Victor Dog Food Changes
Steve,
Victor recently redesigned their packaging, but more importantly, made some slight changes to their recipes. I noticed some changes in the ingredients list... Any insight on the reason behind the changes in recipes?
Victor recently redesigned their packaging, but more importantly, made some slight changes to their recipes. I noticed some changes in the ingredients list... Any insight on the reason behind the changes in recipes?
Comments
Truthfully, I found that whole issue to be ridiculous that they put out a warning on "Grain-Free" foods when the issue had nothing to do with "Grain-Free" as it did certain ingredients which had the possibility of causing future health issues.
I've had nothing but good luck with Victor over the years I've provided it for my Bullies.
"It's not just a Dog, it's a Bull Terrier!"
www.bulliesofnc.com
What have they changed in their recipes? Can you give an example?
Looks like some brands have now started adding taurine to their formulas, which I find a little odd considering that according to the FDA-report only one of the "unusual" DCM cases (meaning with no predisposition within the breed) showed lowered taurine blood levels.
Also, as I understand there have been only five cases so far (at least the FDA knows of and mentions) with DCM in not pre-dispositioned breeds which had also been on grain-free foods with potatoes and different legumes as part of the main ingredients at the same time.
The FDA itself says that further studies will be necessary to really find proof of the suspected connection.
I guess the manufacturers try to counter the heated discussion that is going on and just add taurine as a precaution in order to calm their scared customers.
So far I really do not know what to make of the hysteria.
But switching grain-free foods will likely not really be able to avoid the issue.
There are only so many plant-protein supplements to avoid grains in a dog food, which is why the ingredient lists of many grain-free dog foods sound pretty similar - regarding legumes.
Circumventing the issue is probably done the best way by feeding raw and avoiding grains as well as legumes.
However, for now I personally will not freak out and switch no matter what. My dog is good on her diet at the moment, no gas, firm stools, no running no constipation, shiny fur and seemingly healthy.
I will keep an eye on the developments and keep feeding my dog a good deal of her raw diet, which by default does not include any legumes and rarely potatoes. And I will keep only supplementing with kibble. Because I personally think no matter HOW high quality the kibble, it is still a highly processed type of food and always a compromise for reasons of convenience and cost - which I also take advantage of, no criticism here. Still, raw will always remain the highest quality and most preferable option for a dog with no health related diet restrictions.
I found some interesting information on that "grain-free" issue.
Just in case anybody wants to read what it is about, here's the original FDA statement:
https://www.fda.gov/animalveterinary/newsevents/cvmupdates/ucm613305.htm
Here is an interesting article, too. Very interesting in particular the different stories of dog owners below the article.
https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/blog/Please-Dont-Panic-About-the-Grain-Free-Thing-21893-1.html
Djammy I had already read the FDA statement but that second article is quite interesting.
Each formula seems to have undergone a bit of change. This is the new ingredient list for Active Dog & Puppy:
Beef Meal, Peas, Sweet Potato, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Menhaden Fish Meal (source of DHA-Docosahexaenoic Acid), Blood Meal, Garbanzo Beans, Pork Meal, Yeast Culture, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Natural Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Carrot Powder, Tomato Pomace (source of Lycopene), Taurine, Salt, Choline Chloride, Dried Seaweed Meal, Zinc Methionine Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Hydrolyzed Yeast, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Calcium Carbonate, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Ferrous Sulfate, L-Carnitine, Selenium Yeast, Copper Sulfate, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Riboflavin Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Powdered Cellulose, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Trichoderma Longibrachiatum Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Silicon Dioxide, Tetra Sodium Pyrophosphate, Vegetable Oil, Rosemary Extract, Green Tea Extract, Spearmint Extract, Lecithin, Fructooligosaccharide, Folic Acid, Yucca Schidigera Extract
Previous:
Beef Meal, Sweet Potato, Chicken Meal, Peas, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Pork Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal (source of DHA-Docosahexaenoic Acid), Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Dried Egg Product, Flax Seed (source of Omega 3 Fatty Acid), Yeast Culture, Natural Chicken Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Dried Kelp, Salt, Montmorillonite, Tomato Pomace (source of Lycopene), Dried Carrot, Choline Chloride, Hydrolyzed Yeast, Dried Chicory Root, Taurine, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Hydrolyzed Yeast, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, L-Carnitine, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate, Riboflavin Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Lecithin, Fructooligosaccharide, Folic Acid, Yeast Extract, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Product, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Citric Acid, Rosemary Extract.
Thank you for posting the two lists. I could not find the old list.
So, for what I can see at first glance they are now skipping the chicken meal and have increased the chicken fat and pea content.
Also, I do no longer find egg in the formula.
Taurine seems to have been added all along. Probably not the change.
Flax Seed as a source of Omega 3 Fatty Acid is also no longer present as an ingredient.
The Natural Chicken flavor turned into natural flavor (not satisfying when ingredients start to sound more general instead of specified, not sure if this ingredient has to do with chicken at all any longer. On the other hand I just recently learned that chicken flavor also does not necessarily have to do anything with chicken but can simply be a substance created chemically in a laboratory).
New are garbanzo beans - these belong to the group of legumes as far as I know.
Although the order of the ingredients also gives a general idea about their contents in the food I have a hard time to get to any conclusion about the changed order of the first five ingredients in the new formula.
It COULD be the case that the content of plant protein has been increased with the changes.
And the order points towards peas possibly now being present in higher amounts than before.
However on their website they still state 77% meat protein, which still makes it a meat based food and I don’t know if that number has changed compared to the old formula.
To me as an ordinary person and not a nutritionist it seems at first glance like the changes to the formula could be economically motivated, especially when looking at some of the now missing ingredients. Maybe to be able and keep the food's sale price the same with rising ingredient prices. However, the changes for now do not seem drastic enough to turn the food from a 5-star rated product into a bad one.
Maybe there is a nutritional background to the changes I am not able to see.
I think, I am going to contact the manufacturer and ask them about their changes. See how their answer makes me feel about everything, that's IF they bother to answer. We’ll see.
One interesting fact I just stumbled over in the course of some initial research is the statement that legumes as well as grains can spark inflammatory processes in the digestive/intestinal system. That goes for humans. If that same thing would be true for dogs then the legumes could cause the same condition I am trying to avoid grains for in my dog's food. As with everything it will likely be a matter of amounts. Yet, I would not find this surprising to be true because both grains and legumes are indigestible even for humans in their natural, unprocessed form. It would either not be a surprise to me if these ingredients which are definitely not part of a so-called natural canine diet would ALL have the potential to cause problems in dogs.
So far I have not looked at it from this standpoint and I am currently not really able to reach any conclusions. Not enough information at the moment. But I will keep an eye on this issue and keep researching.
Good point, contacting them would be an idea. On thee site they simply only state, “We updated our packaging! Still formulated to meet your pet’s specific needs, our cat food and three dog food lines have a new look.”
"It's not just a Dog, it's a Bull Terrier!"
www.bulliesofnc.com