In a news update from 10/12/06 (which has been removed from the News Archive as of today), I posted that menadione had been removed from Blue Buffalo dog food products labeled with a "Best used by" date of October 07 and thereafter.
Unfortunately this information appears to be incorrect, and menadione is apparently still present in at least some, if not all of Blue Buffalo's dry and canned dog and cat foods, as well as "health bar" biscuits.
I keep hearing from people who called Blue Buffalo customer service to ask about menadione, telling me that the representative claimed they were "required by law" to include it, which is simply not true. Menadione also still appears on ingredient lists throughout Blue Buffalo's website and on product packaging.
In the copy of the official AAFCO publication I have here on my desk, no mandated minimum requirement of vitamin K is listed for any dog food products at all [1]. There is a conditional minimum of 0.1 milligram per kilogram dry matter basis [2] in fish-based cat foods, but of course it does not mandate that a menadione compound must be used. Many other pet food companies rely on naturally vitamin K rich food ingredients or a natural vitamin K supplement, for example the kind that is used to fortify human baby food.
[1] see official AAFCO Publication, table on page 133 and text on page 136, first paragraph
[2] see official AAFCO Publication, table on page 138 and text on page 140, first paragraph
If you are concerned about menadione in your dog's diet, it's probably best to avoid these Blue Buffalo products as long as you still see either menadione in any form or "vitamin K supplement" listed on the label.
Not that I'm very happy with the state of pet food regulation in this country to begin with, but it would be nice if we could rely on all companies at least being familiar with the AAFCO manual.
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione
