What do you think?

 I agree with you. They will probably cheapen the ingredients, switch things up a bit and make it a lousy quality food. I hope they don't, for everyone else's sake, but I have serious doubts.

Been waiting for someone to bring this up.  Not sure I really care for the company enough to stick with them even if they ingredients were to stay the same.  I'm expecting they are going to cheapen things, which will make me laugh if the purchase ends up tanking on them.  I have a feeling though they will bring it to the supermarkets with the rest of their stuff.  Even if it decreases in quality however it might still finally give the average buyers, ones who aren't going to hunt down specialty stores, a chance at a better quality meal for their dogs and cats.  Sad to see Natura be bought out, especially since they are being done so by a company that seems to have such opposite ideas about what makes a good dog food.  Guess profits and money do win out in the end...

I think it's almost inevitable that the quality of their foods will go down.  P&G will mass market the foods.  We'll at least see them in Petco and Petsmart (like Eukanuba).  Although I doubt they'll go so far as to put them in grocery stores, WalMarts and Targets (like Iams).  I suspect it's almost impossible to mass produce a pet food and use the highest quality ingredients.  Even if the actual ingredient lists don't change, the quality (sourcing) of the ingredients will.  Now I'm not saying the foods are going to be awful by any means.  But I just don't see how they can maintain the same quality as Natura.

 I am worried about this as well. We've been using California Natural for awhile now and I would hate to think the quality of the product would go down. I don't think the food will be terrible by any means, but I would still be disappointed to see any aspect of its quality diminish.

Just remember there are a TON of loopholes in petfood -- things like they don't HAVE to put an ingredient on that label if THEY don't put it in there.

That means -- if their "meat source" is a place that scrapes up road kill that is heavily treated with BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin BEFORE they purchase the meat, they don't have to list it on their bag. 

They also have the worst record (to my knowledge) of any company for animal testing practices.  I wouldn't put a dime in their pockets.

 Ugh Callie, that makes me sad. California Natural has been so great for Ari, but if the deal goes through I do not like supporting companies whose practices I do not agree with. Plus, the food is easy for us to get. Maybe I'll start looking at some alternative, simple foods for Ari that we can find locally easily enough...just in case the sale goes through.

Since you mentioned ethoxyquin I thought I might mention the fact that all fish meal is preserved with ethoxyquin. Even thought the company states no ethoxyquin added if it has fish meal in it, it is already there even in the premium foods. Just one of those loopholes. The biggest problem with those big food companies is that they all own meat packing companies. They have a lot of scrap that is not fit for human consumption and they need a place to get paid for its use. This is why dog food companies are all being consumed by the big companies.

Dawnben

Since you mentioned ethoxyquin I thought I might mention the fact that all fish meal is preserved with ethoxyquin.

Do you have some sort of research to prove this?

This is a letter from one of companies (I say use ground flax seed it sounds like a lot safer way to get those omegas. Thank you for your concern regarding ethoxyquin. There is not any ethoxyquin added to the Taste of the Wild pet foods. Fish meal is preserved with ethoxyquin on the ships prior to entering port. Ethoxyquin is most effective at preventing rancidity in the highly volatile fish meal. Rancidity in ingredients can lead to severe illness. Fish meal is used in pet food formulas as an excellent quality source of amino acids and omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3’s are vital for a strong immune system, healthy skin and coat, controlling inflammation and even preventing certain types of cancer. Most of the ethoxyquin is destroyed in the cooking process. Taste of the Wild products have been tested for ethoxyquin, and shown to be significantly lower than the level the FDA has set as being safe, with tests under 5 parts per million, or 5 ten thousandths of a percent, a level considered undetectable by many laboratory methods. There is a small supply of ethoxyquin free fish meal available in the United States. However, this is not adequate to meet the supply demands for all pet food manufacturers that use fish meal. Also, the peroxide levels are much higher than we feel comfortable with. Peroxide is an indicator of oxidation. Peroxide can cause vomiting and may even cause damage to vital organs. Ethoxyquin is being used in scientific research as a cancer fighting antioxidant. When present in controlled amounts, it has never been shown to cause harmful effects. We hope this clears up any misunderstandings regarding our ingredients and appreciate you voicing your concerns. We hope you will consider trying Taste of the Wild pet food. Ethoxyquin was developed by Monsanto in the 1950's. Ethoxyquin was initially registered as a pesticide a meeting in 1956 between Monsanto, the maker of ethoxyquin, and the FDA, Dr. Lehman (of the FDA) said that if he was asked, he would have to rule that ethoxyquin is "harmful and deleterious," and that no amount of retesting could convince him, or others in his division, otherwise. And if that isn't clear enough, the article goes on to say that ethoxyquin is considered a hazardous chemical under the criteria of the OSHA Hazard Communication standards. It is not able to be detected after it is added to any product unless it is "tagged," and today it is illegally present in products in which it is prohibited by law.

Here is some more Fish meal, animal fat preserved with BHA, .. artificial flavors, ethoxyquin (preservative), propylene glycol. Let's stop there for a bit. Ethoxyquin is a great rubber preservative (yes, rubber preservative!) and pesticide. But for pet food? I found it interesting that OSHA has ethoxyquin listed as a hazardous chemical. It was given a rating a rating of 3 on a scale of 1 to 6. As a reference point, a substance with a rating of 6 is so toxic that seven drops of it can be fatal in humans. So 3 is one of your mid-level poisons, not the highest, not the lowest, just one of your solid run of the mill hazardous chemicals that our pets eat in this country every day. In fact, pets can consume up to 150 ppm (parts per million) of ethoxyquin per feeding. By contrast the maximum allowed amount for humans in foods such as eggs, meat, poultry, fruits, etc. is 0.5 ppm. Why is Fido getting 300 times more than a human? Because companies can get away with it.There has been a movement to reduce this amount to 75 ppm -- only 150 times more than the average human. Laboratory studies show that ethoxyquin in rats at a rate of 0.2 ppm have led to kidney, liver, and thyroid gland problems, as well as to a reduced growth rate. Now back to some of those other ingredients. How about fish meal? Fish meal for pets is stabilized with ethoxyquin at a level of 400-1000 parts per million. That's a lot of rubber preservative! BHA? Studies show it to be linked to stomach, urinary, and esophageal cancer. On the other hand propylene glycol, which is used in semi-moist pet foods, has been linked to kidney damage and central nervous system depression in laboratory studies.

There is a similar thread going on about this and I've posted this response, but here it is again.  I emailed Natura and expressed my concerns, since I do feed California Natural.  This is what they emailed me back today.

Thank you for confiding in us and sharing your opinion. We are glad that you have found success with our California Natural canine products.

Natura’s dedication to quality and nutritional philosophy has not changed.  Natura’s Founders; John & Ann Rademakers and Peter Atkins, started Natura’s’ business with the purpose to provide the healthiest pet foods in the world.  In building Natura’s business they have maintained animal health and wellness as a priority. They have strongly supported their independent retail partners. 

Please take a moment to reflect and think about the fact that they would not entrust their legacy to a new owner if they were not convinced that P &G would carry out their product philosophies and quality. P&G is committed to growing the Natura brands and they recognize the critical nature of growing the Brands through the independent pet specialty stores.

We will continue to celebrate and advance Natura's legacy and nutritional philosophy and maintain Natura's current high standards for product and ingredient quality, food safety and manufacturing excellence.  We will continue to support the development of a thriving independent pet specialty channel.

I’ll leave you with a parting thought…

Did you know P&G is working with the FDA and respected animal welfare groups, to work on reforming regulations and validating alternative methods to support this?

To learn more about these efforts and other facts, please visit…

http://www.pg.com/animalalternatives/

www.IamsTruth.com

www.aspca.org/iams                      Viewpoint of an independent animal welfare organization

http://www.biorap.org                  Biological Research for Animals & People

http://altweb.jhsph.edu/    Alternatives to Animal testing site

http://www.hsus.org                      Humane Society of the United States

http://www.ampef.org/                 Americans for Medical Progress Educational Foundation

Thank you once again for confiding in us.  We sincerely appreciate your history of support and hope that you will continue to trust our brands and our people.  We especially thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to your concerns.