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Location: england
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 156
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Synthetic vitamins & minerals in dog food
I was alarmed to find out about the cumulative dangers of the synthetic vitamins & minerals added to virtually every dog food, most of which apparently come from China and, according to one website, “have additives such as BHA, BHT, Ethoxyquin, TBHQ, Sodium Metabisulphite or even Mixed Tocopherols (which may contain synthesized Vitamin E)” Also, regarding the many deaths caused by the toxic level of vitamin D in the cheap Chinese pre-mixed vitamins in one of Hills' foods, what's to say this couldn't happen with other brands?
I spent ages searching, but finding anything with no added vitamins is as rare as hen's teeth. For raw feeders, there's Fresco. Acana don't list any vitamins, but, of course, they could have been added to the ingredients before they reached their factory. Anyway, as Acana are No. 1 on the list of the FDA foods potentially linked to diet related DCM, that was out of the question for me and I don't like extruded kibble anyway.
I was on the verge of consulting a nutritionalist to devise a home-made diet, when I found Nutravetal, who sell a wide range of cold-pressed and canned foods, none of which have got synthetic vitamins and minerals.
I'm buying the tinned, as they advised me that this was the top of their range, nutritionally (I emailed them with a long list of questions & they were very helpful). Ingredients in the turkey version are:
Turkey meat and offal 52% (muscle meat 49%, heart 19%, stomach 14%, throat 9%, liver 9%)
Turkey meat broth 20%
Coley 15%
Parsnip 8%
Apples 2%
Hempseed oil 1%
Eggshell powder 1%
Watercress 0.5%
Spirulina algae 0.5%
My dog loves it – she howls when I'm getting it ready in protest at the slow service – and it tastes nice (I pinched a bit when she wasn't looking).
I'm a bit worried, because her previous food had 35% sweet potato. I knew legumes and potatoes were suspected to cause DCM, but, on re-reading the FDA report, I see they mention sweet potato too and she's been eating it for 9 months, do it's great to know I've found something we're both completely happy with.