DS: Why does it seem low-grain/ holistic dog food is more effected by "food recalls" ?
Than commercial brand dog foods?
With all of the recent recalls I'm starting to wonder if holistic/low-grained dog food is all it's worth. I'm sure everyone has heard of the recent recall of numerous holistic all natural dog foods like Diamond Naturals™ Blue Buffalo™ ..ect due to salmonella tainting's, but I'm left wondering, why holistic dog food is recalled so much more than commercial brand dog foods like Iams/Purina/Pedigree? Or maybe it just seems that way to only me.
Comments are welcome/Stars also.
DogtorDVM2012-05-08T06:59:53Z
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Holistic/grain free/Natural etc... are all marketing terms. They give no indication of the quality control practiced by the company, the quality of ingredients, who is formulating the diets, the research going into the products etc......
If you want to find a good company, ask these questions: 1. Do you have a Veterinary Nutritionist or some equivalent on staff in your company? Are they available for consultation or questions? 2. Who formulates your diets and what are their credentials? 3. Which of your diet(s) is AAFCO Feed Trial tested? Which of your diets meet AAFCO Nutritional requirements? 4. What Testing do you do beyond AAFCO trials? 5. What specific quality control measures do you use to assure the consistency and quality of your product line? What safety measures do you use? 6. Where are your diets produced and manufactured? Can this plant be visited? 7. Can you provide a complete product nutrient analysis of your bestselling canine and feline pet food including digestibility values? 8. Can you give me the caloric value per can or cup of your diets?
Once you find a company that gives you satisfactory answers, look at the products they have and decide if they suit your pets' needs.
The ingredient panel is worthless in determining the quality of a diet, what matters is the nutrients those ingredients provide, the digestibility of the formula, and the quality control practiced by the company.
It's not. We just perceive it to be. Blue, Chicken Soup, Diamond...all are high grain foods. They just have good commercials and an Internet cult following to make them popular.
Since they are popular, they take more extreme cautions. Taste of the Wild, Canidae, Solid Gold, Wellness, and Natural Balance never tested positive for any salmonella. They were simply made in the same factory as a few bags of Diamond that were. Their recall was voluntary and precautionary. I would rather have that than feed Purina, who will only recall food that is actually contaminated. It's too expensive for Iams/Purina/Pedigree to take unnecessary precautions.
Avoid the whole issue and only feed brands that actually own the factories their food is made in and disclose openly where they buy raw ingredients. Or work with a holistic vet to make your own food.
Purely some speculating on my part, but I think it's a bit of what G'Hound said regarding holistic foods being manufactured with more fresh, high quality meats and vegetables thus making freshness a real and potential hazard, but also the fact that people are more in tune to those things that directly affect them.
For instance, I don't feed Diamond foods or Blue Buffalo (used to but it didn't agree with one of my dogs), and I didn't realize there was a recall until it was well underway. However, when Canidae changed it's formula and dogs started becoming ill and even dying - I heard about it from the very beginning (I was feeding Canidae at that time, but don't any longer). I think subconsciously, our brain tunes into things that directly affect us, but perhaps turns off a bit when they don't. Sort of a natural clearing house in the brain.
I will take no offense if anyone T/D's me on this, since I am only speculating and really have no basis of fact for what I'm saying..........just IMHO and personal observations.
ADD: Good question though and I starred you so maybe there will be some others with more knowledge taking a stab at this.
I am unfamiliar with a Blue Buffalo recall that involved salmonella? Could you provide a link please?
As far as recalls on natural foods, it is because they are natural. Lab created synthetic proteins and supplement are not at risk for any kind of issues like this. Natural ingredients are always at risk.
Our human food is recalled all the time for salmonella. I guess I just don't understand why everyone gets their panties Ina bunch when the same thing happens to pet foods.
ETA-thanks Chix. I knew there was no salmonella recall for Blue, so I always ask when people post this stuff. If anyone wanted, they could sign up for automatic alerts from the FDA. That way they would know the serious recalls right away.
I happen to think that the recall of 2007 taught pet food companies to be much more careful with their products. Sure, everyone makes mistakes, just look at our human drug recalls, for heavens sake!, but the bottom line is no pet food company would stay in business long if they killed animals with their products. People tend to forget that logic when the "mob" comes out.
@Chix-absolutely it is the media. I have a really hard time believing that pet food was better 50 years ago. 50 years ago no one took their dog to a vet. Who knows what they died of? The old tried and true dog foods are using the same ingredients they used a long time ago. Maybe dogs as a species have built up an immunity to what's in them LOL.
My vet explains this very well- Lab created foods have absolute control over the portions of protein and all supplements. They can be exact because they are creating a product that is exact.
Natural foods are using natural ingredients. Those ingredients can vary in protein content, vitamin benefit, etc. Then they change when they are cooked, so exact control over what is left is lost as well. This is the main reason some dogs don't do well on natural diets, their digestive systems can't handle the ever changing ingredients.
When Blue Buffalo announced their recall for the Vitamin D issue, it was because they cold form their vitamins, which makes them tons more potent. They had one plant worker who pressed the wrong button, and excess Vitamin D was put in one batch of the food. Most dog food companies cook the vitamins right out of the food with high pressure and heat processing. That is why Blue adds Vitamin D, among others.
And then there is Wellness, who advertises human grade ingredients.
I am not going to go crazy over what I feed my dogs. If I did, I wouldn't have time for anything else, with seven to feed. My dogs are healthy, have no digestive issues, and check out at the vet with great weight, muscle mass, and teeth.
So some commercial dog foods really aren't that bad if I can get these kinds of results with them.
It is just you. "Holistic" "Grain free" dog foods aren't recalled more often then "commercial" brands.
But lets clear some things up.
The Diamond Brand manufacturing plant had a salmonella problem. alot of other brands, that are not associated with Diamond Brands, use their plant too.
That's why, in this instance, alot of higher quality dog foods were potentially impacted - because the point of failure was the plant they all use.
The brands that use the plant don't neccesarily have tainted food, but alot of them did a preventative voluntary recall regardless.
Blue Buffalo was not impacted. Their salmonella recall was in 2010.
"Holistic" is a marketing term with very little meaning. Can anyone explain what specifically makes "holistic" food better?
ADD: good point by anne b about people overreacting to dog food salmonella recalls. Did you know that if your dog food has salmonella - the real risk is not your dog eating it, but you handling it? Dogs are practically impervious to salmonella.