# Pet food manufacturer's false claims?



## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Lately it seems that pet food companies are downright lying about their product. I remember awhile ago I think it was Purina who said if you feed their food your dog will live 2 years longer. Longer than what?

Someone here (I think it was Samwu) linked to a Hill's Ingredients Myths page..
Pet Food Ingredients and Myths | Hill's Pet Nutrition FAQs
And it seems like all the information on there is completely wrong.. corn gluten being as good as meat? Not likely :biggrin:

And on the beneful bags with pictures of 'wholesome chunks of meat, whole grains and vegetables' when the ingredients are as follows:
INGREDIENTS Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, salt, phosphoric acid, animal digest, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin B-12 supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, copper sulfate, biotin, garlic oil, thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.

Have you seen any other blatant misrepresentations in pet food?


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Someone at Petsmart told me that Blue Buffalo is better than Orijen because it has cranberries. Uh-huh.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

I think I posted on this awhile back. 

I believe it was Purina One...the commercial flat out quoted some study that said Dogs would live on avg. 2 years longer...etc... and they at least eluded to it being due to feeding their food(not sure how they "worded" their bogus commercial exactly but the inference was VERY clear). 

its sickening. Just one of the many commercial practices I would change if I were in Congress. 

My other one is when Volkswagen flashes some large Print on the screen that says their shining beautiful Jetta is $15,995. 

then in really fine print at the bottom it says... model shown is $22,995. And you know in reality that maybe 1/1000 of their Jetta's actually SELL for the $15,995 price. 

Oh yeah, if I were in charge, there would be lots of changes.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Wasn't it the Purina study that "proved" their fact by conducting a study where they fed both groups the same (crappy) food, but allowed one group to eat as much as they wanted in a 15 minute time frame and the other group to only eat a measured amount? And the measured group lived a whopping 2 years longer because they weren't obese?

Was that Purina?

Disgusting.


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## josh83 (Oct 24, 2010)

I can't stand hills they just want you to buy there food and they charge as if it were high quality i remember I paid 40$ for i think it was a 5LBS bag. Then they go and lie about there ingredients. Not to mention they seem to have some vets brainwashed to get you to buy there food. I don't see how byproducts can be good for anyone.

it just makes me so frustrateded


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Ugh, yes, the study by purina is utterly ridiculous to say the least. I cant stand Beneful and Chef Michaels commercials either, like the one with a guy cutting up sirloin steak and saying something like " I want to show my dog how special she is, so I created a dog food "inspired by rotisserie chicken and filet mignon"... lol, what lies... its chicken and beef FLAVORED, no actual meat in it. Poor dog in the video obvious wants the real thing:

Chicken, soybean meal, soy flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), brewers rice, soy protein concentrate, corn gluten meal, ground yellow corn, glycerin, ground wheat, poultry by-product meal, animal digest, salt, oat meal, calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, natural rotisserie chicken flavor, dried peas, dried carrots, sulfur, Vitamin E supplement, 

YouTube - Purina Chef Michael's Dog Food 2010 Commercial

and dont even get me started on prescription diets, gotta be the biggest scam in pet food industry, paying hundreds of dollars of corn and peanut hulls.. yum.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

short and simple, and utterly wrong:

"Really good food for dogs" -Pedigree


LIES!


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

I also would like to know what they are basing their findings on! Who is making these studies ~~ exactly what dogs are in the study~age of dog ~health of dog~lots of criterias!!!


Its just like when you see the consumer polls for different products. I like to know who took the polls ~what people actually were involved~ meaning I want to know everything about the people involved~background~age~whyare the taking this~what involvement they have with the product~well you get the drift!!!


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## josh83 (Oct 24, 2010)

wags said:


> I also would like to know what they are basing their findings on! Who is making these studies ~~ exactly what dogs are in the study~age of dog ~health of dog~lots of criterias!!!
> 
> 
> Its just like when you see the consumer polls for different products. I like to know who took the polls ~what people actually were involved~ meaning I want to know everything about the people involved~background~age~whyare the taking this~what involvement they have with the product~well you get the drift!!!


 
I agree wags they have nothing to back what there saying


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## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

But they do. Loads of studies showing how some vegetable protein has such and such an absorption rate and is great for feeding dogs. Paying for such studies and lots of advertising apparently costs less than putting meat into the food.

When real meat is compared to the factory floor sweepings meat wins.
Importance of Animal-Based Proteins in Dog Foods | Iams.com


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

sassymaxmom said:


> Paying for such studies and lots of advertising apparently costs less than putting meat into the food.


It's an investment! Big corp needs somewhere to sell all the byproducts leftover from human grade foods and other products


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## k9capture_16 (Aug 23, 2010)

Reminds me, yesterday I was chatting with someone yesterday and the convo led into food

I ended up saying I refuse to feed food like Hills, Purina etc because the food is garbage.

The person goes "Actually Science Diet is really good food"

I go "your kidding right?"

Shes like "No my mothers dog was put on it for his really bad joints an dit helped him a lot"

I go "right so would adding a joint pill"

She goes "I feed my cats a holistic kibble with veggies and fruits"

I go "cats dont need fruits/veggies"

She goes "The commercials say they do and I trust them"

Me- "Sigh, I give up"

People actually believe these commercial sadly.


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## SaltyDog (Mar 10, 2010)

And the funny part about Purina, Pedigree, Iams etc..... Is that if they really wanted to, they all have the means, scientists and resources to really churn out, an out of this world product, yet choose not to. Honestly, they could simply crush the boutique brands into non existance....if they wanted 


To add to it, as we know that the commercial brands flat out lie, simply because the public who purchases these products would rather buy based on advertising rather than on research.....how many boutique brands are doing the same thing???





.


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## SaltyDog (Mar 10, 2010)

k9capture_16 said:


> People actually believe these commercial sadly.




The good thing is that I now see commercials for Blue Buffalo and Wellness......How long do you think before P&G gets Natura products on TV? If this is how people want to do their research...by TV commercials...then by all means, the premium brands need to get the word out via TV.







.


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## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

sassymaxmom said:


> But they do. Loads of studies showing how some vegetable protein has such and such an absorption rate and is great for feeding dogs. Paying for such studies and lots of advertising apparently costs less than putting meat into the food.
> 
> When real meat is compared to the factory floor sweepings meat wins.
> Importance of Animal-Based Proteins in Dog Foods | Iams.com


I find it hilarious that they state that on their website, yet they have another article to justify their use of corn (any grain or carb source would probably be just as bad): 
Corn Ingredients and Their Use in IAMS Pet Foods

And after saying all that about animal-proteins being superior, they still go ahead and include a very high amount of carbs/grains, considering chicken would weigh less without the moisture and corn-meal is already on a dry-matter basis:

Chicken, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken By-Product Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Flavor, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Potassium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Caramel, Calcium Carbonate, Flax Meal, Choline Chloride, Fructooligosaccharides, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), L-Lysine Monohydrochloride, DL-Methionine, Rosemary Extract.

Really? Corn and Sorghum in higher amounts than anything else?


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## SamWu1 (Oct 15, 2010)

bishopthesheltie said:


> Lately it seems that pet food companies are downright lying about their product. I remember awhile ago I think it was Purina who said if you feed their food your dog will live 2 years longer. Longer than what?
> 
> Someone here (I think it was Samwu) linked to a Hill's Ingredients Myths page..
> Pet Food Ingredients and Myths | Hill's Pet Nutrition FAQs
> ...


Yup that was moi'. There was actually a poster at Banfield Pet Hospital (Vets in the Petsmart) that described the merits of corn in pet food (Pushing Hill's SD) and sadly to an ill informed consumer, it sounds convinicing. 

Practically *EVERY* pet food commercial on national television depicts the food as having top notch ingredients. Chef Michaels is one of the biggest culprits. On the TV ad he's seen slicing up lean pieces of fresh beef with his dog wagging happily next to him. 

The food's slogan is "Chef inspired". Somehow I doubt meat-by-products are chef inspired.


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## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

Loved the information on corn meal gluten.
Pet Food Ingredients and Myths | Hill's Pet Nutrition FAQs 
"Some individuals believe that meat-based foods are more natural and thus better. However, meat is not the only protein source. For example, corn gluten meal and eggs offer high quality protein, too."

Corn gluten meal may have loads of protein but according to this vendor it isn't very tasty. My dogs love meat, no problem getting them to eat meat or egg based protein.
"Corn gluten meal usually is not included in mixtures at levels greater than 15 percent or fed at a rate greater than 15 percent or fed at a rate greater than 5 pounds (2 � kg) per cow per day due to poor palatability above these levels."
Corn Gluten Meal


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

sassymaxmom said:


> Loved the information on corn meal gluten.
> Pet Food Ingredients and Myths | Hill's Pet Nutrition FAQs
> "Some individuals believe that meat-based foods are more natural and thus better. However, meat is not the only protein source. For example, corn gluten meal and eggs offer high quality protein, too."
> 
> ...


I need to get some Corn gluten meal for next spring. It's a natural pre emergence herbicide. It will weed and feed your lawn naturally:smile: This was the first year I went organic. I used ground corn to feed my lawn. Wouldn't put it in dog food:biggrin:


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