Pedigree Chicken, Rice & Vegetables
(canine)
(canine)
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FOOD COMPARISON: PEDIGREE CHICKEN, RICE & VEGETABLE (CANINE) AND WELLNESS
SUPER5MIX CHICKEN FORMULA
So many of our clients feed Iams, Purina, Purina One, Purina Beneful, Science Diet, and other foods that are
recommended to them, and which have slick advertising campaigns telling everyone how incredible these
foods are. This image gets in your mind, and makes it look like a great food choice… until you read the
label! We encourage you to read the front page of our food handout, which tells you how to understand
your pet’s food label. Once you learn what sounds good in an ingredient list, and what actually is good,
you're better able to choose the right food for your pet.
Below, we compare Pedigree Chicken, Rice & Vegetable dog food and Wellness Super5Mix Chicken Formula,
a higher-quality chicken-based food. Questionable ingredients are in bold type, with explanation below.
PEDIGREE CHICKEN, RICE & VEGETABLES INGREDIENTS (Top 18 ingredients):
Ground Whole Corn, Meat and Bone Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Animal Fat
(preserved with BHA/BHT), Natural Poultry Flavor, Wheat Flour, Chicken, Rice, Dried Whole Peas,
Wheat Mill Run, Dried Beet Pulp, Wheat Gluten, Salt, Carrot Powder, Potassium Chloride, Vegetable Oil,
Caramel Color
Interpretation: “Ground Whole Corn” is the entire ear of corn, including the cob, but without the husk,
ground up. Corn is a leading source of allergies in dogs, but the #1 ingredient in this food. “Meat and
Bone Meal” is defined as the rendered product from animal tissues, including bone, but exclusive of any
added blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents, except in such
amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices. Notice it says “added” hair, horn, etc.,
and it does NOT specify what sort of animal it may come from. It can be any sort of dead animal, once any
useful (to humans) parts are removed, and the rest is run through the grinder. And this is their top protein
ingredient??? “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. Not only is this another corn fragment, it is added to pet
food to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats (think toxic waste!), which then holds waste in,
stressing the kidneys and liver. “Chicken By-Product Meal” is the ground, rendered, clean parts of the
carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of
feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice. Note that this is
an inconsistent ingredient, because of the multiple organs used and their constantly changing proportions.
They are cheaper and less digestible than chicken or chicken meal. Anything called a “by-product” means it
is not deemed fit for human consumption, and may even contain diseased or chemically tainted tissue.
“Animal Fat” is a generic term for fat “obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the
commercial process of rendering or extracting.” It is much better to have a specific source, such as “chicken
fat,” or “beef fat.” Animal Fat could contain anything including road-kill, diseased farm animals, euthanized
pets, and other animals not seen as fit for anything other than a rendering plant. The worst part of all
regarding this ingredient, however, is that it is chemically preserved with BHA and BHT, two preservatives
that have a high likelihood of being linked to cancer. “Natural Poultry Flavor” fails to name a specific
source (chicken, turkey, etc.) and is questionable since it does not tell you what this “flavor” is. Generally it
is a blood product or a condensed organ broth. “Wheat Flour” is highly processed, and is what’s left after
all the useful (nutritious) parts of the wheat are removed, and the offal from the “tail of the mill.” Wheat is
another ingredient that is believed to be a cause of pet allergies. “Rice” isn’t generally a bad ingredient,
but it doesn’t say brown or (processed) white, whole or fragmented grain, all of which are very important.
“Wheat Mill Run” is a low quality filler defined as “coarse wheat bran, fine particles of wheat bran, wheat
shorts, wheat germ, wheat flour and the offal from the "tail of the mill". “Dried Beet Pulp” is a source of
fiber, but also of sugar, which is unnecessary and undesirable. “Wheat Gluten” is the dried residue left
after the removal of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran. It is a fragmented, very low
quality protein filler. “Salt” is not something we should be adding to our pets’ food. “Carrot Powder” is
undefined. Powdered whole carrots? Leftover bits after the “good” part of the carrot is used for other
purposes? High quality foods that use vegetables would say, for example, “Ground Whole Carrots.”
“Potassium Chloride” is used as a salt substitute and to replenish electrolytes, but it is also used in
fertilizer and in massive doses for lethal injections. “Caramel Color.” What needs to be said? An
unnecessary chemical to make the food “look good.” Do dogs care what color their food is???
WELLNESS SUPER5MIX CHICKEN FORMULA (Top 18 ingredients):
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Rice Bran (from brown rice),
Rye Flour, Canola Oil, Whitefish, Tomatoes, Natural Chicken Flavor, Flaxseed, Ground Millet, Carrots,
Apples, Spinach, Blueberries, Sweet Potatoes
Interpretation: There are essentially no objectionable ingredients in the top 18 in this food. The only
somewhat questionable ingredient is Natural Chicken Flavor, because it is not specific enough. Oatmeal is
a good carbohydrate source, rich in B vitamins, a high quality protein, and easy on the stomach. Brown
Rice is a superior carbohydrate source, much better than processed white rice (which loses key nutrients
during processing). Brown Rice is rich in B vitamins. By using Brown Rice, Barley, and Oatmeal, this food
avoids the wheat, corn, white rice (often just fragments) and soy commonly used, which are difficult to digest
and are leading allergens in pet food. Flaxseed is the whole ground seed, not a “meal” or fragment of the
seed. Flax Seed is rich in essential fatty acids and B vitamins. Whitefish is a specific high-quality fish
protein, high in essential fatty acids. As for the remaining ingredients on the list, they are whole, natural
foods, minimally processed. These help round out the variety of nutrition in the food. Wellness also makes
a Fish & Sweet Potato variety that is a good choice if you suspect your pet may have allergies to
ingredients in other foods.
SUPER5MIX CHICKEN FORMULA
So many of our clients feed Iams, Purina, Purina One, Purina Beneful, Science Diet, and other foods that are
recommended to them, and which have slick advertising campaigns telling everyone how incredible these
foods are. This image gets in your mind, and makes it look like a great food choice… until you read the
label! We encourage you to read the front page of our food handout, which tells you how to understand
your pet’s food label. Once you learn what sounds good in an ingredient list, and what actually is good,
you're better able to choose the right food for your pet.
Below, we compare Pedigree Chicken, Rice & Vegetable dog food and Wellness Super5Mix Chicken Formula,
a higher-quality chicken-based food. Questionable ingredients are in bold type, with explanation below.
PEDIGREE CHICKEN, RICE & VEGETABLES INGREDIENTS (Top 18 ingredients):
Ground Whole Corn, Meat and Bone Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Animal Fat
(preserved with BHA/BHT), Natural Poultry Flavor, Wheat Flour, Chicken, Rice, Dried Whole Peas,
Wheat Mill Run, Dried Beet Pulp, Wheat Gluten, Salt, Carrot Powder, Potassium Chloride, Vegetable Oil,
Caramel Color
Interpretation: “Ground Whole Corn” is the entire ear of corn, including the cob, but without the husk,
ground up. Corn is a leading source of allergies in dogs, but the #1 ingredient in this food. “Meat and
Bone Meal” is defined as the rendered product from animal tissues, including bone, but exclusive of any
added blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents, except in such
amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices. Notice it says “added” hair, horn, etc.,
and it does NOT specify what sort of animal it may come from. It can be any sort of dead animal, once any
useful (to humans) parts are removed, and the rest is run through the grinder. And this is their top protein
ingredient??? “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. Not only is this another corn fragment, it is added to pet
food to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats (think toxic waste!), which then holds waste in,
stressing the kidneys and liver. “Chicken By-Product Meal” is the ground, rendered, clean parts of the
carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of
feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice. Note that this is
an inconsistent ingredient, because of the multiple organs used and their constantly changing proportions.
They are cheaper and less digestible than chicken or chicken meal. Anything called a “by-product” means it
is not deemed fit for human consumption, and may even contain diseased or chemically tainted tissue.
“Animal Fat” is a generic term for fat “obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the
commercial process of rendering or extracting.” It is much better to have a specific source, such as “chicken
fat,” or “beef fat.” Animal Fat could contain anything including road-kill, diseased farm animals, euthanized
pets, and other animals not seen as fit for anything other than a rendering plant. The worst part of all
regarding this ingredient, however, is that it is chemically preserved with BHA and BHT, two preservatives
that have a high likelihood of being linked to cancer. “Natural Poultry Flavor” fails to name a specific
source (chicken, turkey, etc.) and is questionable since it does not tell you what this “flavor” is. Generally it
is a blood product or a condensed organ broth. “Wheat Flour” is highly processed, and is what’s left after
all the useful (nutritious) parts of the wheat are removed, and the offal from the “tail of the mill.” Wheat is
another ingredient that is believed to be a cause of pet allergies. “Rice” isn’t generally a bad ingredient,
but it doesn’t say brown or (processed) white, whole or fragmented grain, all of which are very important.
“Wheat Mill Run” is a low quality filler defined as “coarse wheat bran, fine particles of wheat bran, wheat
shorts, wheat germ, wheat flour and the offal from the "tail of the mill". “Dried Beet Pulp” is a source of
fiber, but also of sugar, which is unnecessary and undesirable. “Wheat Gluten” is the dried residue left
after the removal of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran. It is a fragmented, very low
quality protein filler. “Salt” is not something we should be adding to our pets’ food. “Carrot Powder” is
undefined. Powdered whole carrots? Leftover bits after the “good” part of the carrot is used for other
purposes? High quality foods that use vegetables would say, for example, “Ground Whole Carrots.”
“Potassium Chloride” is used as a salt substitute and to replenish electrolytes, but it is also used in
fertilizer and in massive doses for lethal injections. “Caramel Color.” What needs to be said? An
unnecessary chemical to make the food “look good.” Do dogs care what color their food is???
WELLNESS SUPER5MIX CHICKEN FORMULA (Top 18 ingredients):
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Rice Bran (from brown rice),
Rye Flour, Canola Oil, Whitefish, Tomatoes, Natural Chicken Flavor, Flaxseed, Ground Millet, Carrots,
Apples, Spinach, Blueberries, Sweet Potatoes
Interpretation: There are essentially no objectionable ingredients in the top 18 in this food. The only
somewhat questionable ingredient is Natural Chicken Flavor, because it is not specific enough. Oatmeal is
a good carbohydrate source, rich in B vitamins, a high quality protein, and easy on the stomach. Brown
Rice is a superior carbohydrate source, much better than processed white rice (which loses key nutrients
during processing). Brown Rice is rich in B vitamins. By using Brown Rice, Barley, and Oatmeal, this food
avoids the wheat, corn, white rice (often just fragments) and soy commonly used, which are difficult to digest
and are leading allergens in pet food. Flaxseed is the whole ground seed, not a “meal” or fragment of the
seed. Flax Seed is rich in essential fatty acids and B vitamins. Whitefish is a specific high-quality fish
protein, high in essential fatty acids. As for the remaining ingredients on the list, they are whole, natural
foods, minimally processed. These help round out the variety of nutrition in the food. Wellness also makes
a Fish & Sweet Potato variety that is a good choice if you suspect your pet may have allergies to
ingredients in other foods.