyguin is still safe and approved for use in this
application (i.e. pet food for the purposes of preventing
vitamin oxidation). We are not aware of any request by the
FDA to pet food manufacturers to reduce amounts of ethoxyquin
nor did we find any such request/info on the FDA website.
To our knowledge there is no solid, peer reviewed scientific
data or literature to support the current claims of toxicity.
If the alternatives to ethoxyguin were equally effective
we would just go ahead and change to err on the side of
the caution. Unfortunately, the alternatives are not as
effective at preventing oxidation. So, we must weigh the
real, known negatives of using other preservatives (shorter
shelf life and usage life) with the suspected, but still
unconfirmed potential risks of ethoxyquin. So until we have
more definitive data the best choice is still ethoxyquin.
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