Pet Food Labels, Loopholes & the Law: An Interview with Susan Thixton

In this episode of Pet Shop Girls, Sherry and Carly sit down with pet food consumer advocate Susan Thixton to talk about pet food regulation, manufacturing, ingredient sourcing, and transparency. Susan shares concerns about regulatory oversight, manufacturing safety, and the challenges pet owners face when trying to determine which brands they can trust. She also discusses how many pet food companies may source ingredients from the same suppliers and explains why she believes the distinction between feed-grade and human-grade pet foods matters. It’s an eye-opening conversation about what happens behind the scenes of the pet food industry—and why asking questions about how and where pet food is made is so important. http://www.2petshopgirls.com https://truthaboutpetfood.com/ 0:00 Introduction 3:01 Meet Susan Thixton 4:46 What AAFCO Actually Does 5:21 Feed Grade vs. Food Grade Pet Food 10:53 Misleading Pet Food Marketing Terms 12:31 What Labels Really Tell Pet Owners 14:32 How Pet Food Quality Affects Health 15:33 Corporate Influence in Pet Food 17:07 Is “AAFCO Approved” Meaningful? 22:08 Animal Food Waste and Rendering 25:21 Pet Food Labeling Loopholes 34:44 Why Independent Retailers Matter 38:10 Educating Pet Parents Without Fear 45:20 What to Do if the FDA Visits Your Store 50:26 Is Pet Food Advocacy Making Progress? 54:49 Susan’s Trusted Pet Food List 61:44 Reporting Potential Pet Food Problems 65:04 Closing Thoughts