Ethoxyquin?

[Capt Dave]

Is this stuff as bad as some people say? Is there a food that is commercial that does not contain this preservative? Thanks in advance!

[MatsP]

Like everything it's probably somewhere between what those for and against the product say. Wikipedia is usually a "neutral" source of information on these sort of thing (you can always look at the history to see if/how it has been changed)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethoxyquin

I'd suspect that it's not particularly hard to find food WITHOUT this. What type of fish are you trying to find good for?

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Mats

[Capt Dave]

any fish... in the US it is a law that any vessel coming to US waters carring fish meal for anything other than human consumption has to be preserved with this stuff...i guess thats why it is tough to find food without it here

[MatsP]

We have a huge number of US members (I think it's the larges single country, but I'm not sure), and this is the first time I've heard of this particular problem. I'm pretty sure it's not a big issue.

Of course, for many Loricariidae, you want more of a low-protein diet and I would hope live food and freshly cooked (or raw) shrimps, mussels etc are free of it, so those are alternatives without this preservative. And for sure, don't feed your fish with dogfood!

I had a look at the tubs of food I've got around, and most do not specify what preservatives they use, but the JBL specifies "Contains E-colours and antioxidant E306 (Vitamin E)", so I suspect JBL isn't using it - not sure if JBL is imported to the US (or if it's a different formulation, for that matter).

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Mats

[Mike_Noren]

I couldn't find much information about the effect of ethoxyquin on fish, but while it apparently does have some effect on the liver and may be accumulated in musculature, it doesn't seem a major concern.

That said, if you want ethoxyquin-free feed for your fish, you could always make your own, for instance shrimp mix.

[corydoras]

A food manufacturer only has to declare an additive (including antioxidants such as ethoxyquin) if they have added it in their recipe. They do not have to declare it if a supplier has added it to one of the raw materials. Therefore, just because it isn't stated on the label doesn't mean it isn't there.

As ethoxyquin is the antioxidant of choice for the fish meal industry including the UK and Europe, it is probably unusual to find a food that doesn't contain a residual amount if fish meal is in the recipe list.

Matt

[corydoras]

Oh and it is likely to appear on European labels as "contains EEC permitted preservatives" rather than be specifically named.

Matt

[Capt Dave]

I contacted hikari because i did not see ethoxyquin on their ingredient list and they said their food does not have it in there. I dont know weather to believe them or not

[MatsP]

Why are you so worried about this. I would suggest you mix your food with some fresh food of suitable type for your fish and stop worrying.

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Mats

[Capt Dave]

if i seem overly concerned i am not. I have a tendency of researching the heck out of things that i have an interest in. i feed mostly fresh foods anyway so it should not be an issue.I contacted Hikari mostly out of curiousity as to what their response would be and i figured i would post their response just in case others on the forum were wondering about this. BTW how is your big L190 doin Matt?