[JCarlson2004]

Here is a list of some stuff that should NOT be in our dog's food:

*Animal Fat
AAFCO - Animal Fat is obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial process of rendering or extracting.
Natura - A byproduct of meat meal processing. The origin of the contributing animals is never known, and the resulting oil is very low in linoleic acid -- an essential fatty acid that is important for skin and coat health.

* Beet Pulp
AAFCO - Beet Pulp is the dried residue from sugar beets which has been cleaned and extracted in the process of manufacturing sugar.
Natura uses it because - "it as a good source of fiber and a stool hardener". However, it is not found in their Innova or California Natural products.
Solid Gold doesn't use it because they believe it is: "Added to pet food to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats (think toxic waste). This holds the waste in. Kidneys and liver work overtime. Dogs may chew their lower backs. Feet may swell, so the dogs lick their feet. Sugar is a contributing factor to ear infections and cataracts".

(Beet pulp is rather controversial, many think that it is an excellent additive and source of fiber and that all sugar has been completely extracted before being added as a pet food ingredients. If this is the only "problem" ingredient in a kibble, other factors will have to help you decide.)

*Beef Tallow
AAFCO - Beef Tallow is obtained from the tissue of cattle in the commercial process of rendering.

Natura states: "Although this is a very palatable source of fat, it is low in linoleic acid,which is necessary for skin and coat health"
Wendy Volhard in "The Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog" also shows that beef tallow is a saturated fat whose main purpose is flavoring and palatability of food. Linoleic acid is a polyunsaturated fat and the acid should should constitute about 1% of diet.

*Brewers Rice
AAFCO - Brewer's Rice is the small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice.

Natura will not use it because they state it is a "lower quality rice product that is missing many of the nutrients found in Ground Rice and Ground Brown Rice." Solid Gold says that is the sweepings from the floor of the mill.

*Chicken By-Products
AAFCO - Chicken By-Products consist of the rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, beaks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines -- exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.

Natura states that they do not use it because it is an inconsistent ingredient because of the multiple organs used and their constantly changing proportions. Chicken By-Products are much less expensive and less digestible than Chicken Meal.

*Corn Gluten Meal
AAFCO - 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 by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm.

Solid Gold states that it is: "Added to pet food to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats (think toxic waste). This holds the waste in. Kidneys and liver work overtime. Dogs may chew their lower backs. Feet may swell, so the dogs lick their feet. Corn is thought to be the #3 common cause of food allergies in dogs.
Natura uses it in cat foods because "Corn Gluten Meal is a plant protein source that is low in ash. It is used in Natura cat foods to balance the natural ash in chicken."

*Ground Corn
AAFCO - Ground Corn is the entire corn kernel, ground or chopped.
Neither Natura nor Solid Gold use it since: "Although Ground Corn is a good quality source of carbohydrates, it is thought to be the #3 common cause of food allergies in pets.

*Poultry By Product Meal
AAFCO - Poultry By-Product Meal consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, beaks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines -- exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.

Natura and Solid Gold feel that it is an "Inconsistent ingredient because of the multiple organs used and their constantly changing proportions. The origin is from any fowl (turkeys, ducks, geese, buzzards, etc.) instead of a single source, like chicken. Poultry By-Product Meal is much less expensive and less digestible than Chicken Meal."

*Rice Bran
AAFCO - Rice Bran is the outer coating of the rice kernel, with little or none of the starchy part of the germ.
Natura and Solid Gold reject it because it is "an inexpensive source of fiber that is considered a filler ingredient", i.e. devoid of nutrient value.

* Rice Flour
AAFCO - Rice Flour consists principally of the soft, finely ground and bolted meal obtained from milling rice (containing essentially the starch and gluten of the endosperm) together with fine particles of rice bran and the offal from the 'tail of the mill.'

Not used by natura or Solid Gold because "This is a highly pre-processed ingredient. All of the naturally occurring vitamins have been leeched out by the processing. Ground Rice with its natural nutrients intact would be preferable."

*Rice Gluten (Glue)
AAFCO - Rice Gluten Meal is the dried residue from rice after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of rice starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm.

Natura does not use Rice Gluten Meal, a poor quality protein filler. The 'Crude Protein' analysis on pet food labels is only a measurement of the amount of nitrogen in a food -- not the quality of the protein.Because of this, pet food companies can use the cheaper by-products of human food production, such as Rice Gluten Meal. Meat is always the best source of quality protein. Meat protein is better absorbed and retained and is higher in essential amino acids like methionine, arginine, and taurine. Rice Gluten Meal has a biologic value less than 50% of Chicken Meal.

Solid Gold states that any gluten is "Added to pet food to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats (think toxic waste). This holds the waste in. Kidneys and liver work overtime. Dogs may chew their lower backs. Feet may swell, so the dogs lick their feet.

*Sorghum
AAFCO - Sorghum is the ground grain of the sorghum plant.
Natura alleges that although sorghum is good source of carbohydrates, it is low in digestibility.

*Soybean Meal
AAFCO - Soybean Meal is the product obtained by grinding the flakes which remain after removal of most of the oil from soybeans by a solvent or mechanical extraction process.

Natura and Solid Gold state that it is "a poor quality protein filler. The 'Crude Protein' analysis on pet food labels is only a measurement of the amount of nitrogen in a food -- not the quality of the protein. Because of this, pet food companies can use the cheaper by-products of human food production, such as Soybean Meal. Meat is always the best source of quality protein. Meat protein is better absorbed and retained and is higher in essential amino acids like methionine, arginine, and taurine. Soybean Meal has a biologic value less than 50% of Chicken Meal. Some allege that soybeans are the #1 allergy of dogs."