JUST TODAY CHANGE OF INGREDIENTS

[garypen]

I doubt very much if benzaldehyde would be labelled as a "natural flavor". Haven't you ever seen "artificial flavor" listed in food ingredients? I would bet you a dollar that benzaldehyde would fall into the latter catagory.

Here is Natura's descritpion of "natural flavors" as it applies to their products, of which California Natural is one:

Natural flavors are minimally processed flavor ingredients that do not contain synthetic or artificial components.

In the Natura products that include "natural flavor" in the formula, the exact composition is proprietary. However, the ingredient does comply with the FDA CFR which regulates this definition, and is always made from the same animal species on which the formula is based. For example, the "natural flavor" used in the original EVO formula contains a reduction of chicken meat - much the same process as is employed to create a chicken stock in your home kitchen.

[Geff]

I threw away my big bag after I bought a plastic container. The free samples I have are pull dated November & December. They all list "Brown Rice", but not "Rice".

Wondering if anyone with a new bag would be intersted in calling Natura? They're probably sick of my phone calls.

(408) 261-0770
(800) 532-7261

[Tommyboy]

Didnt melamine comply with the FDA? I dont trust nobody anymore.

[Tommyboy]

Excerpt from
http://www.rense.com/general7/whyy.htm


A natural flavor is not necessarily more healthful or purer than an artificial one. When almond flavor -- benzaldehyde -- is derived from natural sources, such as peach and apricot pits, it contains traces of hydrogen cyanide, a deadly poison. Benzaldehyde derived by mixing oil of clove and amyl acetate does not contain any cyanide. Nevertheless, it is legally considered an artificial flavor and sells at a much lower price. Natural and artificial flavors are now manufactured at the same chemical plants, places that few people would associate with Mother Nature.

[Davis]

But she did assure me there was no rice protein/gluten in it. She wanted me to send in a sample of food since one of the cats is drinking tons of water and someone threw up. She also told me to get a bad with a different date.

Now this concerns me more than any of the rest of it.  You mean they can't assure you without a shadow of doubt that it is not contaminated?  That's unnacceptable.  I would have asked some heavy questions at that point. Now they want a sample?  Haven't they tested it already?  What?  I could use a few choice words here, but I'm trying not to.  Maybe I'll just go punch something.  Gary, get ready to give them a visit.  Aren't they in your backyard? 

[Davis]

I would have checked my bag before. But, and I know this is hard to believe, I don't bring my cat food to work. Crazy, I know.

Well why the heck not?  What's the matter with you?  If you have the luxury of posting from work (who would have known), then of course we expect you to have that bag in your back pocket at all times...LOL.

[Geff]

Sorry to say it, but this is why I chose a bag with a pull date older then the samples I had been succesfully feeding.

See my post of 4/19 on the bottom of the page here:
http://thepetfoodlist.com/forums/index.php?topic=31.30

I hope this doesn't become an issue...............

[Geff]

Here's what the website states when clicking on the new rice ingredient,

"Rice, unless listed as brown rice, is the de-hulled rice kernel, without the bran -- known as white rice.

Rice, in its whole form, is a high quality source of carbohydrates, protein and fiber. This is in contrast to fractionated grain ingredients used by some manufacturers such as rice polishings, rice bran, or brewers rice which have been leeched of much of their nutrient value.

Natura uses whole rice, which is the most easily digested grain and the least likely to cause allergic reactions. It is an antidiarrheal and helps lower cholesterol. Natura also uses brown rice, which is the same plant with the bran intact."

The good news, is they are still saying it's whole rice. The bad news is that white rice is pretty well stripped of vitamins. I used to take vitamin b pills that were made from the stripped hulls they mention above.

[garypen]

A natural flavor is not necessarily more healthful or purer than an artificial one. When almond flavor -- benzaldehyde -- is derived from natural sources, such as peach and apricot pits, it contains traces of hydrogen cyanide, a deadly poison. Benzaldehyde derived by mixing oil of clove and amyl acetate does not contain any cyanide. Nevertheless, it is legally considered an artificial flavor and sells at a much lower price. Natural and artificial flavors are now manufactured at the same chemical plants, places that few people would associate with Mother Nature.

Natura's descritpion of their "natural flavor", as I quoted in a previous post, pretty much spells it out. Of course, they could be lying. But, if the description were honest, then there is no reason to worry about this ingredient. (unless they are lying, which is always possible.)

I'm more concerned about the white rice, myself.

[Davis]

I'm trying to avoid thinking completely in terms of humans with the grains.  Yes, of course whole grains are healthier (I never eat white/refined grain products myself), but I'm just not sure a cat's body utilizes or breaks down carbs exactly the same way ours does, although that would be the most logical conclusion, but since we are talking about carnivores who naturally would have a very low carb intake, their physiology in that regard may be somewhat different.

The carb ratios between brown and white are almost exactly the same.  The only difference would be slower absorption rate of the brown version (assuming cats use carbs as we do) which has advantages. Here is a chart showing the carb ratios:
http://www.lundberg.com/info/faq_general.shtml

And this is probably where I ran across the digestibility factor between white/brown, although this is not necessarily a reliable source:
http://www.flintriver.com/Flint-River-Ranch-Ingredients.htm

These are possibly of interest in terms of differences in carb break down in felines:

Digestive enzymes
Cats partially or completely lost, or failed to develop, the ability to secrete certain enzymes used to digest sugars (Kinezle, 1994) more likely to be found in plants, and to vary the composition of their digestive enzymes with dietary changes (Baker & Czarnecki-Maulden, 1991). Digestion of complex molecules into simpler ones is a prerequisite for intestinal absorption. For example:

--Cats lack salivary amylase. Amylase catalyses the hydrolysis (digestion) of starch (a complex sugar used by plants to store energy) into simpler compounds (Blood & Studdert,1988).

--The pancreatic and intestinal amylase activities of cats are five and ten percent respectively of those found in dogs (Kirk et al., 2000).

--Cat disaccharidases at the intestinal brush border are of decreased and relatively invariable activity levels when compared to dogs (Kirk et al., 2000). These enzymes split larger sugars into smaller ones.

--Cats have very low glucokinase and absent fructokinase activity levels (Kirk et al., 2000). These enzymes allow animals to derive energy from these simple sugars. Fructose, in particular, is found primarily in honey and sweet fruits (Blood & Studdert,1988). Instead cats derive most of their energy from protein sources.

Protein requirements
Cats have very high protein requirements because they rely predominantly on protein to meet energy requirements.  They rely upon the enzyme transaminase to convert alpha-amino acids (protein digestion products) into alpha-ketoacids for energy production via the biochemical Kreb’s cycle, or for use as a gluconeogenic substrate (allowing the creation of glucose, a universal cellular energy source). The activity of transaminase is greater in cats than in dogs, and is invariable (Kirk et al. 2000, MacDonald et al. 1984).

Source:  http://www.vegepets.info/pages/vegetarian_feline_diets.htm

Are you confused yet?

[Davis]

By the way Gary, I'm wondering if this means their overall grain content has increased.  In other words, have they simply exchanged some of the brown rice for white and kept the total rice content by weight the same, or have they kept the same amount of brown rice as before, but have now also added the other rice to the recipe, making it higher in grains altogether.

[Geff]

This really does seem like an odd time to change ingredients. I would like to know why they made the decison at this time. The main reason I'm concerned is Lacy's original post; sick cats & a change in rice ingredients. I hope she keeps us posted (& I hope her kitties are ok).

If no one else does, I'll probably call Natura later in the week when I have time. Again, they may be getting a bit tired of my calls.

[Davis]

It is unclear to me whether Lacy suddenly changed bags of food when she noticed a difference in health, or whether she has been feeding the same bag all along and then noticed the ingredient change and connected it to the illnesses.  It is also unclear how long she has been feeding them the CN food.  For example, did she just start on it a couple of weeks ago, or has she been feeding it for a while.

Hey Geff, did you say that you transferred your food to a plastic container?  I actually looked into that whole plastic thing and found out there were some things to be concerned about. I posted about it a couple of days ago on another thread.

I'm getting really tired of these formula changes.  I wish that when a food is good,
they would just leave it the heck alone!!!!!  What is the reason for this change?  They must be crazy, but then it never ceases to amaze me how good these pet food companies are at making foolish moves.

[garypen]

The reason for the change is most likely econimic. Also, as to the total amount of rice, I'm pretty sure they just lowered the brown, and added the white for a total rice level the same as before. I have two reasons for that conclusion. One, is because the carb number is the same in their analysis. Two, is economic. It would cost more to add white rice in addition to the same amount of brown rice. OTOH, it would cost less to substitute some of the brown with white. (Unless the white rice is replacing some other more expensive ingredient. But, I don't see a reduction in protein.)

[Geff]

Hey Geff, did you say that you transferred your food to a plastic container?  I actually looked into that whole plastic thing and found out there were some things to be concerned about. I posted about it a couple of days ago on another thread.

Hi Davis - I am using plastic. Natura told me it was safe. Could you please post a link to your post on plastic so I could read it?