Do you usually read labels when you buy pet food or pet treats?

I'm looking at a dog treat package right now, which a friend gave me for my dog. It was very nice of her. She insisted on my keeping the package. I couldn't say no, so I said thank you and brought it back home. I haven't opened it, and chances are I won't.

The reason is the ingredients listed on the label. Some of the ingredients I noticed in this semi-moist dog treat are propylene glycol and BHA ("BHA" actually shows up twice in the ingredients list).

FDA (The Food and Drug Administration) classifies these chemicals as "generally recognized as safe", but they are chemicals, after all, aren't they? Our bodies (and those of our pets, whose bodies are smaller than ours) have to work extra hard to break down these foreign substances.

Many pet foods on the market use these chemicals in their ingredients. Do our pets really need them in every meal they eat? Small things (food additives in this case) can add up, and foods are in direct contact with the body's insides!

It is a good thing that more and more pet food manufacturers (the kinds that make premium pet foods) try to NOT use chemical preservatives (such as BHA and propylene glycol) in their pet foods.

If there was a safer and healthier alternative, you'd feel more comfortable, wouldn't you?

There are more questionable ingredients on the list of the dog treat package, but these two chemicals (propylene glycol and BHA) are enough for me not to give this treat to my dog no matter how attractive the smell is and how badly my dog begs me for it.