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These Commercial Dog Foods Source From China

Now listen to this.  China has cornered the market on producing vitamins, supplements and even many of the inert ingredients that our pharmaceuticals are made with.  Yes, I have issues with products that come from China, but it is really hard to avoid them.  The big issue here is that when pet food products have that long list of vitamins and supplements that are added to their products, they are added because the food is processed so much that its nutrients are processed out.  Basically, our pets are living off of those supplements only.  Our dogs need their nutrients to come from the food itself, NOT from all the synthetic garbage that is added to over-processed product which is void of any nutritional value by itself.  Pets who are eating commercial diets (kibble and canned food) are getting their nourishment from those vitamins which are acting as an alternative to real food.  I am not opposed to supplements.  I add some supplements to my dogs’ food because I cannot provide fresh kill for their meals.  The best form of nutrition is raw which is most nutritious right after the kill before extended time, exposure to air and the natural elements affect the nutrients.

Being that manufacturers add so many additional nutrients, you would think that they would be careful to provide high quality supplements since they are providing inferior food product to make profits high.  After all, they care about our pets so why would any corporation or manufacturer do their best to take those profits and purchase ingredients from Germany, France, or Japan?  Yeah right…  The cost of supplements from those countries are exponentially higher.  These manufacturers have a conflict of interest.

To learn more about vitamin premix you can read my articles:  What’s REALLY in Dog Food? and Shocking Dog Food Research Study.  To learn more about raw feeding, I have many articles, but Dog Food – All About it covers quite a bit and I include information about what I have been feeing my girls.

I called several manufacturers and asked them if ANY of their pet food products contain any ingredients whatsoever that are sourced from China.  I listed the label names that the manufacturers produce.  I did not ask about each individual product.  I wanted to give my readers a general list of foods that manufacturers sneak Chinese ingredients into.  I feel that if a manufacturer is ok with putting Chinese ingredients into any of their products, it speaks volumes about the priorities of that manufacturer.  There are no ingredients that cannot be sourced outside of China.  It is purely a matter of making bigger profits at the expense of the health and wellbeing of our dogs.

I asked if there are any products that have ingredients sourced from China.  Getting clear definitive answers was like pulling teeth.  Here are some of their responses:

No.  They continue by naming their meat sources and where it is imported from and that the food is all made in the USA.

I then asked if any of their vitamins were sourced from China.
The answers included:

Yes, we get all our supplements within the USA.

I asked if they get their vitamins from a third party supplier.
They often replied:
Yes, but they are in the USA

I then asked where those suppliers source their products.
Answers varied:

Some of the supplier’s products come from China.
I don’t know.
That information is proprietary.
The suppliers get their products “globally.”
Of course I couldn’t resist to mention that “global” encompasses China.  They reiterated, the products are sourced globally and that they don’t know where.

The suppliers get their products from Asia.
I reminded them that Asia is enormous.  Contained in Asia is Australia, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and (believe it or not) China.  They reiterated, the products are sourced in Asia and that they don’t know where.

We pay extra money to ensure that the products are NOT sourced from China.  Information about their suppliers is proprietary.  (Whether or not they were truthful, it is not possible for me to verify that information because it is proprietary).

Many manufacturers decided to interpret my question as they wished.  Those manufacturers required the third degree from me in order to get a clear answer.  Even after the questioning, some of the answers were still not definitive in that they did not provide answers that could be verified.  Because they I don’t understand why those people had such difficulty understanding that supplements ARE ingredients and by not acknowledging that, they are lying to the public (let alone their lack of knowledge with regard to geography).

Again, my question was:  Are there ANY ingredients in any of their pet food products that contain any ingredients whatsoever that are sourced from China?  I did NOT ask about each individual label brand of the manufacturer.

There are manufacturers that produce food that has no sourcing from China, but having dogs consume empty food that has supplements to compensate for its lack of nutritional value is just not right.  Dogs are not meant to thrive on supplements as their only form of nourishment.

I just want people to be aware of how common it is for manufactures to provide inferior nutritional supplements.  We are trained to avoid products from China, but look at what I found.  Our pets are consuming nutrients that come from supplements which are sourced from China.  These supplements are often the sole source of nourishment.  Something can be MADE in the USA, but it doesn’t mean that the ingredients are from the USA.

Manufacturer	Label Names	Sourced from China
Artemis Company	Artemis	Yes
Petsmart Label Brand	Authority	Yes
Breeder’s Choice Pet Foods Inc	APD Select Choice AvoDerm Active Care Pinnacle Trader Joe’s Brand	Proprietary Information
Del Monte Foods AKA – Big Heart Pet Brands	Kibbles ‘n BitsNature’s RecipeNatural Balance Milo’s Kitchen	Suppliers source globally – not sure
Diamond Pet Foods Inc	Chicken Soup for the Doglover’s SoulCountry Value Diamond Premium Edge Professional Taste of the Wild	Suppliers source globally
Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Pet Foods Inc	Natural Balance	Yes
Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc	Hills Science Diet Hills Prescription Diet Hills Ideal Balance Hills Healthy Advantage	Yes
Costco’s Brand	Kirkland	Yes
Mars Petcare US Inc	Butcher Selects California Naturals Cesar Eukanuba Evo Goodlife Recipe HealthWise Iams Innova Natura Pet Nutro Pedigree Royal Canin	Yes
Midwestern Pet Foods Inc	Pro Pac     SPORTMIX Earthborn	They THINK their 3rd party suppliers source from Europe
Nestlé	Purina Pro Plan Purina ONEPurina Veterinary Diets	Yes
Triumph Pet Industries Inc	Evolve Hi-Tor NeoTriumph	Yes
Wellpet LLC	Eagle Pack Holistic SelectWellness	Yes

To read about what I feed my own dogs, check out my articles The BEST Dog Food.

To get a better idea about what raw diets are all about an article of interest (of many on the subject) raw diets check out Why a Raw Diet is Vital.

To read an article about why I stay away from the big commercial manufacturers a great article (of many on the subject) is called commercialarticles about biologically appropriate diets check out What’s REALLY in Dog Food.