Premix Formulations Used In Commercial Pet Foods

[Bonkers]

   According to this article from 2004 written by Dr. Deena Kristel - Rickert, that can be found at AllAboutFeed.net, she states; "that the majority of premixes that go into pet food are custom premixes. Either the pet food manufacturer provides specific premix formulas which they have generated from within their company, or they ask the premix company to formulate premixes for them. They are almost always a proprietory blend of ingredients that are not shared with any other companies. On occassion, companies may request a "standard" dog and cat premix as provided by the premix company".  "In general, approximately 90 to 95% of premixes are custom and proprietory premixes, with the remainder being standard premix/blends".                                                                                                                 Here is the link but you have to scroll down the page and download the article as a PDF. http://www.allaboutfeed.net/article-database/premixes-add-value-to-petfood-id150.html

[GreyGhost]

That's interesting. I didn't know the numbers.

[Bonkers]

   I searched for this info out of concern as to whether the same premix that was used in the Nutro recalled cat foods, was also used in other brands. Although no one yet knows for certain whether they were, it seems the odds are slim that another company would use the same formulation. That is of course unless other formulations were also mixed incorrectly.

[Perseus]

I contacted the Director of Quality Control at Wellness regarding their sourcing for the vitamin pre-mix they use, since I do feed a little Wellness to the gang and I know a lot of other people do, too.  Here's her response (she responded today, Memorial Day):

"We do get our vitamins and minerals from Trouw Nutrition. What we get though,
is a custom blend just for our products with a separate specification. I have
been in contact with them and have received written notification and
guarantee that our blend is in no way affected by the Nutro recall.

It is my understanding that only a limited amount of the Nutro product is
affected. Of course I don't have all the details, but it sounds like only one
batch of premix.

I am out of the office for the next few days but you can call or email me if
you have anymore questions."

I would like to get the Wellness canned grainless that I feed my gang tested just to be absolutely sure.  Does anyone have any suggestions on what lab to use?  I'm going to hold off feeding the Wellness until I can get test results. 

[5CatMom]

Perseus,

That reply is interesting because the QA Director didn't tell you that they tested their Trouw pre-mix, and found it to be in spec.

If you want to have food tested, maybe contact Pet Food Products Safety Alliance.  Here's a link:

http://www.pfpsa.org/

[Perseus]

5Cat, good point.  I just emailed her again asking if they conduct any regular testing of the pre-mix as part of their standard QC processes; and if they tested any of their batches specifically since the Nutro recall.

I'm very close to UC Davis and am researching how to send the Wellness food to their lab for testing.  If anyone has any info on UC Davis testing please let me know or PM me.

[Perseus]

I contacted the Director of Quality Control at Wellness regarding their sourcing for the vitamin pre-mix they use, since I do feed a little Wellness to the gang and I know a lot of other people do, too.  Here's her response (she responded today, Memorial Day):

"We do get our vitamins and minerals from Trouw Nutrition. What we get though,
is a custom blend just for our products with a separate specification. I have
been in contact with them and have received written notification and
guarantee that our blend is in no way affected by the Nutro recall.

It is my understanding that only a limited amount of the Nutro product is
affected. Of course I don't have all the details, but it sounds like only one
batch of premix.

I am out of the office for the next few days but you can call or email me if
you have anymore questions."

Here's the reply I received today from the Director of Quality at Wellness:

"No problem with the questions. That's what we're here for. My dog has a
sorted past with commercial pet food and seizures, so I know a little about
being worried.

We require a certificate of analysis for every batch that is made for the
ingredient premix. We audit our suppliers periodically to make sure their
systems are working as they should be. That being said, since the recent
recall, we have ordered some extra testing. Everything has come back in line
so far, but we continue to monitor our supplier- as we do all our suppliers."

Sounds like good QC processes.  But I'm still doing the testing. 

[coontuffy]

Here's my stupid question

Are these premixes possibly used in canned foods as well?

[GreyGhost]

Not a stupid question at all. I wonder about the same thing. Actually I need to call and find out Misty's canned.

[Perseus]

Here's my stupid question

Are these premixes possibly used in canned foods as well?

CT, there's no such thing as a stupid question when it comes to pet food!  In the case of Wellness, since I asked specifically about the canned grainless, yes, they use the pre-mix in their canned.  It's my understanding that any commercial food that has vitamins added uses a pre-mix.

Maybe we should start a topic of pet foods that do not use pre-mixes?

[Bonkers]

  I would be willing to bet that the pet food manufacturers that do not get their vitamin/mineral premix from Trouw are importing theirs from China. But if anyone has any information as to which pet food companies do not use Trouw as their supplier for their premix please post them.

[Perseus]

 I would be willing to bet that the pet food manufacturers that do not get their vitamin/mineral premix from Trouw are importing theirs from China. But if anyone has any information as to which pet food companies do not use Trouw as their supplier for their premix please post them.

I'll bet you the vitamins Nutro uses are from China.  Trouw is just the mixer, not the manufacturer.  If you look at their website for global locations, they're in lots of third world countries.  Only the best for our pets.

[Bonkers]

  Perseus you are most likely correct that all the premix ingredients are sourced  from China.    I have been giving this premix issue much thought and if one looks back, I believe that over the past few years there have been quite a few brands of pet food that were reported to contain excessive amounts of a vitamin and/or mineral. One brand that was reported to contain excessive vit D was Royal Canin. Another brand, Evangers Pheasant and Rice dry dog food, was privately tested and found to have excessive amounts copper. My question would be did these brands use Trouw as their supplier?   But ultimately I would venture to say the the responsiblilty rests with the actual pet food company to ensure that the guaranteed analysis of any given product is correct.

[lesliek]

Evangers does use Trouw. Brenton Weaver quoted Joel Sher about it on Itchmo. Don't know for sure about royal canin,but they are owned by Mars just like Nutro so they probably have the same supplier.Natural balance uses DMS and Nature's Logic doesn't use any.I contacted both of them.

[Bonkers]

  Thanks lesliek for the info. My next question would be what companies use Trouw that have never had any problems (that we know of) with the under or over supplementation of vitamins or minerals. So far Wellness has been mentioned as using Trouw and they have not had any issues that I can recall. I wonder who Natura uses?