I don't feed RAW. At least not yet. I do plan to at some point and the Anatolians do get raw meaty bones and organs whenever we get them, but in the mean time I try to feed them high quality food. I have been so worried lately about another recall of dog food. It seems every few months, one brand or another is getting recalled, usually due to Alfatoxin in the grains. I think one good way to avoid this is to get a dog food that's grain-free. But then I started wondering where dog food companies get their meat. Does it come from China? Is it dog meat (yes, this is legal but not widely practiced in this country)? I am probably going to switch to Taste of The Wild so I contacted them to get more info and was pleased with what I learned. This is an Email I got from Taste of The Wild today. I think I am going to start changing them over now. They are currently on 4-Health but I believe TOTW is a better food.
"Our foods are manufactured in three facilities, all in the United States. One is located in California, one in Missouri and one in South Carolina.
We use some ingredients that are not USA sourced, like flaxseed and barley, both which originate in Canada and lamb meal from New Zealand, potato protein from Germany and dried chicory root from Belgium.
There are ingredients that are critical to our formulations (i.e. folic acid, taurine, vitamin C) that can only be sourced out of China. Our choice is to either include these ingredients or manufacturer our foods without them, which would not be in the best interest of your pet, in our view.
Some pet food companies are making "China-Free" claims despite the facts I've outlined above. They accomplish this by utilizing a loophole in European law. European laws allow for ingredients purchased outside their continent, then reprocessed in Europe, to be labeled with European origin. We could likewise hide behind that loophole in the law, and tell you what you want to hear, but choose not to for obvious reasons. I'd rather you not feed our foods than to tell you they are China-free, when they are not.
Food safety is our #1 priority and it shows in the amount of new business we get from word of mouth-friends and neighbors talking to one another, recommending our foods. "
"Our foods are manufactured in three facilities, all in the United States. One is located in California, one in Missouri and one in South Carolina.
We use some ingredients that are not USA sourced, like flaxseed and barley, both which originate in Canada and lamb meal from New Zealand, potato protein from Germany and dried chicory root from Belgium.
There are ingredients that are critical to our formulations (i.e. folic acid, taurine, vitamin C) that can only be sourced out of China. Our choice is to either include these ingredients or manufacturer our foods without them, which would not be in the best interest of your pet, in our view.
Some pet food companies are making "China-Free" claims despite the facts I've outlined above. They accomplish this by utilizing a loophole in European law. European laws allow for ingredients purchased outside their continent, then reprocessed in Europe, to be labeled with European origin. We could likewise hide behind that loophole in the law, and tell you what you want to hear, but choose not to for obvious reasons. I'd rather you not feed our foods than to tell you they are China-free, when they are not.
Food safety is our #1 priority and it shows in the amount of new business we get from word of mouth-friends and neighbors talking to one another, recommending our foods. "
