# Looking at the Labels of Dog Foods



## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Some information to bear in mind when choosing dog food. Makes for an interesting read:

http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/think-you-can-avoid-pet-foods-made-in-china/


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## dr tim (Mar 27, 2011)

Ask your food company where the premixes come from as it is your right to do so. It needs to be transparent.


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## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

dr tim said:


> Ask your food company where the premixes come from as it is your right to do so. It needs to be transparent.


Well because I just switched to your food Dr. Tim where do your premixes come from? I'm sure its probably somewhere on this site but I cant find it. Thanks


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## dr tim (Mar 27, 2011)

We have our own premix made made by DSM that allows us to have certified vitamins that come from the USA and several from Europe. The are produced in these countries, not just repackaged from somewhere else. Minerals come from the USA. Even Thiamin is like this despite claims from other companies that it can't be done.


notilloc said:


> Well because I just switched to your food Dr. Tim where do your premixes come from? I'm sure its probably somewhere on this site but I cant find it. Thanks


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

What if some of the ingredients come from Japan, India, and Pakistan? For anyone who uses Natura products: Natura - See Beyond the Bag I've been feeding my cats the regular Innova cans, now I'm paranoid. I wish the brats would just eat PMR like my dogs!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Well here are the responses I got from Natura and Blue Buffalo. 



> Thank you for taking the time to contact BLUE. Our foods all are manufactured here in the USA. Many of our ingredients, such as our grains and meats, come from the USA except for our lamb which can be free range from New Zealand. Where possible our suppliers are instructed to source their ingredients from the US. Where the ingredients are not readily available in the US, such as many vitamins, minerals and nutriceuticals, they work only with reputable foreign suppliers, and subject all ingredients to rigorous quality testing. All of our ingredients are USDA approved and inspected.
> 
> I hope this helps!
> 
> ...


and 



> Thank you for contacting Natura Pet Products. We are pleased to hear of your interest in our Innova Pet Products.
> 
> We attempt to source all of our ingredients from the United States. However, after an exhaustive search, some ingredients simply cannot be sourced from within the U.S. as they just are not available. For example, the venison meal used in this food is currently sourced from New Zealand. Many food safety precautions are in place due to concerns raised by the use of foreign ingredients.
> 
> ...


While I appreciate the responses, I still don't know about using foreign ingredients. As someone else pointed out to me, it always seems to be the companies that use outsourced ingredients that have recalls and issues. Maybe I'm just being overly paranoid but for now we are switching to Merrick's BG 96% cans and Felidae cans since all their ingredients are sourced in the USA. 

Straight from the Merrick website (I love that they had it right there, easy to find so I didn't have to contact anyone):



> No ingredients from China.
> By locally sourcing all of our farm fresh ingredients, we ensure the highest quality for all of our recipes. Merrick purchases produce and real meat from American farmers and ranchers throughout all four seasons of the year. With fewer distributors, handlers and warehouses, our ingredients are fresher because they are immediately used. This is the standard to which we hold ourselves.
> As a result, Merrick recipes don’t contain any ingredients from China. Because your pet deserves food that is locally sourced. 5-Star Promises - Our Mission | Merrick Premium Natural Dog & Cat Food


and Canidae:



> All CANIDAE® and FELIDAE® products are proudly made in the United States of America using the highest quality U.S. ingredients. All formulations are produced in USDA, FDA, and AAFCO approved facilities. The nutritionally dense fresh meats and meals we use originate from USDA inspected meats processed in a human grade facility. CANIDAE® Pet Foods: Pet Food Safety


Anyway, thanks for bringing this to my attention and making me even more paranoid, my coworkers officially think I'm a little bit crazy now. I was talking to one of them who told me that both of her cats have always eaten just dry Iams and they've always done great. I started to say that I wish I could just buy my cats cheap food and not care about their nutrition because I'd sure save a lot of money that way too, but I realized how rude that sounds right as I started to say it so I just changed it to "I wish I could just... not be so paranoid but I have so many friends with cats that have had issues on just dry and you see it around here so often that I just can't help it." (I work at a feline-only vet clinic for those of you who don't know). Lucky save!


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

I don't get too concerned about vitamin/mineral mixes in the kibble. It's impossible it seems to even find human grade vitamins that don't have some element from another country. Just saying there is nothing from China doesn't seem to cover the subject. There are vitamin pre-mix companies in Thailand, South Korea and India that may not be too impressive either.


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

PDXdogmom said:


> I don't get too concerned about vitamin/mineral mixes in the kibble. It's impossible it seems to even find human grade vitamins that don't have some element from another country. Just saying there is nothing from China doesn't seem to cover the subject. There are vitamin pre-mix companies in Thailand, South Korea and India that may not be too impressive either.


I do. I have done business in India and Pakistan and the manufacturing facilities generally are filthy, no matter what the industry. South Korea and Japan have very high standards but China, India, Pakistan have terrible standards and compliance. There is very large generic drug company I know in Pakistan that is a complete crap hole.


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

rannmiller said:


> Anyway, thanks for bringing this to my attention and making me even more paranoid, my coworkers officially think I'm a little bit crazy now. I was talking to one of them who told me that both of her cats have always eaten just dry Iams and they've always done great. I started to say that I wish I could just buy my cats cheap food and not care about their nutrition because I'd sure save a lot of money that way too, but I realized how rude that sounds right as I started to say it so I just changed it to "I wish I could just... not be so paranoid but I have so many friends with cats that have had issues on just dry and you see it around here so often that I just can't help it." (I work at a feline-only vet clinic for those of you who don't know). Lucky save!


I feel the same way. I have a cat who refuses to eat raw, too, so I've researched a lot of kibbles. Right now she mainly eats Ziwipeak- luckily, since it's just her eating it I can afford it. BUT she occasionally decides she wants to eat "junk" so I have to have something around. Right now I'm using Nature's Logic and they don't use any synthetic forms of vitamins so I don't have to worry about it -- which is reassuring. I don't have the option of knowing too much about the protein and how it was raised, though, which bothers me. Sh

Oh, by the way, Thailand has very high standards and a food with Thailand ingredients has never been recalled. They rely very much on exporting so they take it seriously.


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