Purina is now offering a pet product made with “human grade ingredients”. Not a food or treat, but a “meal enhancement”. Here are the details.
If this product is accurately advertised on the Purina website (still waiting on a response from Purina), this is the first – to my knowledge – pet product made by any of the world’s largest manufacturers to be “made with real, human-grade ingredients”. This is good news. I applaud Purina for this step forward – small step it might be.
The ‘human grade ingredient’ products are termed meal enhancements – they are a topper to add to a pet food. Flavors available are Beef & Carrot, Berry Blend, Chicken & Pumpkin, and Oatmeal & Apple Puree for Dogs. There is no meal enhancement options for cats.
Ingredients in the Purina Savor meal enhancements are mostly simple food ingredients. Example the ingredients for Beef & Carrot Puree for Dogs is: Water, beef, carrots, apples, celery, brown rice, oatmeal, Vitamin E supplement, Vitamin A supplement.
The product doesn’t appear to be manufactured by Purina – the website states “Distributed by” for each of these products. So we do not know if the products are manufactured in the US using US ingredients or if they are manufactured outside the US from outside the US human grade ingredients. Questions sent to Purina have not been responded to yet.
Other pet products that have the ‘human grade’ claim are required to go through FDA Letter of No Objection process to make the claim on labels and advertising. I questioned the FDA if Purina had obtained their Letter of No Objection, FDA would not provide this answer stating a Freedom of Information Act request would need to be filed. Again, Purina has not responded.
With the horrible waste ingredients existing regulations allow into pet foods/animal feed, certified human edible ingredients is the only safe option. If you have any doubt to the quality of ingredients in your pet’s food – ask the manufacture to provide you proof. If their ingredients are truly certified human edible ingredients, they will be more than glad to provide you that proof.
Purina – this is a good first step (pending responses to questions). Can we expect a pet food from Purina made with “real, human grade ingredients”?
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food
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Brenda
September 16, 2014 at 2:14 pm
So what, I’ve been cooking human grade food for my dogs which I pour over their kibble. They love it. I don’t need to buy processed human grade food.
Gitta
September 16, 2014 at 2:23 pm
Yes, it could be a step in the right direction, if the label claim holds up under the spotlight.
It seems somebody at Purina is asleep at the wheel. How is it possible to no notice that there IS a market for truly high quality pet food. Unless that would pose a problem: marketing junk and human grade pet foods simultaneously. Maybe they are just dipping their toes.
Peter
September 16, 2014 at 3:15 pm
Oh, Purina executives and market researchers definitely know that there is a market for truly high quality pet foods. And they are afraid of that, because it runs counter to their profit metrics and what products they have shoved on the public for years. There is no where in the field of commerce, where the offerer (big agribusiness) holds its end-use purchaser (the consumer, who buys the product and provides income to the offerer) is held in such contempt. Purina’s business model is based very much on deception, and presenting their products as other than they are. The problem now, however, is that profitable market is under pressure, and long-term, it is beginning to change, a bit. Consumers have shown that they will pay for better products.
What really has to happen is for consumers to shown that they shouldn’t pay enormous prices for junk food. A can of cat food, by weight, costs more than a prime cut of meat. Those who cook for their animals, are the smart ones.
Pacific Sun
September 16, 2014 at 8:10 pm
This is very true Peter. The higher end cans of DF are now about $3.28 each! So much of it is water! My two dogs share a can a day so that could be about $23 weekly. I figured out how to use $17 worth of pure beef cuts (some are steak quality) from Costco at $4.99 lb which lasts 2 and sometimes 3 weeks. I buy yogurt anyway, and also use it in my recipe. Red Mills Oat bran last for months, as does a huge container of oatmeal. Tapioca is good too. Frozen Lima, or Black or Pinto (canned) Beans (are great protein sources), canned Pumpkin (fiber) is cheap at Winco’s. So is Tuna & Salmon. Also use Bananas, frozen Fruits, pineapple juice (aids digestion) and steamed broccoli. If one of my dogs didn’t have to eat fat free, I’d use coconut oil, and double on the Salmon. Just had a complete blood panel done on my younger dog who has been eating home made for more than a year, and everything was PERFECT. My 15 year old is in great shape both energy and temperament wise and he doesn’t need to over drink water anymore. They go happily crazy over mealtime!!
Home made is the way to go!!!!
Anita
September 16, 2014 at 2:30 pm
Another ploy by Purina. Let’s face it, they are about profits, not quality.
Olivia
September 16, 2014 at 5:30 pm
Then why is Purina not making a dry kibble with human grade instead of just something to put on top of their product that has wheat, corn and by-products. Definite ploy as Anita says.
Duncan Ness
September 16, 2014 at 2:33 pm
Like Brenda, I cook human-grade “enhancements” for my dogs. But, if someone else has done this (I mean, really done this), it is rather like buying prepared foods: rather good in an emergency but pricey to maintain on a regular basis.
pat chesney
September 16, 2014 at 3:22 pm
I find that feeding Lucky Dog Cuisine is less expensive than cooking it myself. ALL ORGANIC ! My dogs love it.
Cathy
September 16, 2014 at 7:18 pm
Pat Chesney – Lucky Dog Cuisine is NOT “ALL ORGANIC”.
http://luckydogcuisine.org/our-menu/
On the website, I found six ingredient labels. Two turkey recipes contain ‘Organic Ground Turkey’. None of the grains, potatoes, vegetables, fruits or oils are organic.
Peg
September 16, 2014 at 2:37 pm
Fancy Feast is made by Purina so this might be the “Version” for cats.
Just say the commercial last night.
Made me want to run out and buy it…………………….NOT
Peg
September 16, 2014 at 2:38 pm
http://www.fancyfeast.com/gourmet-cat-products/broths
OOPS!! Forgot the link……sorry
dearcat
September 16, 2014 at 2:40 pm
Doesn’ t Purina realize there are as many cat people as there dog people? Anyway, I agree with Anita. Just another ploy for profits. I supplement my Maine Coon’s diet with homemade food.
Marsha
September 16, 2014 at 2:43 pm
I will not say anything bad at this time. Have to wait and see.
I would not use the product since it contains grains.
I have used organic human food for a long time for my dogs.
Debbie
September 16, 2014 at 2:45 pm
I trust nothing from Purina and never will again. They lost me with the Waggin Train Chicken jerky strips and their crappy smarta$$ attitude. its nothing more than trying to regain their reputation. But you know..once a_____, always a ______!!
T
September 16, 2014 at 2:46 pm
So pour some of this on generic kibble and your dog will eat it. Why not spend the same money on better food to begin with? Every time I see someone buying those topper things I want to ask them how much money they spend on the bag and the can and why they don’t spend that same amount of money on a better quality kibble. Sportmix and Ol Roy give me the chills. If only those people knew what they were really feeding.
Linda
September 16, 2014 at 2:49 pm
I feed my 90# Doberman human grade food all the time. Carrots or Sweet Potatoes, brown rice cooked in the broth from boiled chicken, and chicken. My son says, he gets Thanksgiving dinner every day. I also use venison when available. I no longer trust any dog food, not treats or rawhides, either. My dog’s sister, suddenly started having seizures and it fried her brain. I had to put her down. I think it was because I used Round-Up on Burdock, but we don’t have any idea for sure, so I decided to cook for him and any dog I have in the future. It seems to me, they are still feeding the same old stuff, and trying to make it more palatable.
Laura
September 16, 2014 at 2:57 pm
I still don’t trust them and would never, ever feed anything from them to my animals.
pat chesney
September 16, 2014 at 3:19 pm
So Purina is telling us with this “enhancement” that what they have been saying is complete nutrition isn’t?
Wil Rutar
September 16, 2014 at 3:41 pm
Finally a cooked product we all could eat? I will do a trail run before my dogs ever will. Of course under a doctors supervision. Fact or fiction?
Kathryn
September 16, 2014 at 3:46 pm
I wouldn’t drink this Kool-Aid if I were you!
Brent
September 16, 2014 at 4:00 pm
Yep, just tapping into wallet of those of us that have made the leap to higher quality pet food. As I read this I wondered, If the food you are serving is real/fresh, etc., it would have an appetizing aroma to your pet, thus you would not need to use ‘enhancements.’ I saw an ad on TV for IAMS touting no corn/wheat/soy, by-products, etc. I think the movement is actually working and these behemoth companies are marketing directly to us now. I say, “Too late to the party.” I will never be able to trust them…ever.
Caroline Snyder in West Virginia
September 16, 2014 at 4:03 pm
Hmm .. “Made WITH Human Grade Ingredients”.
I thought that “WITH” means a minimum of 4% of the “WITH” ingredient under FDA regs. E.g. Purina’s Beneful dried food is a good example – Beneful Original WITH Real Beef AND Vegetables
First few Ingredients (US site): Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, rice flour, BEEF, soy flour, meat and bone meal, propylene glycol
When you go to zoopplus (European) you can see that the BEEF is only 4% of the pre-baking ingredients.. as is “VEGETABLES” of course, “BEEF” is also 84% water so after baking the amount of beef is considerably less than 4%!
Ingredients:
Cereals (35%), meat & meat by-products (26% meat in red lumps, 4% beef in red lumps), vegetable protein extracts, oils and fats, sugar, vegetable by-products, minerals, vegetables (4% vegetables in the green and yellow kibble).
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/beneful/52732#composition
Personally, I wouldn’t trust Purina as far as I could throw them!
Marcia
September 16, 2014 at 4:06 pm
yes indeedy, now it would appear that moldy hog corn is a meat enhancer!!! all these years and who knew?
Marcia
September 16, 2014 at 4:04 pm
I don’t like that term “meat enhancer” when Purina uses it. I know how to mash baked sweet potatoes and steamed green vegetables and add vitamins to his diet, thank you, as well as a few other tricks. You have to wonder if Purina is “enhancing” meat with dead livestock and domestic animals as it routinely uses them in its products. I don’t trust them as far as I could throw them.
T Allen
September 16, 2014 at 4:32 pm
Not a chance this is legitimate. First off, it is unlikely (or in such small amount as to be just broth flavoring) it has clean muscle or organ meat, born, raised and processed in USA organically. Second it will have a GMO corn product in it and/ or it will have a grain in it. It isn’t even have a full complement of vit/min so it could be used as a topper for raw meat. Just another way to sucker less educated consumers. Word is starting to get out though and eventually their empire will crumble. I won’t ever buy from this company because of their lack of ethics.
stone8pin
September 16, 2014 at 4:49 pm
I’m pretty sure that this product is being made from sources outside the United States…just wait, you’ll see.
Suzi
September 16, 2014 at 6:08 pm
Life’s Abundance is supposed to have all human grade ingredients but is not noted on the label. The claim is that legally they couldn’t put it on the label. And it also has all ingredients that are from the US.
I had been a Purina feeder from 60 until a dozen plus years ago when I switched to LA. I was happy with tge results but when I learned about ingredients, I left it behind. I hope that this is the start of them improving their product.
Amanda
September 16, 2014 at 6:17 pm
Sorry I don’t trust them any farther than I can throw ’em. Honestly they could be selling repackaged Honest Kitchen and I still wouldn’t buy it. I don’t buy any product owned by animal testers. Period. And Purina is right on up there contributing to the issue. So that piled on with the lack of transparency, the deluded belief they have with how premium high quality food is a trend that will pass on by in time, and the ratio of crap ingredients to passable ones is enough to make me cringe whenever I walk past the food in a store.
Hopefully this is a turning point (doubtful) and the company is taking a good hard look at what consumers really want for their pets, but the unfortunate thing is that ingredients are only one part of the problem with companies like them. They could be selling gold plated caviar, but if I cannot trust the company’s honesty, transparency, ethics, and standards, I can’t trust the product.
Olivia
September 16, 2014 at 6:46 pm
I’ll be anxiously awaiting Purina’s reply. Thanks, Susan.
I've Got the 'Scoop'!
September 16, 2014 at 8:45 pm
Hi, Susan!
Enhancement for the worst quality food… now isn’t that an insult!!! I wonder why aren’t they improving the actual food. Love your optimism, and I typically join you in giving the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise, but when it comes to Purina, I just can’t get past the name after all I’ve learned about pet nutrition, much of it from you, thank you!!! : )
Lori
Pet Sitter who will NEVER buy a Purina product, EVER!!!
Deb
September 16, 2014 at 10:17 pm
Is there any reason that Purina can’t use human-grade or even animal-edible ingredients in their entire product line? They have spent hours doing product development meetings in my pet supply store in Denver and we are always happy to help them help themselves. I would NEVER carry anything with the Purina name on it, but every little step towards health is a step forward for them.
Dianne
September 17, 2014 at 12:58 am
The packaging looks very much like baby food packages. I bet it will be a lot more expensive and honestly, if you really want to do this, why not just buy suitable baby food?
Ms. B Dawson
September 17, 2014 at 8:27 am
“FDA would not provide this answer stating a Freedom of Information Act request would need to be filed.”
Why in the h-e-double-toothpicks would you need a Freedom of Information Act request to find out if a company is telling the truth about food ingredient quality?
Sigh. I’m so glad I’m not a holistic pet retailer any more, it’s not worth it.
Ellie
September 17, 2014 at 10:06 am
Is there actually a definition for “human grade” ingredients? I mean if there is no real meaning to “human grade” they can stick whatever they like in there and call it “human grade.”
Pinky Collins
September 17, 2014 at 11:09 am
I wouldn’t purchase anything that Purina made for my pets. Is this suppose to be for
people who feed crappy food, then they can add this and think now it’s healthy?
What you have to remember is there different grades of foods. Just because it says carrot does NOT make it healthy. They can be old moldy carrots that have sat in bins of old corn. I dont trust then and I never will.
They will NEVER change. They will continue to get the most money for the crappiest foods.
barbara m
September 17, 2014 at 2:43 pm
Purina has known of the changes in consumer habits re pet food. This latest idea of this “human grade – meal enhancement” product, I predict, will have many or all of its ingredients sourced from outside the US, esp. China, except perhaps the beef. As is known, China has sub-par standards (to put it politely) and no US safety inspectors.
Purina will buy vegetables, fruits and grains that have been “enhanced” by herbicides, pesticides, artificial fertilizers and who knows what else in the processing. The vitamins will also come from China, as they always have.
I can’t imagine Purina doing anything that didn’t involve profit. (Chinese workers get $1-2 per hour.) Many consumers will be duped by this “new improved” Purina. Change will happen in the pet food industry, altho at a seemingly glacial speed.
Valerie Noyes
September 17, 2014 at 3:46 pm
Pouring a bit of human grade food on top of a pile of crap still leaves you with a pile of crap. My dogs eat human grade food entirely, not just a topper. And I would never, ever, ever trust anything from Purina.
Lisa P
September 18, 2014 at 3:52 pm
This is good news but the one thing I don’t like is brown rice. Brown rice has the highest concentration of arsenic in it. White rice has of course the hulls removed so it’s lower. But a good step regardless! Very shocked.
Terri Janson
September 19, 2014 at 1:47 pm
I am also concerned about GMO’s (genetically modified organisms). I will no longer use the rice because of the arsenic and now have to watch out for the GMO’s in human grade food when making homemade. I am feeding Orijen which is grain free and the bag says GMO free. Hope that’s true. It is made in Canada with free range chicken/turkey (the version I am feeding). When I make homemade (they get both) it is very hard to find GMO free fruit and vegies. I have a list of GMO varieties to watch out for, but when you buy (like say) carrots or broccolli the package does not give the variety. Thanks Monsanto 🙁
Even now the sweet corn down the road from me is GMO corn… 🙁 Sooooo…. I do not eat any corn and try not to eat/get products with corn ingredients in it. NO canola oil..no beet sugar and their are other products to stay away from as well.
But…like I was saying, it’s hard to make a homemade food for my dogs and trying to avoid adding GMO’s to it.
Even if you grow a garden, you have to check the seeds to make sure they are not GMO.
Dianne
September 23, 2014 at 10:06 pm
I wasn’t aware of broccoli and carrots being GMO. Eek! Two very popular things to feed pet birds.
Ellie
September 25, 2014 at 10:49 am
I don’t know where you live but it is next to impossible to feed animals from traditional grocery store foods. There are online sites that you can find that will alert you to farmers in our area that produce natural foods. There is actually a big off the grid network of such farms out there. Many of them make their products available online.
Our local grocery store sells genetically engineered chicken that is honestly almost the size of a turkey. They also sell natural chicken for more than twice the amount of money! The natural chicken is much, much smaller but the price is just outrageous!
You can search online for growers in your county or surrounding counties that grow naturally or organically. There are also sites that will email you information about farmers markets in your area. Once you get plugged into a good source you will find more and more out there that are not so easily found.
We have saved so much money shopping this way both for our own food and food to prepare for our pets.
Stevce
September 24, 2014 at 4:33 pm
Solid Gold pet has a 100% human ingredient dog treat garlic bagels. In fact they are manufactured in a ‘human’ food’ bakery.
Dianne
September 24, 2014 at 7:13 pm
I thought garlic was not good for dogs.
Jane Anderson
October 13, 2014 at 5:46 am
One time I bought a bag of Purina dry dog food. I opened the bag, a bunch of moths flew out. I took it back and exchanged it, had the store open it before I left. A bunch of moths flew out. Purina can make all the food, all the human grade food and accessories all it wants. Judging from my previous experience with Purina quality, it can be human grade food when it enters production. But will it still be human grade food when it leaves?
Laura
October 13, 2014 at 10:54 am
“it can be human grade food when it enters production. But will it still be human grade food when it leaves?”
That’s a really good point, one I never thought of. You could apply that to any company that makes human-grade animal food.
Ellie
October 13, 2014 at 12:17 pm
They expect us to just trust them. They never explain to their customers the process their ingredients go through in order to make a product that can sit on the shelf for months at a time.
Human foods are much the same. The process used to make fresh food into something that can sit on a shelf for an extended period always includes the destruction of the natural nutrition.
Kyla @ Eco Cool Dog
October 13, 2014 at 1:54 pm
I am so glad that this website explains the dangers of pet food. So many people have no clue what we as a nation are doing to our pets by feeding this crap to them. Raw feeding is the way to go. This industry is killing our pets!