Yesterday, MSNBC.com reported that “Many multivitamins don’t have nutrients claimed in label Out of 38 tested, 13 had too much or too little of the ingredients listed or were improperly labeled”. Of particular concern was the closing statement that, in addition to testing adult and children supplements, ConsumerLab.com, also tested pet Supplements.

According to the MSNBC.com article,

ConsumerLab also tested several pet supplements, one of which, Pet-Tabs Complete Daily Vitamin Mineral Supplement for Dogs contained lead at unhealthy levels.

With the scant information provided by MSNBC.com on the pet supplements tested, I decided to join ConsumerLab.com to get a first hand look at what the report actually had to say.

According to the study, 60 products were tested. Of those 60 products, 3 pet products were tested in addition to the human vitamins and supplements.

The three pet products were:

• 21st Century Pet Chew
• PetGuard Multi-Vitamin and Multi-Mineral for Dogs
• Pet-Tabs Complete Daily Vitamin-Mineral Supplement for Dogs

The scoring system was simple enough: Approved (passed) or Not Approved (failed). Items tested that were Not Approved typically had the reason for failure posted. Because of copyright laws, I will not go into how items were tested. The goal of the test was to ascertain if the products listed contained the specified amount of vitamins, nutrients, and supplements as touted on their labels. As mentioned in the MSNBC.com report, some ingredients in excess of the stated amount can be detrimental as well.

I will go into much detail as possible without breaking any codes or laws but will first discuss the other products.

Of the pet products tested, only one, 21st Century Pet Chew, was granted the Approved moniker.

PetGuard Multi-Vitamin and Multi-Mineral for Dogs Not Approved due to, according to ConsumerLab.com, Found only 68.2% of claimed vitamin A .

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Pet-Tabs Complete Daily Vitamin-Mineral Supplement for Dogs received a Not Approved as they Found 167.0% of claimed minimum amount of vitamin A. Additionally, and most disconcerting, was the detection of Found 7.45 mcg lead per tablet (3.73 to 7.45 mcg of lead per daily serving)^.

Too much of something is just a bad as too little.

Dogs with Vitamin A toxicity are often lethargic. There is a consequent loss of appetite, lameness affecting the front legs, constipation, stiffness, and altered sensitivity on the region near the neck and forelimb.

Of greater concern is the levels of Lead found in the Pet-Tabs.

However, a pet product, Pet-Tabs Complete Daily Vitamin-Mineral Supplement for Dogs contained 7.45 mcg of lead per tablet; by comparison the FDA notes that children should not be exposed to more than 6 mcg of lead per day.

Disturbing were these levels were detected in a per tablet basis. However, must disturbing was a notation in the same report from ConsumerLab.com:

ConsumerLab.com has reported elevated levels of lead in this product in the past an amount that has been increasing with each review. In 2009, we found Pet-Tabs Complete Daily for Dogs to contain 6.45 mcg of lead per tablet and, in 2007, we found 1.41 mcg. California typically requires warning labels on supplements for human use that contain over 0.5 mcg of lead per day.

I guess I am more upset with myself for purchasing this product despite some comments I had read a while back. When looking at product reviews, one person had noted that they were no longer going to purchase the product because it was no longer manufactured in the U.S.A.. Instead, the product is now made in India.

Without explicitly pointing the finger at India, all of this does create some doubts and some suspicions about the manufacturing processes. As noted, the levels of lead have increased since first detected in 2007.