Nutro Pet Foods makes a statement on their website that their Natural Choice® pet foods do not contain “ground yellow corn”. But…
On the Nutro® Natural Choice® High Energy dog food webpage, there is the following statement: “Like all NATURAL CHOICE® products, this formula contains no chicken heads, feet or intestines and no ground yellow corn.” However, the ingredients in this dog food, listed on the same page are: “Chicken Meal, Ground Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Poultry Fat…”
So the question is…Is Corn Gluten Meal ground yellow corn?
Taken from the 2011 Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Official Publication…
The definition of Corn Gluten Meal is “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. It may contain fermented corn extractives and/or corn germ meal.”
The definition of Ground Corn is “the entire corn kernel ground or chopped. It must contain not more than 4% foreign material. May also appear in the ingredient list of a mixed feed as Corn Meal or Corn Chop.”
It must be noted that the Nutro® statement specifically mentions no “yellow” corn; however, the official definitions of these ingredients in the AAFCO Official Publication are not specific to the color of the corn.
Maybe the corn gluten meal in the Nutro® Natural Choice® High Energy dog food is made from white corn. That could explain it (“no ground yellow corn”).
So what do you think? Is the statement on the Nutro® website fair to petsumers wishing to feed their dog a corn free food? Or is it misleading to petsumers wishing to feed their dog a corn free food?
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author, Buyer Beware
Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
PetsumerReport.com
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