Pesach Faqs

Q. The pet foods recommended in the cRc Pesach Guide are not available where we live. What do we need to do to be able to use other brands on Pesach? Can we check the ingredients and just be sure to purchase before Pesach?

A. On Pesach, a Jewish person may not eat, own, or derive benefit from chametz which is fit for human or canine consumption, and owning chametz pet food to feed to an animal (even if the animal belongs to someone else or is ownerless) is a violation of the latter two of those restrictions. Ashkenazic Jews have a custom to not eat kitnios, but they may own and derive benefit from them (Rema 453:1 and Mishnah Berurah 453:10). When the cRc "certifies" pet food for Pesach, it means that we visit the factory to determine which formulas are chametz-free, which relieves the consumer of that responsibility. However, if no certified pet food is available, you would have to carefully read the ingredient panel so as to determine if the product contains any chametz (and many pet foods, in fact, do). The following are some pointers when reading the ingredient panel:

[1] In addition to checking for the five chametz grains - wheat, barley, rye, oats and spelt - you should also be on the lookout for brewer's yeast (a common flavoring agent, which is chametz), grain distillers dried yeast (likely chametz), malt (a barley-based sweetener), pasta, xanthan gum (a thickener which may be fermented from chametz) and other generic words which may refer to a chametz ingredient (e.g. flour, gluten, middlings, starch).

[2] Many varieties of animal feed contain a multitude of vitamins, minerals and amino acids some of which may well be chametz and there is no realistic way for a consumer to determine which of them are problematic. [Aside from items listed as being a vitamin (e.g. Vitamin D3), the following is a limited list of "vitamins" included in pet foods (and covered by the statement made in the text): ascorbic acid, beta carotene, biotin, d-pantothenic acid, folic acid, menadione, niacin, pyridoxine, riboflavin, and thiamine.] However, the good news is that vitamins comprise such a small percentage of the animal food that the vitamins are batel. Therefore, it is generally accepted that if the animal food was created before Pesach it may be used on Pesach.

[3] Some common ingredients used in pet food which do NOT pose a Pesach concern are: [a] Meat, poultry and fish products. [b] Vegetables, such as alfalfa, asparagus, beets, and carrots. [c] Assorted kitnios foods, such as buckwheat, corn products, lentils, millet, peas, rice, peanuts, sunflower seeds and soy products. [d] Other items such as barley grass, BHA, BHT, carrageenan, cellulose, colors, eggs, gums (other than xanthan gum), kelp, lactose, linseed, milk products, molasses, oils, psyllium, and whey.

By no means do these pointers cover all of the ingredients used in pet food, and you might want to be in touch with a kashrus professional if you are unsure about any of the other ingredients in a given pet food.

It is also worth noting that one is also forbidden from feeding basar b'chalav (a mixture of milk and meat) to an animal, at any point during the year. cRc approved pet foods do not contain basar b'chalav and if you are unable to obtain those pet foods you might want to consult with a Rabbi who can help you choose an appropriate pet food for year-round use.