Most 'prescription/therapeutic' diets - those available only through vets - do NOT have robust clinical feeding studies supporting their safety for long-term feeding or even for use in treating the various diseases they target.
That there is no independent agency overseeing these diets' medical claims. None. Zero.
Including the FDA.
The FDA has 'punted' the responsibility of scrutinizing these diets for efficacy, safety, and suitability to the veterinarian but most veterinarians are very poorly educated in the area of nutrition. This field of study is not emphasized in veterinary schools and the minimal course work that is required, is often taught by people who have strong ties to the pet food industry.
(Credit today goes to Dr. Lisa Pierson, whose work I've paraphrased above. Her thoughtful, meticulously researched, and dispassionate work on this subject drives home something all of us who serve as feeding staff to cats need to know.)
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That there is no independent agency overseeing these diets' medical claims. None. Zero.
Including the FDA.
The FDA has 'punted' the responsibility of scrutinizing these diets for efficacy, safety, and suitability to the veterinarian but most veterinarians are very poorly educated in the area of nutrition. This field of study is not emphasized in veterinary schools and the minimal course work that is required, is often taught by people who have strong ties to the pet food industry.
(Credit today goes to Dr. Lisa Pierson, whose work I've paraphrased above. Her thoughtful, meticulously researched, and dispassionate work on this subject drives home something all of us who serve as feeding staff to cats need to know.)
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