# Chinese ingredients you may not be aware of



## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

I've been on a dog food mission for the past few days and have learned that the glucosamine and B vitamins found in many "premium" pet foods are imported from China.
Most companies don't exactly advertise this practice.
This is what Eagle Pack had to say about it. (This is from dogaware.com)

_Eagle Pack__, whose foods are EU (European Union) certified, which requires disclosure of the country of origin of all ingredients, has this to say: "Due to the global economy and worldwide outsourcing, some ingredients or supplements are not made in the U.S. or are not made in sufficient quantity. Most pet food and human food companies and makers of supplements most likely source some supplements from China. Most B vitamins for human and pet consumption come from China. In our supplements, U.S. vitamin maker BASF sources some vitamins from China. This will be true of the vitamin content for most pet foods you buy and for many pet or human vitamins you use. The Glucosamine we humans take as well as the Glucosamine in your pet’s food most likely is sourced from China. The same is true for human grade Taurine. Some pet food makers seem unaware that some ingredients of necessity must be sourced from China; scary they don’t know."_ 

The only company that I've found (so far) that will state, unequivocally that they do NOT use ingredients imported from China is Merrick. This was their response to my email:

_Thank you for inquiring. None of our ingredients are imported from China. _
_We only use natural ingredients and Human Grade quality meats that are _
_sourced from USDA facilities. Our lamb and venison are imported from _
_New Zealand._

_-----------------------_
As far as glucosamine supplements, themselves, I've heard from two companies, so far.
Springtime Inc. freely admits to importing certain raw materials. This was their response:

_Like all companies, we do use domestic and imported raw materials. All our raw materials are tested by FDA approved labs for purity and safety _
_(ie:bacterial, heavy metals, contaminants, etc.) before the material is put _
_into finished products. We have never had any adverse events with any of our _
_products. Thank you! _

Apparently, it's NOT true of "all" companies. I spoke to Nutramax Laboratories (the makers of Cosequin) via phone and they are very adamant about the fact that they use raw materials from the U.S. ONLY.

This is really troubling. I had no idea that the companies making these "premium" foods were using ingredients from China.
Just thought I'd pass along the information I have so far.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Yes and add to that the fact that even though they have bought from a co in the US, that co. could well be a middle man for a China source. And as you said, as true for human products as those for pets.


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

Thanks for the info. I just sent an email to Innova (Natura Pet) to see what they had to say. I have always heard great things about Merrick!


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Penny & Maggie's Mom said:


> Yes and add to that the fact that even though they have bought from a co in the US, that co. could well be a middle man for a China source. And as you said, as true for human products as those for pets.


That's true. I guess we just have to take them at their word and hope that the US suppliers they're buying from are, in fact, suppliers and not just middle men. 
This stuff is enough to drive you crazy. :doh:

I just started the switch-over to Merrick, after finding this out. I had been switching to Eagle Pack. (That didn't last long.)


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

also, be aware of "middle man" countries, especially Brazil. They import stuff from China, relabel it as "made in Brazil".


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## hgatesy (Feb 14, 2007)

> Unfortunately, there are a few ingredients that simply cannot be found elsewhere in quantity, including taurine, glucosamine and most B vitamins. Note that companies who say that all of their ingredients come from US companies are being disingenuous, as the original source of some parts could still be China.


That same article also states this.... so if you're worried and are asking a company, I would ask specifically about these ingredients.


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## Jackson'sMom (Oct 13, 2007)

This is very scary. I try to avoid buying any consumable product (food, toothpaste, vitamins) for me or my dogs made in China, but it's pretty much impossible to be 100% sure. I think I'll e-mail Taste of the Wild and see what response I get.


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## Sadiesdream (Jul 11, 2008)

I've never had any issues out of Eagle Pack. and my dogs love it.


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## hgatesy (Feb 14, 2007)

Sadiesdream... I use Eagle Pack Holistic and am not planning on changing. The boys are doing great on it.
I found this on the pet food list...

*Eagle Pack* (verified by company 4/19/07, updated 5/17/07) 


Brands include Eagle Pack Holistic Select, Eagle Pack Super Premium, Hy-Ration, Prism
Loaf style canned food is made by Menu Foods to Eagle Pack's unique formulas, but not part of the recall.
Dry foods manufactured in Eagle Pack's plant in Mishawaka IN.
We do not use wheat or rice gluten/protein concentrate in any of our dry or canned foods. (from website 5/11/07)
The only gluten we use is corn gluten and it is from in Hammond, IN and Iowa. 
*Only ingredients from China are glucosamine and taurine* (*a pet food and human food industry standard).*
*Vitamins sourced from BASF, a recognized & respected vitamin source. However, even they must buy some vitamins from China, as do the other respected vitamin companies.*
Duck Meal is from Europe and is EU Certified. Anchovy and Sardine from the Humboldt Current area (This can vary slightly but they are from clean ocean waters and the meal is preserved naturally).
Salmon from the Pacific Ocean. Lamb meat is imported from New Zealand and/or Australia.
Onsite lab tests incoming ingredients and finished food
Dry and canned foods tested negative for melamine. (Company supplied The Pet Food List with copies of results for loaf style canned products.)
USDA/APHIS inspected and EU approved
 
After looking through a lot of foods on that website, I'm not convinced that almost all the pet foods are not using vitamins imported from China. The majority simply don't specify. 

I also found this which I thought was interesting.... a newspaper article...



> If you pop a vitamin C tablet in your mouth, it's a good bet it came from China. Indeed, many of the world's vitamins are now made in China.
> In less than a decade, China has captured 90 percent of the U.S. market for vitamin C, driving almost everyone else out of business.
> Chinese pharmaceutical companies also have taken over much of the world market in the production of antibiotics, analgesics, enzymes and primary amino acids. According to an industry group, China makes 70 percent of the world's penicillin, 50 percent of its aspirin and 35 percent of its acetaminophen (often sold under the brand name Tylenol), as well as the bulk of vitamins A, B12, C and E.





> Since U.S. laws don't require food and drug sellers to label products with the country of origin of ingredients, it's impossible for consumers to know where food or supplements are coming from, not to mention what factory produced them.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Just because a dog food companies says they get their ingredients from US sources or suppliers does not mean they do. This happened during one of the big recalls. The dog food company was able to make the same claim because the supplier was within the US. That US supplier bought ingredients from China.

Dog food drives me crazy....


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## hgatesy (Feb 14, 2007)

> Dog food drives me crazy....


 Me too! Me too!! :bowl: 


I found this while I was looking around too. 



> Americans have been understandably wary of feeding themselves or their pets Chinese products or domestic products containing ingredients sourced from China. That includes nutritional supplements, most of which contain Chinese ingredients. (Don’t believe it? Call the manufacturer of your multi-vitamin and ask.) An amino acid, synthetic taurine is a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder that happens to be produced mainly in China, and it’s becoming a hot-button topic. Taurine is added to a wide variety of products, from nutritional supplements (especially those meant to maintain vision wellness) to energy drinks (Red Bull) and even, surprisingly, liquor (V2 Vodka, which is infused with Taurine).


 
And in a lot of dog foods.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Sadiesdream said:


> I've never had any issues out of Eagle Pack. and my dogs love it.


I will continue with Eagle Pack Holistic. They have never been involved in any of the recalls... which very few cos can say. They are very upfront about that fact with the gluc/chon.... it's on their website. I think very few sources are NOT of Chinese origin.... even in the human supps.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

People food isn't any better!!! My mom brought me over a bag of big shrimp from Costco, and it said in big letters on the bag, "Farm Raised in Vietnam". Ummmm, no thanks......




Kimm said:


> Dog food drives me crazy....


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

hotel4dogs said:


> People food isn't any better!!! My mom brought me over a bag of big shrimp from Costco, and it said in big letters on the bag, "Farm Raised in Vietnam". Ummmm, no thanks......


Oh, I know. I've been eating lots of salmon but guess where it is from? We try to skip it now and then. I read labels all the time due to "having" to read the darn labels. I wonder what life is like for those who don't have to read labels? :uhoh: Even if everyone should.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Kimm said:


> Dog food drives me crazy....


You can say that again!

I don't trust one thing coming out of China. No, not everything that's grown or manufactured here is guaranteed to be safe either, but I think it's a riskier roll of the dice with Chinese goods.

I pay particular attention to our food and now I'm going to be on a mission where our vitamins are concerned, too. I think it's sickening that they don't have to tell consumers where the ingredients are coming from. We're swallowing this garbage - we have a right to know where it's coming from. We can make our own decisions and assume our own risks from there.

This was just posted on another forum this morning. 

_Substances commonly used as industrial dyes, insecticides and drain cleaners were included on a list of illegal food additives China released Monday as part of a monthslong government crackdown aimed at improving the country's shoddy food safety record._

_Among the 17 banned substances was boric acid, commonly used as an insecticide, which is mixed with noodles and meatballs to increase elasticity, a statement posted on the Ministry of Health Web site said. Also forbidden was industrial formaldehyde and lye, used in making soap and drain cleaner and added to water used to soak some types of dried seafood to make the products appear fresher and bigger._ 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081215/ap_on_re_as/as_china_tainted_products

As far as the dogs go, I'm seriously going to look into home-cooking their food. At least it's an option to consider, if nothing else.


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## Ardeagold (Feb 26, 2007)

Kimm...if you buy canned Salmon it has USA stamped into the top of the can.

Salmon cakes vs Salmon?

We don't eat any seafood from grocery stores. We prefer to know which polluted area in the US it's from! :lol: So we get it straight off the boat from the local watermen.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

yes and no, a lot of "human grade" food seems to get recalled these days, too!!!!! And if you homecook food for dogs you have to add supplements to make it nutritionally complete. And the supplements come from China......scary, very scary....



LifeOfRiley said:


> You can say that again!
> 
> 
> As far as the dogs go, I'm seriously going to look into home-cooking their food. At least it's an option to consider, if nothing else.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

good idea for sideline business for you....sell fresh Maryland seafood on the GRF! I'll be first in line!! 



Ardeagold said:


> We don't eat any seafood from grocery stores. We prefer to know which polluted area in the US it's from! :lol: So we get it straight off the boat from the local watermen.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

I was spoiled. My BIL that passed away owned a fish market. Everything was fresh. He even cut all the fish after picking it up at the docks. I sure hope those boats were local! I don't shop very much, so an extra trip to the fish market is like a road trip!


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

hotel4dogs said:


> good idea for sideline business for you....sell fresh Maryland seafood on the GRF! I'll be first in line!!


There you go! I will, too. Just pack it up in ice like that company who sells fish products on QVC.


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

Here is the email response I got from Natura Pets. They make Innova, which is what I feed. They also make Evo that I know a lot of people like.

_Thank you for contacting us about our products. Natura does not source any ingredients from China. However, even though we are committed to eliminate Chinese sourced ingredients from our formulas, the reality is that there is a world wide shortage of some of our vitamin premix components which leaves us in a position to have to rely on Chinese supplies to make sure that our formulas are complete and balanced. Since our pledge in March, we have made progress to source our ingredients from the USA and/or from Europe without regards to additional cost; but we realize now that it will be impossible for us to be able to guarantee that our formulates are free from Chinese-sourced ingredients in the near term. _

_But please rest assured that we have taken every precaution possible to ensure the purity and safety of all the ingredients in our foods, paying special attention to those from China. We have detailed information about the exact origin of each ingredient and certificate of analysis to guarantee purity. And don't forget that Natura continues to execute our industry-first testing protocols for both cyanuric acid and melamine in our finished products as well as vitamin premixes. We will continue to work hard and eliminate Chinese-sourced ingredients from our products, but in the meantime you can be 100% sure that all Natura products are safe and free from contamination._


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Doesn't the second sentence contradict itself? (Well, may not. I read it again.) The one thing I do like is when they are willing to be upfront!


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

I was thinking the same thing... I was wondering if since they say "vitamin premix components" that they do not source it from China, but the company they buy from does... I will email and ask for a clarification…


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

sammydog said:


> I was thinking the same thing... I was wondering if since they say "vitamin premix components" that they do not source it from China, but the company they buy from does... I will email and ask for a clarification…


You get to a point that you just do the best you can do. We try to keep them safe, but sometimes we just can't no matter how hard we try.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

hotel4dogs said:


> yes and no, a lot of "human grade" food seems to get recalled these days, too!!!!! And if you homecook food for dogs you have to add supplements to make it nutritionally complete. And the supplements come from China......scary, very scary....


Oh, I would have a lot to learn before I would start cooking their food. I just don't know nearly enough about canine nutrition to jump into something like that head first. I thought it might be an option worth considering, at least, but you're right - I'm not having any luck finding supplements that aren't made with at least _some_ imported ingredients. So what's the point? They either get Chinese ingredients in their food or their supplements. 

I tried to start switching my guys over to Merrick, since they said that they don't import anything, but boy, it does not agree with either one of them so I had to put the brakes on that.

I had a fairly long conversation with a woman from the company who makes Wellness. They source their Vitamin C and taurine from China. What she told me was essentially the same thing that Sammydog heard from Natura Pets - that there is absolutely no way around it, at this point. She went so far as to say that any commercial pet food manufacturer that tells you they aren't importing ingredients from China is being downright dishonest.

I don't know. I almost have to agree with Kimm on this one. I think I feel better with a company that's honest about it. I mean, if a company tries to cover up the fact, what are they going to do if there ever _is_ a problem with these ingredients? That would create a pretty tangled web for them.


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## Sadiesdream (Jul 11, 2008)

The only way to be 100% safe with any of this:

Go Raw......

Luckily I live 10 minutes from the nations largest tyson chicken processing plant. 30lbs of boneless breasts cost me $27. I can buy 30lbs of legs/thighs and breats with bones for $5. 

Don't think for a second going raw hasn't crossed my mind


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

LifeOfRiley said:


> I don't know. I almost have to agree with Kimm on this one. I think I feel better with a company that's honest about it. I mean, if a company tries to cover up the fact, what are they going to do if there ever _is_ a problem with these ingredients? That would create a pretty tangled web for them.


I agree. I have been pretty happy with Innova. Not only because my kids do well on it, but every time I have called or emailed (which was a lot during the recalls) I have always been happy with their replies. They seems like a upfront company that is doing their best to put out good safe food.


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

Sadiesdream said:


> The only way to be 100% safe with any of this:
> 
> Go Raw......


Trust me I have thought long and hard about it! Bought books and everything. But like someone mentioned above, you still need to supplement. And it sounds like the supplements are the problem...


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

I was told by Tucker's breeder if you go raw you must use supplements. Shadow's allergic to so many proteins, and raw seems like a fine balance to me, unless I buy it premade. I've thought about it, but with two Goldens I just can't afford it.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Sadiesdream said:


> The only way to be 100% safe with any of this:
> 
> Go Raw......
> 
> ...


I know of quite a few GSD owners who have gone raw and swear by it. I'm just afraid that it's a little out of my league. There's way too much room for me to screw something up! lol.


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

LifeOfRiley said:


> I know of quite a few GSD owners who have gone raw and swear by it. I'm just afraid that it's a little out of my league. There's way too much room for me to screw something up! lol.


That is the same reason I never made the switch!!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

and chickens are fed grain...and grain is preserved with ethoxyquin....and on and on and on....the ethoxyquin level in chicken can be quite high...




Sadiesdream said:


> The only way to be 100% safe with any of this:
> 
> Go Raw......
> 
> ...


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## agoldenliferanch (Aug 1, 2008)

I'm a recent convert to raw feeding and am loving it as are my goldens. I combine a premade raw mix with holistic ingredients to stretch out how long a bag of premix lasts. I also just added turkey necks which are much cheaper than the mix and I figure it costs me under $60.00 a week to feed 4 golden retrievers. With the premium/holistic formulas reaching upwards of $50-$60 a bag, I'm feeding them a superior diet, with fresh ingredients for as much or a bit less than kibble. I did the research on holistic diets, amts to feed and in what proportion and it's not that hard. Yes, it's more work, you need more fridge and freezer space but to me it's worth it.


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