Beware: pet food ads

This is an interesting article which appeared in the Truth about Pet Food May newsletter (I highly recommend all pet owners subscribe; it’s free and filled with good information):

In the UK, a viewer complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that a commercial for Go Cat cat food by UK Purina was misleading and the ASA agreed. The commercial was removed from TV.

Can you imagine that happening in the United States? Tucson Tails cannot.  One reason is (according to Truth about Pet Food) there is “no advertising authority to protect pet food consumers against misleading/exaggerated pet food advertising. They can (and do) make all types of misleading and exaggerated claims and no authority stops them.”

Scary.

So that got me thinking about Purina’s Beneful – you know the one with the cute and loveable commercials that make you want to reach through the screen to pet and play with the happy dog.

Brace yourself. According to Dog Food Advisor, there are almost 20 ingredients that are controversial. Beneful advertises healthy fruits and vegetables in every bag. You can read the Dog Food Advisor article in its entirety. Wait until you find out what “chicken by-product meal” is. The article is eye opening and the comments are devastating.

If you want your dog to have fruits (never grapes or raisins) and vegetables, grate some raw apple or carrots into their food. My greyhounds go bananas for frozen or mashed bananas and frozen green beans and cooked broccoli.

To file a pet food complaint, go here. Hopefully, someone is listening.

Nature’s Variety has issued a nationwide voluntary recall on Prairie Beef Meal & Barley Medley Kibble for Dogs

Nature’s Variety has initiated a voluntary recall of its Prairie Beef Meal & Barley Medley Kibble for Dogs due to an off-odor smell that may develop over time. This product is not contaminated in any way, but some products are not remaining fresh for the shelf life of the product.

Reed Howlett, Nature’s Variety CEO, stated, “At Nature’s Variety, we make every effort to ensure that all of our products meet the highest quality standards. We’ve found that some bags of Prairie Beef Meal & Barley Medley Kibble for Dogs have an off-odor smell. To be sure that our consumers only receive the freshest and highest quality product possible, we have decided to voluntarily recall all Prairie Beef Meal & Barley Medley Kibble for Dogs from the marketplace.”

The products impacted are listed below:

• UPC# 7 69949 60420 4 – Prairie Beef Meal & Barley Medley Kibble for Dogs 5 lb
• UPC# 7 69949 60425 9 – Prairie Beef Meal & Barley Medley Kibble for Dogs 15 lb
• UPC# 7 69949 60430 3 – Prairie Beef Meal & Barley Medley Kibble for Dogs 30 lb
• UPC# 7 69949 60432 7 – Prairie Beef Meal & Barley Medley Kibble for Dogs 3 oz sample

No other Nature’s Variety products are affected.

Consumers who have purchased one of the above products can obtain a full refund or exchange it for a different variety by either returning the product in its original packaging or bringing a proof of purchase back to their retailer.

Consumers with additional questions can call our Consumer Relations team at at 888.519.7387.

Pet Food: 36 million pounds of recalled ground turkey

This is disturbing. It’s no secret that 36 million pounds of Cargill ground turkey has been recalled because of resistant strain of salmonella.

But what does Cargill do with the 36 million pounds of recalled ground turkey products?

Do the grocery stories throw the unsold meat in the trash?

Or does it go back somewhere and reused as dog food or cat food? And if it goes back, is it properly refrigerated during the journey? According to Pet Food Safety Advocate Susan Thixton she thinks it will be rendered into pet food.

Since she wrote the article, 107 people in 31 states have been sickened not 77 people in 26 states. Arizona has three victims.

To learn more about dog food, check out the Whole Dog Journal.

Gunny the Corgi by Diane Burda

When I read this alert on Susan Thixton’s Truth about Pet Food blog, for some odd reason the Weird Al lyrics of “I want a new duck” popped in my head and is stuck there.

According to Thixton and the FDA’s letter, Evanger’s lamb and rice dog food and grain-free duck dog food has no lamb or duck respectively.

I have eyeballed Evanger’s dog food in the pet supply store but always backed away because it was more expensive than what I already pay.

This is a blatant rip off to pay for lamb and duck when there is none. This makes me wonder what ingredients replaced the ingredients. Ah…something bovine…and what if a dog has allergies to something bovine?

Lamb is a pretty common ingredient. Why dumb it down? Duck is less common and more expensive. Bovine is mysterious and cheap.

According to the FDA, it’s also “adulterated.” Thou shall not adulterate pet food, the 11th commandment.

Evanger’s also has previous violations and warnings. Why are they still selling dog food?

Buyer beware.