The latest celebrity to join the pet feed business is Trisha Yearwood. From a promotional article in People.com:
“My animals are my family, and I want my animals to eat well,” Yearwood said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. “You want to feel good about what you’re feeding your animals just like you want to feel good about what you’re feeding your own family. I was always told not to feed my animals from the table but thought, ‘Why can’t they have something like I’m having?'”
‘Something like‘ human food, ‘something like‘ what Trisha Yearwood has for dinner? Unless the ingredients in this dog food are human grade (human edible), it is nothing like human food.
Feed grade is defined as: “Material that has been determined to be safe, functional and suitable for its intended use in animal food, is handled and labeled appropriately, and conforms to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act unless otherwise expressly permitted by the appropriate state or federal agency (Suitable for use in animal feed).”
Feed grade ingredients and feed grade pet foods conform to federal law…unless they are “permitted” to violate law. Unfortunately, the FDA gives it full permission to any pet feed manufacturer to source ingredients from “diseased animals or animals that died otherwise than by slaughter“. (See “Final Response Letter from FDA CVM to Association for Truth in Pet Food” https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FDA-2016-P-3578)
Again, unless the ingredients in this dog food are human grade, it is NOTHING similar to human food.
Below is an image of one of the dry dog food recipes:
If you notice the lower right of the label, there is an image of a grilled steak with the words “Real Beef #1 Ingredient” – with an arrow pointing from these words to the grilled steak. Those words and that arrow…implies that the grilled steak is the #1 ingredient in this dog food.
Pet food regulations state: “A vignette, graphic, or pictorial representation on a pet food or specialty pet food label shall not misrepresent the contents of the package.” So…we sent the following questions to the Trisha Yearwood Pet Collection website on March 7 and again on March 9, 2021:
Who manufactures the pet food for you?
Are ingredients human edible? or are ingredients feed grade?
Are supplements human edible? or are supplements feed grade?
The images on the pet food labels show grilled beef, grilled chicken, and grilled pork. Are the beef, chicken, and pork ingredients grilled as these images portray?
What is the country of origin of all ingredients and all supplements?
The Trisha Yearwood Pet Collection company has not responded to our questions.
Is the beef grilled as the image on the label indicates? Are the potatoes cut into wedges and roasted as the image on the dog food label indicates?
Or is the label of the new Trisha Yearwood dog food misrepresenting the contents?
Should Trisha Yearwood’s company respond, we will share their replies to our questions.
Wishing you and your pet the best –
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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AJ
March 10, 2022 at 2:49 am
All good questions and good points.
Janet
March 10, 2022 at 7:57 am
Another celebrity jumping on the bandwagon. People will flock because of her name just like they do with Rachel Ray and we all know what’s happening with that food. I guess they don’t make enough money selling music. So sad and I will never sell a food like this. NEVER!
chris
March 10, 2022 at 1:32 pm
When I tried to tell the Pioneer Woman who did treats thru Purina that her treats would not have real meat in them, she ignored me. I tried facebook and her website. I told her that she was not a good influence by promoting things that were not healthy and that people would buy it without checking it out because it had her name on it. Shame on these people.
Peg
March 13, 2022 at 9:28 am
Do these celebs not have enough money? They have zero knowledge, IMO, of animal nutrition other than to slap their name on a bag and collect the royalties. I have lost any and all admiration I had for The Pioneer Woman.
Quincy
March 26, 2022 at 6:13 pm
In general, I’ll never trust a food with a celebrity spokesperson. We should also start asking the following questions of these companies:
Who formulates the food and what are their credentials?
Does the company do digestibility trials?
Can the company provide a typical analysis?
Is the food tested for toxins and heavy metals?
What food safety certifications does the manufacturing facility have?