# Sodium Bisulfate



## dorasdaddy (Dec 23, 2008)

Yesterday in response to the buzz on here i sent an email to Castor&Pollux since they are a small family owned company. Here is their reply in its entirety:


Dear Chad,



Thank you so much for your message. As soon as I read your message I knew there was some confusion between Sodium Bisulfate and Menadione Sodium Bisulfate but I referred your e-mail to our veterinarian and PhD Animal Nutritionist to verify. They have confirmed – first, there is no artificial vitamin K in our formula. Second, Sodium Bisulfate is a very different ingredient from Menadione Sodium Bisulfate (the latter being a synthetic form of Vitamin K). Sodium Bisulfate is included to help promote the proper urine pH needed to maintain a healthy urinary tract in cats. They are two very different ingredients.



I’m sorry that there appears to be misinformation around these two ingredients. Hopefully this has helped clarify the situation in terms of our Natural Ultramix Indoor Feline Formula. It is truly an outstanding diet.



We are a small, family company that is committed to providing safe, healthy, natural and organic products for dogs and cats, We're all pet parents ourselves and take this commitment very, very seriously.



Waggingly,

Shelley Gunton

Co-Owner/"Top Dog"

Castor & Pollux Pet Works

It appears that we have has a slight mix up on our parts, but I am glad it s cleared up before we all started throwing away food needlessly.


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## azyrios (Feb 2, 2009)

I am by no means an expert in this, i am only taking a minor in chemistry, and thus do not know as much as my friend who is a chem major. I asked him about sodium bisulfate and he said ti was pretty much harmless alone, but is most often combined with menadione to make it water soluble. He also told me about how sodium bisulfate has a very low PH and can be used to regulate blood PH. He also proceeded to tell me about menadione as an artificial vitamin K that was banned for human use, but is used int eh pet industry. The problem is menadione by itself is non-polar and thus will not dissolve in water. The companies decided to mix it with sodium bisulfate in order to create a polar molecule. Menadione sodium bisulfate may appear on a package as just "sodium bisulfate" because of that bad rap around menadione.

Whether this is or not true i cannot say, as this is just personal research and i am by no means an expert on it. I am just translating what i am told.

It appears i have erred by saying that all sodium bisulfate was menadione sodium bisulfate and i will fix that in my previous posts.

As Dora did, you will most likely have to call your pet company to see if the sodium bisulfate on the package is really sodium bisulfate or if it is menadione sodium bisulfate. Ask what the use of the sodium bisulfate is to be sure.

Here is some more info:

Sodium bisulfate is NaHSO4
Menadione Sodium Bisulfate is C11H9O5SNa and is arranged in a more

*Menadione Sodium Bisulfate*

*Potential Acute Health Effects:* 
Hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation
(lung irritant).
*Potential Chronic Health Effects:*
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: 3 (Not classifiable for human.) by IARC.
MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Mutagenic for mammalian somatic cells.
TERATOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.
DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY: Not available.
The substance is toxic to kidneys, lungs, liver, mucous membranes.
Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage.

*Sodium Bisulfate*
*Potential Acute Health Effects:*
Very hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. Hazardous in
case of skin contact (corrosive, permeator). The amount of tissue damage depends on length of contact. Eye
contact can result in corneal damage or blindness. Skin contact can produce inflammation and blistering.
Inhalation of dust will produce irritation to gastro-intestinal or respiratory tract, characterized by burning, sneezing
and coughing. Severe over-exposure can produce lung damage, choking, unconsciousness or death.
Inflammation of the eye is characterized by redness, watering, and itching. Skin inflammation is characterized by
itching, scaling, reddening, or, occasionally, blistering.
*Potential Chronic Health Effects:*
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.
MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Mutagenic for bacteria and/or yeast.
TERATOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.

From what more research i have done, the Sodium Bisulfate is added to the Menadione in order to make it water soluble.

Menadione on it's own is what triggers the production of vitamin K, the sodium bisulfate is just sued to allow it to disolve in water. Sodium Bisulfate by itself is not toxic, and does have a very acidic tendency, and in the right concentrations can be as acidic as sulfuric acid from which it is derived.

Menadione on its own has a chemical structure of C11H8O2 allowing the sodium bisulfate to drop an oxygen and latch onto the menadione group.

Now sodium bisulfate in itself is not hazardous, but Menadione Sodium Bisulfate and legally be placed in the ingredients list of a pet food as "Sodium Bisulfate" as that is a more common chemical name for the substance.

As stated by Susan Thixton:
"Some pet food ingredient lists will say 'menadione', some will say 'sodium bisulfate', and some will mention vitamin K3 in parenthesis -- and these are just a few of the possible variations you have to look for."

The source has been working on shutting down bad pet food companies for 16 years, you decide how credible her information is for yourself. Her name is Susan Thixton.


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## azyrios (Feb 2, 2009)

This is an edited version of the information i presented earlier. It was brought to my attention more research needed to be done.

*Making NaHSO4*
Sodium Bisulfate is a molecule that is created one of two ways: the most cost effective way is to combine Table Salt and Sulfuric Acid (both cheap and readily available). By creating Sodium Bisulfate in this method Hydrochloric Acid is also produced and is sold to chemical companies to resell, thus making money back off of the purchase of the sulfuric acid. The second way is to use Sodium Hydroxide and Sulfuric Acid in a very precise stoichiometric measurements to create Sodium Bisulfate in Water, but this yields no byproducts that can be sold.

*About NaHSO4*
-Sodium bisulfate is acidic when in solution, and at 1M can produce a PH level of 1.4. Sulfuric acid on the other hand will produce a PH of just under 1 at 1 Molar.
-Sodium Bisulfate can be dissolved in water and ionizes almost completely.
-Sodium Bisulfate can be used to increase the PH level of a system.
-Castor&Pollox say "Sodium Bisulfate is included to help promote the proper urine pH needed to maintain a healthy urinary tract in cats."

It is defined by Answers.com as:


> (inorganic chemistry) NaHSO4 Colorless crystals, soluble in water; the aqueous solution is strongly acidic; decomposes at 315°C; used for flux to decompose minerals, as a disinfectant, and in dyeing and manufacture of magnesia, cements, perfumes, brick, and glue. Also known as niter cake; sodium acid sulfate.


*Menadione*
Menadione is a synthetic molecule used to promote the production of artificial Vitamin K in an organic creature. Menadion by itself has a chemical structure of C11H8O2 and is non-polar and will not dissolve in water. While Menadione is a very cheap form of vitamin K (known as K3) it does have some very serious side effects. Menadione is banned from use in humans as it is known to cause the following chronic health problems as taken from the MSDS sheet for Menadione.


> CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: 3 (Not classifiable for human.) by IARC.
> MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Mutagenic for mammalian somatic cells.
> TERATOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.
> DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY: Not available.
> ...


*Menadion Sodium Bisulfate*
This is the chemical to be wary of. On an ingredient list, as stated by Susan Thixton (a 16 year researcher into bad pet foods):


> Some pet food ingredient lists will say 'menadione', some will say 'sodium bisulfate', and some will mention vitamin K3 in parenthesis -- and these are just a few of the possible variations you have to look for.


The scariest part is:


> There are no restrictions on the use of K3 as an animal grade component of food, and foods can even be classified as natural while they contain this ingredient.


Sodium Bisulfate is combined with Menadione in order to allow it to dissolve in water, which is a polar solution. Without the sodium bisulfate, menadione would not be practical to use in pet foods.

*Reasoning behind using K3*
Menadione Sodium Bisulfate is used as an artificial vitamin K. I assume the pet companies use the NaHS04 (Known as Vitamin K3) to boost the Vitamin K levels. Sodium Bisulfate is much cheaper than natural Vitamin K (Known as Vitamin K1)

Vitamin K deficiencies lead to blood clotting in the stomach and can cause intestinal problems. Doing a quick search vets use natural Vitamin K (K1) as a shot to help cats and dogs who have ingested rat poison which causes internal bleeding.

Pet companies then begin looking to add Vitamin K to their food in order to help prevent internal bleeding in cats and dogs and help to keep their intestines cleansed, but no where does is describe the recommended amount of Vitamin K needed in dogs or cats.

*Natural Vitamin K (K1)*
Natural Vitamin K (K1) Comes from leafy greens like lettuce, but these greens provide little other nutritional benefits and i assume it is to hard to extract the Vitamin K (K1).

A good source of Vitamin K (K1) for pet foods is found in alfalfa (which Mika feeds to her birthing mothers as it prevents internal bleeding) and kelp. It is much to expensive for many pet food companies to put fresh alfalfa into their foods or take the time to extract the K1, so they decided to use the VERY inexpensive K3, which can be produced one of two ways.

*Is Menadione Sodium Bisulfate in your Pet's Food?*
Chances are... NO
Partially because of Susan Thixton's pet food crusade Menadione was getting a bad rap, and companies began taking it out of their pet food. Some companies however hid it as Vitamin K (without specifying if it was natural or not) or just as Sodium Bisulfate.

The only way to be sure is to directly contact you pet food company and ask if they have Menadione or artificial vitamin K in their food. Foods to keep an eye on are ones that contain Sodium Bisulfate as it may be written as such to disguise the Menadione. If your pet food contains Sodium Bisulfate it is best to ask your pet food company what the use of the sodium bisulfate is for.

*Here is some more info:*

Sodium bisulfate is NaHSO4
Menadione Sodium Bisulfate is C11H9O5SNa and is arranged in a more aromatic fashion

*Menadione Sodium Bisulfate*

*Potential Acute Health Effects:* 
Hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation
(lung irritant).
*Potential Chronic Health Effects:*
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: 3 (Not classifiable for human.) by IARC.
MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Mutagenic for mammalian somatic cells.
TERATOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.
DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY: Not available.
The substance is toxic to kidneys, lungs, liver, mucous membranes.
Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage.

*Sodium Bisulfate*
*Potential Acute Health Effects:*
Very hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. Hazardous in
case of skin contact (corrosive, permeator). The amount of tissue damage depends on length of contact. Eye
contact can result in corneal damage or blindness. Skin contact can produce inflammation and blistering.
Inhalation of dust will produce irritation to gastro-intestinal or respiratory tract, characterized by burning, sneezing
and coughing. Severe over-exposure can produce lung damage, choking, unconsciousness or death.
Inflammation of the eye is characterized by redness, watering, and itching. Skin inflammation is characterized by
itching, scaling, reddening, or, occasionally, blistering.
*Potential Chronic Health Effects:*
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.
MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Mutagenic for bacteria and/or yeast.
TERATOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.

From what more research i have done, the Sodium Bisulfate is added to the Menadione in order to make it water soluble.

Menadione on it's own is what triggers the production of vitamin K, the sodium bisulfate is just sued to allow it to disolve in water. Sodium Bisulfate by itself is not toxic, and does have a very acidic tendency, and in the right concentrations can be as acidic as sulfuric acid from which it is derived.

Menadione on its own has a chemical structure of C11H8O2 allowing the sodium bisulfate to drop an oxygen and latch onto the menadione group.

Now sodium bisulfate in itself is not hazardous, but Menadione Sodium Bisulfate and legally be placed in the ingredients list of a pet food as "Sodium Bisulfate" as that is a more common chemical name for the substance.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Thank you both for the informational posts. I don't think I'll be feeding any food with that in it, without quadruple checking beforehand. :lol:


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Here is what I recieved from a Chicken Soup from the Pet Lover's Soul's person (one of their vets)

Dear Kimberly,

Menadione sodium bisulfate and sodium bisulfate are two very different
ingredients and are not interchangeable. It is not possible to interchange
these two. We do use sodium bisulfate as a urinary acidifier so that our
foods produce the proper urine pH. We do not use menadione sodium bisulfate
or any other synthetic vitamin K supplement.

Sincerely,
Dr. Brookshire



So, the Chicken Soup foods should be fine! *takes a breather*


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## drpepperheather (Dec 19, 2008)

I also wanted to pop in to say that I have sent an email to Nutro (who I work for) because I just checked and every formula they offer contains Menadione Sodium Bisulfate as one of the last ingredients. Once I hear back I too will update...


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