Dietary Supplements For Horses, Dogs And Cats Need Better Regulation, New Report Says

The growing use of animal dietary supplements has raised several concerns, including the safety of specific supplements and the approaches taken to determine their safeness.

A new National Research Council report, requested by the Center for Veterinary Medicine of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, assesses whether the addition of three dietary supplements — lutein, evening primrose oil, and garlic — to the diets of horses, dogs, or cats may cause significant adverse health effects.

The committee that wrote the report concluded that because of inadequate data, it could not clearly define a safe upper limit for lutein, evening primrose oil, or garlic, but it could cite historical safe intakes (HSI) and estimate presumed safe intakes (PSI) based on available research findings.  The committee added that current regulations addressing animal dietary supplements are in “disarray.”

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Tagged as: Animals, Cats, Dietary Supplements, Dogs, Evening Primrose Oil, Garlic, Health, Historical Safe Intakes, Horses, HSI, Lutein, National Research Council, Pets, Presumed Safe Intakes, PSI, US Food and Drug Administration, Veterinary Medicine

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