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Ingredient file // Preservative

Mixed Tocopherols and BHA

Useful fat protection with a real BHA caveat

Mixed tocopherols are recovered from vegetable oils; BHA is manufactured. Both slow the oxidation that makes kibble fat rancid. Their job is to preserve the food your dog eats. The ingredient line does not show how much BHA is present.

What it is
Two antioxidants used to slow rancidity: a vegetable oil extract and manufactured BHA.
Made from
Vegetable oil distillate and manufactured BHA
Main job
Protect fats during storage
Typical amount
Not published
Watch for
Long-term BHA risk remains unsettled
Not the same as
Vitamin E supplement

Our read // In our catalog

In 1 of every 113 foods we track

Share of foods that list it

1%

23 of the 2,595 foods with an ingredient list on file, from 1 brand. All dry dog food.

Each square is 1% of the catalog

Where it sits on the label

Median position 38. In the top five of 0 foods, so it is usually a minor ingredient.

Top five List position, heaviest first

Above the salt

0%

Usually listed after the salt, which caps it at roughly 1% of the recipe in 100% of foods.

Price per lb

Foods with it $2.17
All foods $3.23

Median of the cheapest bag price across 22 priced foods, 33% below the catalog. The price is the food's, not the ingredient's.

Who leans on it

100%

of the foods that list it are from Bil-Jac. 1 brand use it in total.

What it is

How it is made

Vegetable oil refining leaves a distillate containing tocopherols that processors recover. BHA comes from chemical manufacture. Pet food makers use these additives to slow oxidation in fats and finished food during storage.3,4,5,8

  1. 01 // Source Oil and chemicals Vegetable oil refining supplies tocopherol-rich distillate; chemical starting materials supply BHA manufacture.
  2. 02 // Process Recover tocopherols Extraction and distillation concentrate the tocopherols, which processors may standardize with vegetable oil.
  3. 03 // Process Make BHA Manufacturers produce BHA by reacting chemical starting materials, then prepare it for use as an antioxidant.
  4. 04 // Output Preservative additives The tocopherol extract and BHA reach pet food makers as fat-compatible antioxidant ingredients.

What is in it

Composition, as fed

87.4

% tocopherols

The mean in tested tocopherol extract batches. This measures the additive before use, not its concentration in kibble.

Total tocopherols in extract 78.3-95.4%3
Gamma tocopherol, batch mean 54.1%3
Delta tocopherol, batch mean 20.9%3
Alpha tocopherol, batch mean 11%3

These are measurements of tocopherol extract as supplied. The individual forms are batch means, not ranges. BHA was assessed separately, and an ingredient list gives neither the proportions of a combined blend nor the amount in kibble.2,3

Why it is in the bag

What the manufacturer gets

  1. 01

    Slows fat oxidation

    Both additives interrupt the reactions that make fats smell and taste rancid. In a dog food storage trial, preservative choice changed peroxide levels.1,8

  2. 02

    Protects stored food

    Manufacturers add antioxidants to fatty ingredients and finished food so oxidation proceeds more slowly through shipping and storage. Preservatives do not stop it indefinitely.1,8

  3. 03

    Controls preservation cost

    A pet food industry review describes tocopherols as more expensive than synthetic antioxidants. Using BHA gives manufacturers another way to balance preservation performance and cost.8

How much The usual amount of this combination is unpublished; the U.S. BHA rule limits total antioxidants to 0.02% of the food's fat or oil.7

Our read // The claims

What the evidence supports

Strong: controlled studies in dogs agree. Some: small or mixed dog data. Thin: mechanism or lab work only. None: nothing, or the evidence points the other way.

  1. Brands say

    Mixed tocopherols and BHA keep kibble fats fresh

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    A dog food trial compared 3 preservative systems over 12 months. Peroxide levels rose more in the tocopherol systems than in the BHA and ethoxyquin system. It did not test this exact combination.1

  2. Brands say

    BHA is safe at regulated pet food levels

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    A European feed review judged 150 mg BHA per kg of complete feed safe for dogs using limited tolerance data. The reviewed dog studies lasted 6 to 12 months, so a categorical lifetime safety claim goes further.2

  3. Brands say

    Mixed tocopherols give dogs an antioxidant health boost

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    The tested extract averaged 11% alpha tocopherol. That is an assay of the preservative concentrate, not a measured dose in kibble. The cited dog trial measured food stability and preference, not a health benefit.1,3

  4. Owners say

    BHA in dog food causes cancer

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    FDA cites animal cancer studies in its human-food reassessment. A feed safety review considered 3 dog studies lasting 6 to 12 months, which cannot answer lifetime cancer risk at pet food doses. This claim is unproven in dogs.2,6

Straight answers

What owners ask

  1. Q01

    Is it just filler?

    No

    These ingredients slow fat oxidation while food is stored. They are used for preservation, not to supply protein, calories or bulk.1,3,8

  2. Q02

    Does tocopherols mean enough vitamin E?

    No

    Mixed tocopherols include alpha tocopherol, but an ingredient list does not disclose how much the dog gets. Check the food's stated vitamin E content to judge its nutritional supply.3

  3. Q03

    Should BHA make me switch foods?

    Not automatically

    The dog safety review supports controlled use, while FDA is reassessing BHA for human food. If you prefer to avoid it, choose another complete food. This ingredient line cannot measure your dog's exposure.2,6,7

Who uses it

Brands, best sellers and the company it keeps

Top brands, by foods that list it

  1. Bil-Jac 23

Usually listed with, share of the foods that list it

  1. Chicken 100%
  2. Dried Beet Pulp 100%
  3. Brewers Dried Yeast 100%
  4. Chicken By-Product 96%
  5. Corn Meal 96%
  6. Oatmeal 96%
  7. Chicken By-Product Meal 74%
  8. Choline Chloride 74%
  9. Flaxseed 52%
  10. Menhaden Fish Meal 48%
  11. Salt 39%
  12. Monocalcium Phosphate 26%

Our read // On the bag

Read them as preservatives, then check freshness

Mixed tocopherols and BHA near the end of the list tell you how fats are protected. They do not tell you how nutritious the food is or how much BHA it contains. Check the food's nutrient information and freshness date. If you want to avoid BHA, choose a food naming another preservative system.

Sources

What we read

Checked October 1, 2026.

  1. 1 Effect of three different preservative systems on the stability of extruded dog food subjected to ambient and high temperature storage The Journal of Nutrition, 1994 // Journal
  2. 2 Safety and efficacy of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) as a feed additive for all animal species EFSA Journal, 2018 // Journal
  3. 3 Scientific Opinion on the safety and efficacy of tocopherol-rich extracts of natural origin, tocopherol-rich extracts of natural origin/delta rich, synthetic tocopherol for all animal species EFSA Journal, 2012 // Journal
  4. 4 Technical Evaluation Report: Tocopherols U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2015 // Government
  5. 5 Butylated hydroxyanisole and related antioxidants - Evaluation statement Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme, 2022 // Government
  6. 6 FDA Launches Assessment of BHA, a Common Food Chemical Preservative U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2026 // Government
  7. 7 21 CFR 582.3169 Butylated hydroxyanisole Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 2026 // Regulator
  8. 8 Antioxidant options PetfoodIndustry, 2008 // Industry
An ingredient on its own tells you very little. What matters is how much of it there is and where it sits in the list. That is why we weigh the top five rather than reacting to any single name further down. Back to the wiki

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