ethoxyquin
Ethoxyquin is a preservative under long-running FDA scrutiny, largely abandoned by premium pet food brands. How Bowlmark scores it.
Also appears on labels as: ethoxyquin (a preservative) · e324
What it is
Ethoxyquin is a synthetic preservative, originally developed as a rubber stabilizer, used for decades to protect fats and fish meal from oxidation. It has been under long-running FDA scrutiny, and most premium brands abandoned it years ago.
Why it's in pet food
Its most common route into pet food today is indirect: fish meal is often preserved with ethoxyquin before it reaches the manufacturer, and that upstream use does not always appear on the finished label. When it is on the label, Bowlmark counts it — and only then, because the engine scores what the label says, never what it suspects.
How Bowlmark scores it
Scores are deterministic math over the printed label — the rules below apply to every product identically, and nothing estimates or fills in a blank.
The additive pillar deducts 40 points when ethoxyquin appears on the label — the largest single preservative deduction in the engine, shown as a warning flag.
Common questions
Answers come from this entry and the scoring rules above — reviewed before publish, like everything else on this page. For anything about your own pet, your vet knows best.
What is ethoxyquin and why is it controversial?
Ethoxyquin is a synthetic preservative — originally developed as a rubber stabilizer — used for decades to protect fats and fish meal from oxidation. It has been under long-running FDA scrutiny, and most premium brands abandoned it years ago.
Why doesn't ethoxyquin always appear on labels?
Its most common route into pet food today is indirect: fish meal is often preserved with ethoxyquin before it reaches the manufacturer, and that upstream use does not always appear on the finished label. Bowlmark counts it only when it is on the label — the engine scores what the label says, never what it suspects.
How does Bowlmark score ethoxyquin?
The additive pillar deducts 40 points when ethoxyquin appears on the label — the largest single preservative deduction in the engine, shown as a warning flag.
Foods that list ethoxyquin
No food on the shelf lists ethoxyquin yet. Scan a bag that does and its label joins the catalog — versioned from the day it arrives.
Sources
Related ingredients
Further reading
Cite this page
Bowlmark. "Ethoxyquin in pet food — what it is and how it scores." https://www.bowlmark.com/ingredient/ethoxyquin
- Engine
- Methodology engine v1.1.0 · config 13c99e2f
- Verified
- Last verified August 21, 2026
No stored score to stamp yet — the engine and config above are the ones a scan runs today.