# Innova or Evo? Same company but easier access. What do you think??



## Justapup (Jul 9, 2012)

So I've been wanting to change the dogs to Evo Grain Free food but the only way I can get it is over the internet. So I noticed Innova was by the same company and also has a Grain Free Line. What are your thoughts on it?

Well I looked at the ingredients of the grain free food today and I don't see much a difference in it between Evo. 

Innova Prime Grain Free:
Ingredients: Salmon, salmon meal, red lentils, green lentils, sunfloweroil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), herring, peas, flaxseed, pea fiber, natural flavors, calcium carbonate, apples, pumpkin, carrots, salt, cottage cheese, dried chicory root extract, ascorbic acid, minerals (zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, calcium iodate), direct fed microbials (dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product), vitamins (betaine hydrochloride, vitamin A supplement,
niacin supplement
, calcium pantothenate, beta carotene, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, biotin, folic acid), vitamin E supplement, rosemary extract
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.4%


Evo Dry dog food:
Ingredients: Turkey, chicken, turkey meal, chicken meal, potatoes, herring meal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a natural source of vitamin E), natural flavors, eggs, apples, tomatoes, potassium chloride, carrots, vitamins (ascorbic acid, vitamin E supplement, betaine hydrochloride, vitamin A supplement, niacin supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, beta carotene, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, biotin, folic acid), cottage cheese, minerals (zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, calcium iodate), alfalfa sprouts, dried chicory root, direct-fed microbials (dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product)Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 2.8%


Also Does anyone know of any Recalls on Innova, Iams, Eukanuba or Evo recently? (Since these are all P&G Brands I want to know of all recent recalls).


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

The two biggest differences i see are int he amount of meat and the carbohydrate source. EVO has more meat...two meals and two non-meals before the first carb (and it's really the only main carb, only fruits and veggies otherwise), plus fish right after the first carb. 

The Innova has one meat meal and one non-meal meat before the first carb. Then it has two carbs in a row before the fish. It also has peas which are often used and non-meat sources of protein. It uses sunflower oil instead of chicken fat as it's main fat source. This has less animal protein than the EVO, by how much I have no idea.

The carb sources differ in that EVO uses potato and Innova uses lentils and peas. Whether this is good or bad depends on your dog. I think lentils are much lower on the glycemic index than potatoes. But lentils have much more protein than potatoes so they may be used to bump up the protein amount in a food and make it look like it has a higher amount of animal protein than it does. You'd think a food with 35% protein has a lot of animal in it, but it might be mainly lentils!


I don't know anything about recalls.


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## DaViking (Sep 27, 2011)

Maxy24 said:


> The two biggest differences i see are int he amount of meat and the carbohydrate source. EVO has more meat...two meals and two non-meals before the first carb (and it's really the only main carb, only fruits and veggies otherwise), plus fish right after the first carb.
> 
> The Innova has one meat meal and one non-meal meat before the first carb. Then it has two carbs in a row before the fish. It also has peas which are often used and non-meat sources of protein. It uses sunflower oil instead of chicken fat as it's main fat source. This has less animal protein than the EVO, by how much I have no idea.
> 
> ...


Cooked/processed lentils contain about 9% available protein (approx. 30% of the energy in a raw state), potato around 2.5%. How big of an impact the lentil proteins are on the Innova formula is impossible to say without knowing the exact distribution.


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

Yes, that's why I said it MAY be used to bump up the protein, I have no way of knowing how much animal or lentil is actually in the food.


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## DaViking (Sep 27, 2011)

Maxy24 said:


> Yes, that's why I said it MAY be used to bump up the protein, I have no way of knowing how much animal or lentil is actually in the food.


Yeah, was more a general comment. Many ppl lately comment on protein coming from legumes/pulses. Sure, lentils contains 3 to 4 times more protein than found in potatoes but when you look at the actual numbers in processed form, 9% vs 2.5%, it's clear that the protein count in a dog food formula coming from legumes/pulses is very modest. Even the ones that list 3 or 4 legumes/pulses in a row (one is often a starch isolate) doesn't contain that much plant protein. Obviously I don't know for sure but my guess would be that formulas that split 2, 3 or 4 legumes/pulses after 1 or two animal sources contains anywhere from 10 to 25 percent plant proteins. Pulses are compared to potato a better source of proteins and for example paired with rice they form a complete amino acid profile.


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