Pet Food Detail

I have asked the manufacturer of each of our pet foods to answer specific questions about their products. As the responses come in I will post them in this section so you can make an informed decision when purchasing food for your cats and dogs.

There are two pet food lines we have pulled from our shelves and will no longer be selling: Evangers and Solid Gold.

In 2009 the FDA took action against Evangers because, according to the FDA, "Evanger's, operating in Wheeling, Illinois, deviated from the prescribed process, equipment, product shipment, and recordkeeping requirements in the production of the company's thermally processed low acid canned food (LACF) products. The deviations in their processes and documentation could result in under-processed pet foods, which can allow the survival and growth of Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum), a bacterium that causes botulism in some animals as well as in humans."

When I contacted Evangers about the action, they were less than forthright with their answers. Information from Evangers contrasted starkly with information I received from the FDA spokesperson. Based on my correspondence with Evangers I was unsure about the honesty and integrity of the company so I pulled all of their products from our shelves. (Interestingly, in March of 2010 the owners of Evangers were arrested. They were charged with felony theft and money laundering for illegally diverting $2 million in utilities to their company over a period of several years.)

Solid Gold has failed to respond to numerous requests for answers to my questionnaire. One of the questions I asked is about the preservative used in their fish meal. Although Solid Gold has not responded, I have been able to ascertain that their fish meal is treated with ethoxyquin. The following is an article by Jean Dodds, DVM on ethoxyquin:

"Many pet food manufacturers use ethoxyquin because of it's excellent anti-oxidant qualities, high stability and reputed safety. However, an ongoing controversy surrounds issues related to its safety when repeatedly fed at permitted amounts in dog foods, particularly when fed to genetically susceptible breeds of inbred or closely linebred dogs. Toy breeds may be particularly at risk because they ingest proportionately more food and preservative for their size in order to sustain their energy needs.
For human consumption, ethoxyquin is permitted in certain spices to prevent loss of color. Ethoxyquin is permitted in pet foods, fats and oils at levels not exceeding 0.915% in the finished product (e.g. 0.015% as fed basis). It is readily absorbed, metabolized and excreted in urine and feces, with residual levels in liver, gastrointestinal tract and adipose liver.
Ethoxyquin is assigned a toxicity rating of 3 or "moderately toxic", indicating the probable oral lethal human dose is 0.5-5 g/kg, 3- to 33-times the maximum allowed in pet foods. This toxicity rating is slightly greater than ratings for tetracycline and penicillin, lower than for aspirin and caffeine. Susceptibility of laboratory animals to anti-oxidant toxicity increases with the nutritional stress of variable dietary constituents. Increased dietary fat, for example, increases susceptibility to toxicity of ethoxyquin fed to chickens and BHT (as well as DDT) fed to rats. The response in chickens to increased dietary fat appeared to be due to the resultant lowered protein. Chickens fed 17 vs. 23% protein showed increased susceptibility to ethoxyquin toxicity. Ethoxquin levels fed to chickens were, however, almost 17 times the maximum allowable level for pet foods.
In laboratory animals, ethoxquin increased hepatic vitamin A levels 2 to 5 fold, and at levels 3 times that found in pet foods, increased blood vitamin E levels 2 fold. These data suggest that ethoxyquin assumes some in vivo anti-oxidant activities and thus spares natural anti-oxidants such as vitamin E.
Since the late 1980's, the incidence of chronic disorders in purebred dogs appears to have increased. These disorders include dysfunction of liver, kidney and thyroid, reproductive problems, autoimmune diseases and other immune dysfunction, birth defects in pups, increased stillbirths and neonatal mortalities, neoplasia, allergies and problems with skin and coat condition. Most concerns have focused on inbred or closely linebred dog families.
Suspicions about the safety of ethoxyquin and any association with these disorders would be difficult to corroborate because the affected animals may have received drugs or other medications to treat their symptoms and other diseases may be present. Furthermore, ethoxyquin has been used in some animal feeds since 1959, some years before the controversy arose. Nevertheless, the additive or cumulative effects of several environmental insults, could explain the increasing frequency of debilitating illnesses in these dogs. Cumulative effects of metabolites and their interactions may place inbred or closely linebred dogs exposed to other inducing agents at significantly increased risk. The Food and Drug Administration of the USA Center for Veterinary Medicine states, however, that there is insufficient scientific evidence to show that ethoxyquin is unsafe when used at approved levels or to warrant action against its use in pet foods. Future studies incorporating modern toxicological techniques, appropriate medical and epidemiological assessment of cases and consideration of multifactorial interactions in inbred or closely linebred dogs, should help to clarify the issue. Indeed, for the majority of dogs, health risks from the ingestion of inadequately preserved rancid fats might be more harmful than risks from the potential adverse effects of ethoxyquin. "

Nature's Logic

Do all ingredients in the pet food including vitamins and minerals originate from U.S. sources? If no, what ingredients from what country? We are the only product line in the world that uses no added vitamins. Our special food ingredients supply all the necessary nutrients naturally. All ingredients come from the USA except for millet from Canada, sardine oil Norway, venison and lamb from Australian and New Zealand.
Do the meat meal ingredients such as chicken meal include bones and internal organs? Can include some bone and skin but no organs or guts.
What is the preservative used by your supplier for fish meal? Not the preservative you use, I would like to know what preservative is used by the supplier of your fish meal. Our fish meal manufacturer preserves our meal with natural Tocopherols.
Are the meat ingredients human grade/quality or pet grade/quality? Human
What is the shelf life of your foods? 18 months. We have never had any rancid or moldy food.
Where are your foods made? Do you have your own manufacturing facility? If not, who makes your foods? Menu, Pied Piper, Ameri-Pac
Does this manufacturing plant have any special certifications to assure the safety of the food? EU, USDA Organic, American Baking Institute, APHIS, Canadian Health Department Approved.
Do your canned foods have a BPA lining? 5.5 oz do not. 13.2 oz cans do but are being changed in 2010 along with everybody elses at Menu.
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Natura

(Evo, Innova, California Natural & Healthwise)

Dear Jo,

Thank you for contacting Natura Pet Products. Natura’s goal remains to domestically source all ingredients. For many ingredients Natura does. Unfortunately, after an exhaustive search, some ingredients simply cannot be sourced from within the U.S. as they just are not available. For example, our venison is currently sourced from New Zealand. Many food safety precautions are in place due to concerns raised by the use of foreign ingredients. Some vitamins come from European countries such as Germany or Scotland, nothing from China.

Natura’s venison supplier is a global company that is committed to food safety and actually performs physical audits at the New Zealand manufacturer(s). Currently, Natura does not plan to provide the specific countries of origin for all ingredients.

Natura Pet Products has ramped up their food safety level one more time by sourcing supplements from trusted non-Chinese suppliers as of January 5, 2009. These supplements were once only available from China. The foods we manufactured prior to that date have been perfectly safe based on rigid quality control standards.

Natura was the first pet food company to break the transparency barrier by implementing consumer informational initiatives about our manufacturing processes. We did this because we want our consumers to be completely confident that they are feeding their pets the safest, most healthful products available.

Natura was also the first pet food company to develop testing protocol and guarantee that all of its products are free from melamine and cyanuric acid. We continue to receive numerous certifications by the most respected food safety and quality control agencies and auditing firms in the United States.

Natura’s dedication to quality resulted in finding ingredient sources that provide consumers with even more confidence in our products. We will not compromise on food safety and nutrition because both are so critical to the health of pets. We are committed to seeking out new resources and innovations in order to protect the integrity of our products, advance pet health and bolster consumer confidence.

Natura does not use any type of meat byproducts because of their non-specific origins and questionable nutritional value. In addition, organ byproducts (such as liver) may contain chemical residues and other elements of decomposition which raise serious health questions.

Natura preserves the fat in our dry foods and treats naturally with mixed tocopherols (the family of natural antioxidants that includes vitamin E), and we never add artificial preservatives like ethoxyquin, BHA, and BHT. We test our ingredients to make sure they are free from chemical preservatives such as BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin to laboratory standards.

We prefer the term “high quality” over human grade. This is to respond to your query regarding the quality of ingredients used in Natura pet foods and to specifically address your request to validate our use of “human grade” ingredients. Before I can address your question, however, we must clarify the meaning of the term “human grade.” As you are probably aware, there is no official definition for this terminology even though pet food manufacturers have loosely thrown it about in their effort to differentiate their products from traditional pet foods. We all assume that “human grade,” although undefined, means “good” and “high quality.” But we need to be careful here, many foods that are human grade are not “good” and “high quality,” and would not be approved for use in Natura pet foods.

For example, consider the following list of foods that are considered “human grade”:

-Oxtail
-Tripe
-Pigs Feet
-Calves Feet
-Chitterlings
-Hog Snouts
-Chicken Feet
-Head Cheese

All of these foods fall into the “human grade” category because they meet all the basic requirements set by the USDA. Did you know that hot dogs can be as low as 15% raw skeletal muscle meat and can contain meat by-products such as heart, udders, lips, kidney, or liver? “Human grade” by-products? Would that be good enough for your pet? Natura doesn’t believe so.

I want to assure you that all of us at Natura are very caring people and we work very hard to produce the healthiest pet foods in the world. We do that by using “quality” ingredients, not just “human grade”. Natura uses only USDA grade ingredients. We source ingredients worldwide, regardless of the cost, and can confidently say that no other pet food manufacturer is even in the same class as us when it comes to quality.

It is important for you to understand the reason we cannot use the term “human grade” to describe the quality or grade of the ingredients used in our foods on our bags and/or labels. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (governing body over animal feeds) states in their Official Publication:

“No reference to quality or grade of an ingredient shall appear in the ingredient statement of a pet food.”

Although some companies choose to ignore these regulations, Natura follows the rules and does adhere to expected guidelines.

Each bag is date coded with an "expiration" date, which is one year from the date of manufacture. The canned foods were produced 2 years prior to the expiration date on the can. We always recommend using the product by the expiration date to ensure freshness. After opening a bag, we recommend using it within 3 months. Once a can is opened, refrigerate any unused portion and use within 72 hours.

However, just like the food you buy for yourself, our pet foods are affected by natural environmental elements over time. That is why we recommend providing appropriate storage conditions. The natural enemy of food is air, light and heat. The more you can do to minimize exposure to these elements, the longer the pet food will stay fresh and nutritious. To help minimize the exposure, we recommend storing the food in the original packaging.

We have manufacturing plants in California (baking facility), Kansas (canned products) and Fremont Nebraska-Natura Manufacturing Inc. (dry foods).

We have an annual inspection to receive UDSA approval at NMI.

The Natura baking and NMI facilities where all of our baked or dry kibble products are manufactured have regular inspections from the USDA. In addition to this inspection, our plants have also received organic certification from One Cert. Very few pet food manufacturing facilities have obtained such a certification in the United States, or in the world for that matter.

Natura's baking facility has also received a superior certification form AIB (Association of International Bakers), which is the highest certification they offer. AIB has the most stringent guidelines of any certifying agency for baking facilities.

We do own our own new, state-of-the-art, dry food manufacturing plant in Fremont, Nebraska and our own bakery in San Leandro, California.

Our quality control system is second to none in the industry, and as such we’ve been able to achieve 3rd party certifications that, until recently, were reserved for only human food plants. These certifications include:
- AIB Superior Rating Certification
- USDA APHIS Registered
- ISO 9001:2001 Compliant
- ISO 22000: 2005 Compliant
- USDA Organic Production Certification

I hope that this helps illustrate and reinforce the incredible commitment that Natura has made in producing dog & cat foods that are unequalled in ingredient quality, formulation, quality manufacturing and ultimately superior performance and health in the dog and cat.

Our small aluminum cans are free from BPA. Our large 13.2 oz steel cans contain BPA, but we are working with our supplier to find alternative options.

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Merrick & Before Grain

Do all ingredients in the pet food including vitamins and minerals originate from U.S. sources? If no, what ingredients from what country? We get all of our ingredients from the United States except for our lamb and venison which we get from Australia or New Zealand.
Do the meat meal ingredients such as chicken meal include bones and internal organs? No.
What is the preservative used by your supplier for fish meal? Not the preservative you use, I would like to know what preservative is used by the supplier of your fish meal. Our products are ethoxyquin free; our policy is to not use suppliers who use ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT to preserve the raw ingredients. The preservative that is used in our products is Mixed Tocopherols, which is a natural source of Vitamin E.
Are the meat ingredients human grade/quality or pet grade/quality? Merrick uses only the highest quality, all natural, human grade ingredients in our products. We purchase all our meat from USDA inspected facilities to provide animals with nutritious and healthy products.
What is the shelf life of your foods? Dry food is 13 months after production, canned is 3 years.
Where are your foods made? Do you have your own manufacturing facility? If not, who makes your foods? All of our products are made in Hereford Texas in all of our own facilities.
Does this manufacturing plant have any special certifications to assure the safety of the food? Merrick Pet Care has extensive quality assurance measures throughout all of our facilities
Do your canned foods have a BPA lining? The coating used in our cans is a tin coated steel (inside and outside) with an organic coating over the tin on the inside of the can and does not contain BPA (Bisphenol A).

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Dogswell

Do all ingredients in the pet food including vitamins and minerals originate from U.S. sources? If no, what ingredients from what country? The country of origin for the raw materials used in DOGSWELL® dry food, canned food and biscuits is mainly the US and Canada. However, sometimes an ingredient can not be sourced locally and must be sourced from overseas suppliers such as the Philippines, India, Italy, New Zealand, Morocco, Germany, France, Switzerland, Indonesia, Egypt, and the Netherlands. Some of our vitamin and mineral suppliers do have to source materials from China as a non-Chinese source is not a viable option. This is true for most all pet food manufacturers. We don't determine our source for ingredients based solely on the country of origin; we find the best quality ingredient combined with the highest quality supplier and testing specifications and select them. You can be confident that DOGSWELL® products are natural, high-quality and provide the best for your pet.
Do the meat meal ingredients such as chicken meal include bones and internal organs? The chicken meal we use consists of chicken meat from clean flesh and skin, cartilage and bones; bones supply calcium and phosphorus for optimum mineral nutrition. All chicken meal contains some bone. Our chicken meal does not include organs, feathers, heads, feet, or entrails.
What is the preservative used by your supplier for fish meal? Not the preservative you use, I would like to know what preservative is used by the supplier of your fish meal. Our products do not contain fish meal.
Are the meat ingredients human grade/quality or pet grade/quality? We use human-grade meats and poultry.
What is the shelf life of your foods? This is for unopened products: Canned Food - 3 years on new cans; Dry Food - 21 months
Where are your foods made? Do you have your own manufacturing facility? If not, who makes your foods? We use high-quality co-packers out of the Mid-west to create our wet and dry foods.
Does this manufacturing plant have any special certifications to assure the safety of the food? The DOGSWELL® manufacturing facilities meet the highest and most strict sanitary conditions. All of our co-packing plants have HACCP programs, have received high scores by independent third-party auditors, have strict raw ingredient standards and continuously check our products during processing and when they are finished to ensure they meet our high quality standards. Our wet food for dogs, our dry food for dogs and our biscuits are manufactured in the U.S. and our treats are manufactured in China. We regularly visit our manufacturing facilities to ensure the quality and safety of our products. Not only does DOGSWELL® closely monitor the manufacturing facilities, but they are also audited by third-party, U.S.-based audit companies. These companies make visits to the facilities, both planned and spontaneous, in order to ensure that the procedures are up to par from a very specific technical standpoint. Please know we certify that our products are safe and clean with regular testing and ensure that our products meet high quality standards. Along with an in-depth knowledge of our supply chain, our regular tests assure our customers that we are providing their pets with only the very best ingredients. Tests are conducted at independent, third-party, U.S. laboratories that follow FDA and APPA-approved methodology. We test product from each batch that is produced and have never had our results come back positive for ANY harmful ingredients such as cyanuric acid, melamine, e.coli and salmonella. Moreover, please note that no DOGSWELL® product contains milk powder. Our material suppliers are certified clean and clear of any contaminants. If raw ingredients do not meet their specifications and pass safety tests, then the ingredient is rejected immediately and never enters our processing facilities. Moreover, we strive to use products from suppliers that treat their animals humanely. (Note from Jo: We do not sell Dogswell treats at Midas Touch because they are made in China.)
Do your canned foods have a BPA lining? Yes, our 13oz can linings do contain BPA, as does the majority of pet foods and human foods in steel cans of this size. At this time, it is a steel can issue as smaller aluminum cans do not have this compound. Despite the fact that these compounds have no restrictions for pet food, we are actively working towards removing the BPA from the 13oz steel cans and ends. Our supplier is currently testing a different coating, but nothing is available today. Please note that the FDA has recently strongly re-affirmed the safety of food-contact products containing biosphenol A (BPA). Bisphenol A is used to make polycarbonate plastic products such as baby bottles and sippy cups, and is used in epoxy linings of cans to help to protect the safety and integrity of foods and beverages. “FDA is the premier agency responsible for the safety of our food,” stated Steven G. Hentges, Ph.D. of the American Chemistry Council’s Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group. “FDA’s thorough analysis confirms that food contact products made from polycarbonate plastic, including products for infants and children, can continue to be used safely.”

Weruva

Do all ingredients in the pet food including vitamins and minerals originate from U.S. sources? If no, what ingredients from what country? The Vitamins are from Germany and the food is from Thailand.
Do the meat meal ingredients such as chicken meal include bones and internal organs? No.
What is the preservative used by your supplier for fish meal? Not the preservative you use, I would like to know what preservative is used by the supplier of your fish meal. There are no preservatives used. The fish is flash-fozen when it is caught.
Are the meat ingredients human grade/quality or pet grade/quality? Human grade.
What is the shelf life of your foods? 3 years.
Where are your foods made? Do you have your own manufacturing facility? If not, who makes your foods? Thailand in a facility that packages fish for restaurants in the U.S.
Does this manufacturing plant have any special certifications to assure the safety of the food? ISO 9001; SAI certification; Inspected by BRC, USDA, DLA based on human food standards.
Do your canned foods have a BPA lining? The cans processed in Thailand do not have a BPA lining. (Note from Jo: The Weruva rep was not able to tell me if the USA-made loaf-style cans have a BPA lining because he has not received this information from the processor. The processor is Evangers - in 2009 we pulled all canned food processed by Evangers. See comments at the head of this page.)
Horizon

Do all ingredients in the pet food including vitamins and minerals originate from U.S. sources? If no, what ingredients from what country? All main ingredients are from Canada and the US. The vitamin D3 comes from Germany or France, chondroitin sulfate from the US, other vitamin and minerals come from Canadian and US suppliers.

Do the meat meal ingredients such as chicken meal include bones and internal organs? There will be (some) bones but not internal organs.

What is the preservative used by your supplier for fish meal? Not the preservative you use, I would like to know what preservative is used by the supplier of your fish meal. It is a natural preservative that uses a combination of mixed tocopherols and rosemary. The name of it is Dadex RM.

Are the meat ingredients human grade/quality or pet grade/quality? Human-grade fresh meats.

What is the shelf life of your foods? 15 months from time of manufacture (provided the bag does not get punctured or cut).

Where are your foods made? Do you have your own manufacturing facility? If not, who makes your foods? We manufacture all of our own products at our own production facility in the beautiful Province of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Does this manufacturing plant have any special certifications to assure the safety of the food? We are inspected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) whom also inspects and regulates on behalf of the USDA; and they also inspect and regulate all food manufactures in Canada.

Do your canned foods have a BPA lining? We don't manufacture canned foods.

Orijen - Champion Pet Foods

Thank you for your email and your questions. First I would like to give you a little bit of background about our company.

Unlike the marketing companies and multinationals that sell but don’t actually make today’s pet foods, we are a family owned and operated pet food maker with a 25 year tradition of quality and a mission that is simple and clear. Biologically Appropriate Pet Foods from Fresh Regional Ingredients produced exclusively in our award winning facilities here in Alberta, Canada. Our products are never made or packaged in a factory other than our own.

1. There are no ingredients from China used in the preparation of our dog and cat food formulas, including vitamins — we are 100% China-free. Our production focus is on FRESH INGREDIENTS supplied regionally and all of our products are made exclusively within our own award-winning factory here in Alberta, Canada. And rest assured, our products are biologically appropriate, the way Mother Nature intended.

2. Chicken meal is made from chicken, clean flesh and skin, including bone and cartilage but exclusive of feathers, heads, feet scales and entrails etc.. All ingredients are passed as fit for human consumption and processed exclusively in human grade facilities (no flushing, no3-D animal parts permitted on premises).

3. Our fish meats arrive FRESH; which means they are never frozen and have no preservatives what so ever. We work directly with our fish suppliers and pay them a premium to have fish meals preserved naturally with Vitamin E and Rosemary extract instead of the commonly used ethoxyquin preservative.

4. All of our meat ingredients are human grade.

5. The best before date is printed on the back of the bag at the top of the package. We mark our bags DAY MONTH YEAR. From the time the food leaves our factory, there is a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of 15 months until expiry.

6. Our products are made in our manufacturing facility in Morinville, Alberta, Canada.

7. All of our meats are inspected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (C.F.I.A). Our product meets or exceeds AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials). We do not make a canned food.

Sammy Snacks 1. Do all ingredients in the pet food including vitamins and minerals originate from U.S. sources? If no, what ingredients from what country? All of our ingredients are from the U.S. (except lamb meal is from New Zealand) and are tested in the U.S.
Do the meat meal ingredients such as chicken meal include bones and internal organs? No, they are made from deboned meat
What is the preservative used by your supplier for fish meal? Not the preservative you use, I would like to know what preservative is used by the supplier of your fish meal. Our Fish meal is from the U.S. and is preserved with vitamin C
Are the meat ingredients human grade/quality or pet grade/quality? Human Grade
What is the shelf life of your foods? 1 year
Where are your foods made? Do you have your own manufacturing facility? If not, who makes your foods? Treat Bakery: We own the facility. Food: Texas Farm Products
Does this manufacturing plant have any special certifications to assure the safety of the food? AIB
Do your canned foods have a BPA lining? We don’t make canned food