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Natural Flavors

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  • #87279 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility
    Patrice
    Member

    I really think ā€œnatural flavorā€ (or ā€œnatural chicken flavorā€, ā€œnatural beef flavorā€, etc.) should be listed in red as a controversial ingredient. I know I wonā€™t buy food for myself that has ā€œnatural flavorsā€ in the list because MSG is a natural flavor (it is a salt, not a pertro-chemical, so it is not ā€œartificialā€ā€“but it is still an excito-toxin/nervous system agitator.)

    From http://slimdoggy.com/what-is-natural-flavor-and-is-it-good-for-my-dog/

    ā€œFor an idea of what a natural flavor is, the FDA website says:
    With respect to flavors, pet foods often contain ā€œdigests,ā€ which are materials treated with heat, enzymes and/or acids to form concentrated natural flavors. Only a small amount of a ā€œchicken digestā€ is needed to produce a ā€œChicken Flavored Cat Food,ā€ even though no actual chicken is added to the food. Stocks or broths are also occasionally added. Whey is often used to add a milk flavor. Often labels will bear a claim of ā€œno artificial flavors.ā€ Actually, artificial flavors are rarely used in pet foods.
    According to current labeling rules, dog food companies are allowed to consider these natural flavors proprietary, and are not required to disclose exactly what is used to make the flavoring nor how it is actually made (i.e., via a chemical process).ā€
    ā€”ā€”ā€“
    Merrick recently changed the ingredient list for ā€œMerrick Classic Real Chicken + Green Peas Recipe with Ancient Grains Adult Dry Dog Foodā€ to read ā€œnatural flavorā€ instead of ā€œnatural chicken flavorā€, so I called to ask why/what was in their ā€œnatural flavorā€.

    They said it was just flavor ā€œderived from chicken or beef livers, or whatever the main meat ingredient of the particular food is.ā€

    Derived how?

    ā€œWell, it comes from the livers.ā€

    How? <I was put on hold>

    ā€œWell, itā€™s just boiled down livers.ā€

    So why donā€™t you just say ā€˜chicken or beef or whatever concentrateā€™?

    <put on hold>
    ā€œWell, itā€™s derived from the livers. Like when you make a gravy.ā€

    So, itā€™s just ā€˜boiledā€™ livers?

    ā€œProbably.ā€

    So why donā€™t you just say ā€˜liver concentrateā€™?

    ā€œWell, itā€™s like when you make gravy.ā€

    When I make gravy I add seasonings for more flavor. MSG is considered a ā€˜natural flavorā€™ ā€” do you add MSG?

    ā€œItā€™s derived from the livers.ā€

    And itā€™s derived only by boiling?

    ā€œWell, itā€™s from the livers.ā€

    And it is only liverā€“thatā€™s the only ingredient?

    ā€œWell itā€™s the liver of whatever the main meat is.ā€

    I told Merrick customer service that I wanted to voice my disbelief that ā€œnatural flavorā€ was a simple concentrate, and that I believe it is a smoke-screen for additives and chemical processes they would not want to list separately because people would know how unhealthful it is.

    ā€œOK, Iā€™ll pass that along. Have a nice day.ā€

    #88423 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility
    Maria K
    Member

    I do think that Merrick can be a tricky brand because some of their formulas are great and some I wouldnā€™t feed. I do like the Classic Chicken, Peas with Ancient Grains formula though.

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