Research Shows Many Pet Food Products Were Mislabeled

Before you feed your cat or dog this morning, stop what you're doing to take a look at this story. A new study finds what's promised to be in your pet's food might not really be there.

The big problem when it comes to our pet's food might be the labels on the bag. Almost 40 percent of our animals' food could be improperly labeled.

Scientists in the Chapman University Food Science Program looked at 52 dog and cat food products. They specifically wanted to identify the meat in the foods.

They used technology to identify DNA in the foods as beef, goat, lamb, chicken, goose, turkey, pork, or horse. Once the results came back, researchers then compared them to what the label said was in the food.

Researchers found 31 products were mislabeled. One food contained a non-specific meat that could not be identified, and 16 others had meat product that was not listed on the label. Most of the time it was pork.

This is a major issue for those pets who have allergies. If a product does not accurately label what's in the bag, a pet with a meat allergy could have severe itching, skin problems or stomach problems. It could also cause problems if an animal is being treated at the vet.

There is some silver lining here. Veterinarians say food allergies are not as common in pets.

The researchers did not release product and brand names.