What’s really in your pet’s vitamins? Consumer watchdog warns of gaps in pet supplement safety

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With more Koreans welcoming dogs and cats into their homes, the market for pet health products is booming. Shelves and online platforms now offer everything from joint-support chews to vision-protecting powders, promising to boost pets’ well-being much like human health supplements. Yet behind the glossy packaging, questions are mounting over whether these products actually deliver on their claims.

Kim Jun-hee, a 24-year-old office worker, began giving her dog an expensive urinary health supplement after the outdoor-trained pet repeatedly urinated indoors while sleeping. Nearly six months later, she remains unsure whether it has had any effect. “Sometimes I wonder if it’s really doing anything,” she said.

Nearly one in four Korean households now includes a companion animal, and spending on pet nutrition and wellness products is surging. According to a 2023 report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the domestic pet industry grew from about 810 billion won ($591 million) in 2010 to roughly 7.8 trillion won in 2022, and government projections put its value at more than 19 trillion won by 2032. More owners are turning to supplements to support the health of their animals’ joints, vision and immune systems — but new findings suggest many of these products fall short.

According to the Korea Consumer Agency’s Pet Supplement Safety Survey released on April 15, some pet nutritional supplements sold in Korea contain far lower levels of functional ingredients than indicated on their packaging, while others feature advertising claims that could mislead consumers about their effect on disease prevention and treatment.

Pet health products, including nutritional supplements, are displayed at a large supermarket in Seoul, May 21. Yonhap

The survey revealed that eight out of 20 pet supplements sold online and in stores had active ingredient levels between just 1 percent and 38 percent of the amounts stated on their labels. In one case, a joint health supplement for glucosamine, used to support joint health and mobility, contained none of the active ingredient at all, despite claiming 30 milligrams per gram on its packaging.

Other products showed similar discrepancies. A breath-health supplement claiming 100 milligrams per gram of EPA/DHA was found to contain only 1 milligram per gram, while several products, including colostrum powder to enhance immunity, organic vitamins and probiotics, had functional ingredients at less than 10 percent of their declared amounts.

The consumer watchdog also found excessive levels of selenium in one product. Velvet My View Dog, a multivitamin supplement, contained 6 parts per million (ppm) of the mineral — three times the maximum 2 ppm permitted under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs feed standards. Excessive selenium intake can cause vomiting, diarrhea and hair loss in animals.

Vitamin content was also inconsistent. Of 17 products labeled as containing vitamins A and D, 11 had no detectable vitamin D and four had neither vitamin. The consumer agency attributed the issue to poor quality control of premixed vitamin additives.

Misleading marketing was widespread. Among 100 online ads examined, 67 used disease treatment or prevention claims such as “liver regeneration,” “cataract suppression” and “patellar dislocation prevention,” despite a lack of scientific evidence. Under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ “Standards and Specifications for Feed and Feed Additives,” pet supplements may not be marketed with medical claims that could make them appear to be veterinary drugs.

The consumer watchdog said it has urged manufacturers of the eight problematic products to improve labeling and quality control and instructed sellers to revise or remove misleading ads. It also asked the agriculture ministry to establish clearer standards for functional ingredients in pet supplements and strengthen oversight of labeling and advertising.

As demand for pet supplements continues to climb, the consumer agency’s findings underscore the need for tighter regulation and greater transparency in a fast-growing industry that remains largely self-policed.