“Safe” Food Recommendations
Some of our customers have been telling us their pet health care providers are saying the only safe foods are the ones they are selling. Here is some history on those ‘safe’ foods:
Purina…. An FDA investigation in 2013 found “above the allowable level” of cyanuric acid and melamine in one of their lines of foods. Cynauric acid and melamine are the deadly combination responsible for the largest pet food recall in history in 2007. “Six samples collected contained ethoxyquin, however, the additive was not indicated on the product labeling.” Purina told the FDA they perform “routine contamination analysis.” The manufacturing facility was “unable to provide the actual content or weights of individual ingredients that went into the implicated lots.”
Hills Science Diet…. How about their quality assurance program? On January 31, 2019 Hills announced a recall for excessive levels of Vitamin D. A bit of a let down in quality assurance testing on incoming ingredients, perhaps (Vitamin Premix)? Or in the finished pet foods that your vet is selling. Seven weeks later they announced another excess Vitamin D recall. Very high amounts of vitamin D can have a number of serious health effects on dogs, including kidney disease and even death. Symptoms of vitamin D poisoning in dogs include vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst, increased urination, excessive drooling and weight loss.
Royal Canin and Eukanuba…. Both of these are Mars Petcare brands. In 2017, FDA performed an inspection at a Mars Petcare manufacturing facility as a followup to a 2016 Mars Petcare recall. That recall was due to plastic pieces discovered in pet food by consumers. In the 2017 inspection the FDA stated as “Inspectional Observations” there was a “failure to inspect, segregate, or otherwise handle raw materials and ingredients used in manufacturing under conditions that will protect the animal food against contamination and minimize deterioration. They also noted the “failure to take effective measures to exclude pests from your plant and protect against contamination of animal food by pests.”
So here are a couple dog foods ingredient lists. Which would you rather feed based on the recipe?
ACANA Meadowland features a rich variety of quality ingredients that are raised or fished by
people we know and trust, and delivered to our Kentucky DogStar Kitchen fresh or raw!
Deboned chicken, deboned turkey, chicken liver, turkey giblets, chicken meal, catfish meal, whole red lentils, whole pinto beans, whole green peas, pollock meal, chicken fat, whole green lentils, whole chickpeas, lentil fiber, whole blue catfish, cage-free eggs, rainbow trout, pollock oil, natural chicken flavor, chicken heart, chicken cartilage, whole pumpkin, whole butternut squash, mixed tocopherols (preservative), sea salt, zinc proteinate, dried kelp, calcium pantothenate, kale, spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, turnip greens, whole carrots, whole apples, whole pears, freeze-dried chicken liver, freeze-dried turkey liver, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, copper proteinate, chicory root, turmeric, sarsaparilla root, althea root, rosehips, juniper berries, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried bifidobacterium animalis fermentation product, dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product.
Typical Royal Canin Diet .
Brewers rice, chicken by-product meal, brown rice, oat groats, chicken fat, pork meal, natural flavors, powdered cellulose, dried plain beet pulp, wheat gluten, fish oil, vegetable oil, sodium silico aluminate, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, L-tyrosine, sodium tripolyphosphate, vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), niacin supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin A acetate, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], salt, monocalcium phosphate, hydrolyzed yeast, choline chloride, DL-methionine, taurine, glucosamine hydrochloride, marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), trace minerals [zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, copper proteinate], magnesium oxide, green tea extract, chondroitin sulfate, rosemary extract, preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid.
Typical Hills Science Diet ….
High quality protein and thoughtfully sourced ingredients. Hmmm….
Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Sorghum, Brown Rice, Whole Grain Wheat, Cracked Pearled Barley, Soybean Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Fat, Chicken Liver Flavor, Soybean Oil, Corn Gluten Meal, Fish Oil, Flaxseed, Lactic Acid, Pork Liver Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Iodized Salt, Calcium Carbonate, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, L-Lysine, Oat Fiber, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Natural Flavors, L-Carnitine, Beta-Carotene, Apples, Broccoli, Carrots, Cranberries, Green Peas.
NONE of the dry, dog food kibble we sell has ever been recalled by the FDA!
