Tambi Renee, an animal rights activist and advocate, has issued a statement decrying food salvage companies and the pet food companies that purchase distressed food products from these businesses. Distressed food products are products that have been exposed to unusual temperature conditions, smoke, water, fumes, humidity, or which have lost their labels and can no longer be identified. These food items are explicitly marked as “not for human consumption,” but there are no national regulations surrounding the sale and use of distressed food products for pet food. There are, however, state regulations surrounding these products and how they may be sold and used. “Distressed food products have been deemed unsafe for humans to eat,” explains Tambi Renee, “yet somehow we find them suitable to feed our pets who are equally affected by things like bacterial contamination or rotting that can result from extreme conditions.”

In light of this revelation, Tambi Renee has spoken out publicly to address the sale and use of distressed food products for use in pet foods. “These foods have been deemed part of the consumer ‘waste stream.’ If companies are going to use these products in food that we feed to our pets,” said Tambi Renee, “then they should be legally required to put that information on the label. As consumers we deserve to know what we are feeding to our pets; and moreover, our pets deserve to eat high quality food that meets their nutritional needs, rather than food that puts their health at risk. Any company that uses salvage food products in their pet foods should be boycotted by pet owners.”

Tambi Renee has also censured the salvage food companies that provide resale services for businesses trying to offload distressed food products and has called for greater regulation around the disposal of these products. Tambi Renee advocates for national guidelines regulating pet food content and outlawing the use of distressed food products as food for both humans and all animals. Tambi Renee says pet food manufacturers, and the regulators responsible for that industry, have duped their customers and perpetrated a crime against animals and consumers, and this is a crime that should not go unpunished.