Eddie's Blog
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Recently in Eddie's world:
Pet Food Confidential: What's in a name?
Pet food labels are a lot like fast food commercials. They make the product look downright mouthwatering, but once you've got the real thing in front of you it doesn't look the same at all. What's that about?
To find out, I had to do some pretty heavy reading. The American Association of Feed Control Officials publishes what they call a "model bill" for pet food labeling. The model bill itself doesn't carry any weight, but it provides recommendations which many states use in their regulations. The recommendations also apply to pet food companies, but there's no guarantee that any particular manufacturer follows them.
Fifty pages later, I can tell you this: A lot more thought goes into labeling pet food than I ever imagined! It starts off great, but then it takes a turn for the worse. Here are the highlights.
Rules, rules, rules
There's a whole series of rules governing how a pet food label can describe a product.
The 95% rule: In order to have a label like "beef dog food" or "tuna cat food," that ingredient has to be at least 95% of the product by weight (not including any extra water they have to add to process the food).
The 25% rule: If a product contains 25% of an ingredient, the label can read "tuna dinner for cats" or "beef platter for dogs." AAFCO says that adding a qualifier like dinner or platter makes it clear to humans that the food has other ingredients in it.
The 3% rule: A combination of ingredients can be used to describe a pet food (like "cheesy turkey dinner for dogs") if the combination of ingredients adds up to 25% or 95% and each ingredient is at least 3% of the product weight. The 3% rule also applies to label claims like "with real beef" or "contains real cheese." Those ingredients have to be at least 3% of the total.
The flavor rule: A pet food can be labeled "beef flavor" (or whatever flavor you like) if the source of that flavor is clearly indicated in the ingredients list. So, if the source of the beef flavor is beef, the pet food company is in the clear. If the flavor comes from animal digest, they've got to add a note that says "source of beef flavor."
Font and style: In all of these cases, the entire phrase has to be printed in the same size and color. That's to keep companies from printing BEEF in really big letters and dinner in itty bitty tiny letters, which could be misleading to consumers. There are also rules about how big a "flavor" label can be.
Now all of this sounds like some pretty sound recommendations, right? I, for one, was impressed. And planning to look for foods labeled "turkey dog food," because 95% turkey would be A-OK with me! But here's the kicker: There's an extra rule that makes all those other rules almost completely useless.
It says that all those other rules apply, UNLESS the ingredient being specified is unique (like say, kangaroo), or expensive enough to have an effect on the product price (like maybe shrimp) or "if it affects the consumer's acceptance of the product."
I kid you not! That's really what it says! If calling the product "turkey and cheese dinner for dogs" makes people more likely to buy it, the pet food company doesn't have to comply with the 95% rule, the 25% rule, or even the 3% rule. The model regulation is left completely open to interpretation, and makes the other rules practically useless. So much for sound recommendations!
Up next in my Pet Food Confidential series: What's guaranteed about the Guaranteed Analysis?
So - what can we feed our pets? I am sure that is the big question. Do you list any recommendations? I cannot find them. I have two cats and currently I feed them wellness because of all the holistic claims that they list on the bag. And they say that they do not put by-products in the food.
Any help you can offer will be greatly grealty appreciated.
Thank you,
Dina :)
Wellness is a very good food. The Natura products are wonderful, too (EVO, Innova, California Naturals, Karma). There's lots of good stuff out there, but it's hard for the average consumer to know since most of the all-natural healthy pet foods don't do any mass marketing.
Raw diets are the best of the best... but my cat just doesn't care for the patties.
We use Chicken Soup Dog food....can you tell me if this is a good dog food?
I was able to find Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, (large breed puppy food) locally (WV), and it seemed pretty good after reviewing a number of websites about dog foods. Well, Rocky, my 9 month old huge shepherd, who is NOT a chow hound loves it!! I supplement it with chicken (no pesticides, no hormones), garlic and other goodies that I grind up in my Vitamix, bones and all. I freeze this "slush" in baggies for about 4 meals. I also just purchased EVO canned food online to supplement when I don't have my fresh stuff. He's doing great!!
He recently had a problem with LOTS of ticks, and I made my own essential oil solution that's really working! Lavender oil, tea tree oil, and a couple of others, diluted, sprayed on twice a day - my "Lavender Boy" seems to like it, smells nice, and the the ticks don't like it! So, between the new food and no ticks he's a happy (big) puppy! Wrtie me at Tina@URparamount.com for details.
Oh, Rocky also drinks high alkaline ionized water to keep him in prime condition - read more at my site http://www.URparamount.com. I'm happy to share my knowledge and doggie recipes with everyone! Dog food, like people food is a crap shoot, unless you cook from scratch!
Chicken Soup dog food is made by Diamond dog foods. They have been recalled several times and shut down more than once for having poor and dangerous ingredients in their foods. It is not a safe food.
Stick with the California foods, Nutra.(Not Nutro)..Innova, Prairie, Cal Nat,Fromm,Evo,Karma, Evanger, etc. Timberwolf is also good but again very expensive. There is a food called Blue Buffalo that is safe. There is a food company in NC called Blackwood that produces a safe food. Their canned food is made by Evangers. You have to find a total American company that does not import from China. Pedigree is sold in WalMart and is made in Thailand. Yikes. Many dog foods use sawdust to fill and there is very little nutrition in wood.
I feed nine large dogs and it is a challenge. I usually make a lot of my foods and buy range fed beef and chickens and process them along with fresh veggies. Barley is a good filler and full of vitamins.
I have been feeding my two boys Blue Buffalo for almost two years without any problems, but BB is also made by Diamond dog foods. One is allergic to wheat and has such a sensitive tummy that I hesitate to change him around, but this info scares me enough to do it.
I had posted here, saying I was feeding my Rocky (German Shepherd, 15 months) Chicken Soup for the Soul dogfood, with other stuff mixed in. All that's changed now. He's been gorging himself, here in the wilds of West Virginia, on deer carcasses left around from hunters. He's been lovin' it!! Doesn't want his "kibble" anymore. Looks at me with disdain, "You must be kidding, mama!" So, every few days he now gets the raw bones from our free-range organic chickens and rabbits. We all know, by far, this is best for him. Every so often I get him to eat his "other stuff", but most days, he turns his nose up and walks away. You would think a 100 lb. shepherd wouldn't be so picky, but, once he's seen the lights of Broadway, hard to keep 'em down on the farm!
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