I just wanted to post something that I've been meaning to get the word out about for some time...
A while back I read a listing that graded some of the most common dog foods. I don't remember exactly what food got what grade, EXCEPT for Beneful: it received a 60 out of 100 score... Dead last. :( So, contrary to the ads and the bag adorned with pictures of healthy foods, I feel safe in saying that Beneful is not a quality dog food.
I bring this up because I've noticed that a great many of our clients, probably mislead by their ads, feed their pets Beneful. Unfortunately, it's sometimes difficult for me to bring up my feelings regarding Beneful for fear that I may offend. However, in this forum, I'm hoping I can inform without offense.
Just check out the ingredients:
Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, animal digest, salt, phosphoric acid, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, zinc sulfate, glyceryl monostearate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.
F-4090
In my opinion, carnivores don't need corn or corn gluten (too much Omega 6 or aflatoxin, both found in corn, are NOT beneficial); and even the whole wheat flour (which is probably fungal by the time it reaches the shelf) is put in there as a cheap filler -- as are rice and soy flour. Moreover, no one NEEDS sorbitol AND sugar; and worse yet -- Yellow 5, Red 40 and BLUE 2????
If you need more, here's a detailed breakdown of the ingredients:
Ground yellow corn- as a first ingredient this food is going to be a grain based food. It's the third common allergy in dogs. chicken by-product meal, AAFCO definition- Consists of the dry, ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines -- exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices. Basically it's the left overs of dog food. It may contain organs but chances are any type of good meat that can be used and sold for higher cost isn't included. corn gluten meal,the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm. Basically it's the left overs of the corn, it has no nutritional value. whole wheat flour, AAFCO-flour together with fine particles of wheat bran, wheat germ and the offal from the "tail of the mill". This product must be obtained in the usual process of commercial milling and must not contain more than 1.5 percent crude fiber. Depending on how much is used it may not be bad, but so many dogs develop allergies to it. I belive it's the number one allergy in dogs. beef tallowAAFCO: Fat with titer above 40 degrees Celsius, obtained from the tissue of cattle in the commercial process of rendering. Also called Beef Fat. Generally used for adding taste it is low in linoleic acid and there are much better quality ingredients like chicken fat that can be used. Beef tallow is a low quality ingredient. rice flour, is probably the same as soy flour. beef, while beef is good it's at the lower end of the list. soy flour, AAFCO: The finely powdered material resulting from the screened and graded product after removal of most of the oil from selected, sound, cleaned and dehulled soybeans by a mechanical or solvent extraction process. I believe it's the second most common allergy. sugar, dogs don't need it in daily feeding. It's just there to add taste and dogs can get addicted to sugar. animal digest, AAFCO: A material which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and undecomposed animal tissue. The animal tissues used shall be exclusive of hair, horns, teeth, hooves and feathers, except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice and shall be suitable for animal feed. If it bears a name descriptive of its kind or flavor(s), it must correspond thereto. You don't know what animal is used at all. It may include one of the 4D's (dead, diseased, dying, disabled). (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), These dyes have been tested a little bit and it is believe they may cause cancer, but the test results are unsure. menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity) This has been banned by the FDA for use on over the counter supplements. It's synthetic vitamin K and isn't natural. It's known to cause death in high doses, weaken the immune system and damage the liver. These findings were discovered in humans. No test on animals have been conducted. |  |
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Well, I hope this helps some of you when choosing a food for your dogs. Just remember: don't believe everything you see; make an informed choice for your pet.
All the best,
Don Waldo
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