Dog Community

Science Diet email....

Posted : 5/3/2006 6:20:24 PM

So one day I felt like visiting the Science Diet website, and decided to email them asking why they decide to list corn as the first ingredient in their foods....so they sent me an email back I thought you guys might be interested in reading (it is a load of BULL), not to mention they didn't even answer my question:

Dear Ms. Phillips :

Thank you for contacting us.

As the global leader in pet nutrition, our main objective is to provide wholesome
foods that are carefully balanced to deliver appropriate levels of specific
nutrients understood to improve health, while avoiding excessive levels of nutrients
thought to have detrimental effects on health over the course of a pet's life.

We maintain the highest standards of quality control for our manufacturing
facilities, our ingredients, and our finished products. We source meat and poultry
ingredients from plants that process foods for human consumption. As part of a
vigorous vendor certification program, vendors must test raw ingredients before
shipment to our manufacturing facilities.

Frequent inspections of our suppliers, analytical testing of incoming ingredients,
and testing of our finished products all confirm our commitment to quality. Also,
Hill's works voluntarily with the American Institute of Baking, an organization that
monitors human food manufacturing processes, in order to ensure safety and
sanitation levels are maintained.

The pet food industry is highly regulated in the U.S. by the USDA, FDA and state
department of Agriculture. Additionally, Hill's is a member of the Pet Food
Institute, a trade industry organization that works to maintain high quality
standards in pet food manufacturing.

All of our foods are formulated by scientists and veterinarians. We have been
leading the pet food industry for over 50 years.

More veterinarians feed Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. products to their pets than any
other pet food.

Attached is additional information you may find helpful.

Comments from our customers are one of the most important sources we have for
measuring the quality and acceptance of our products and services.

Sincerely,

Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc.
Consumer Affairs

**Keep in mind the articles they attached were titled: "Corn, the wonder grain" and "Leading the pet food industry for 50 years" that just talked about their sales.
**They also sent an article saying "that even though dogs are classified in the order carnivora, they don't have to be fed that way" ?!?!?!

kennel_keeper

Posted : 5/3/2006 6:31:48 PM

Sounds like a "form" email! One of those standard replies they send everyone with any serious inquiries about their foods.

ron2

Posted : 5/3/2006 6:41:41 PM

It's sad that they didn't answer your question directly. OTOH, I have client/friends who have two coonhound mixes and a APBT and they feed Science Diet and are completely happy with it.

schlep

Posted : 5/3/2006 6:43:23 PM

As the global leader in pet nutrition, our main objective is to provide wholesome
foods that are carefully balanced to deliver appropriate levels of specific
nutrients understood to improve health, while avoiding excessive levels of nutrients
thought to have detrimental effects on health over the course of a pet's life.

"I mean, we put stuff in there that effects the health of your pet over their life, just not excessive amounts of it. We're not monsters."

ron2

Posted : 5/3/2006 6:46:48 PM

Also, I recently found the statement that led to the rumor that Dr. Remillard of petDIETS.com was the queen of Science Diet, as phrased by John Trackman. At the site, people have sent in questions and received answers and these were all organized in to a cornucopia of FAQs. In one of them, a director of an ASPCA Shelter was approached by Science Diet to provide free food to them and she wanted to know what Dr. Remillard thought of it.

Dr. Remillard said she didn't see anything wrong with it. She could have said the same thing about Purina, Iams, or whatever food, as long as it follows AAFCO guidelines, as she is not in the business of recommending one food brand over another and plainly states that no single brand of food is going to be good for all dogs. So, because she didn't have a hissy fit and forbid the acceptance of Science Diet offered to an animal shelter, which lives largely on donations, she became branded "Queen of Science Diet."

astaracheetah

Posted : 5/3/2006 8:57:12 PM

Wow it's hilarious how they professionally beat around the bush and even made it sound pretty! >^^;<

sandra_slayton

Posted : 5/3/2006 11:25:05 PM

Science Diet RD was the only thing that pulled weight off KayCee. My vet fed his Irish Setter SD and she died at 15. His almost 7 year old English Setter is a Champion and has always been fed just Science Diet. So it must really work for some dogs.

This is just a litte off topic, but it does kinda fit in. My farm grown Grandma went into a nursing home at age 95. She threw a fit that they would not let her have two eggs friend in butter for breakfast every morning, something she had eaten her entire life. They made her drink low fat milk (she wa use to FRES Hstraight from the cow milk loaded with cream) They would not season green beans with bacon drippings, etc, etc etc. They kept telling her how bad this food was for her. She finally had her fill and informed them that she had lived to be 95 eating this food and by gum, she was not going to starve because they thought they knew what was best for her. They started letting her have fried eggs, whole milk, etc. She died in Aug. before she would have turned 100 in Dec.

To me that says what is bad for one person is not bad for another, and I think the same can be applied to dogs.

papillon806

Posted : 5/4/2006 11:55:55 AM

OK, so I got another email back from them when I inquired about the BHA/BHT and ethoxyquin still used in the pet foods....they claim with the articles they sent me that they are 100% safe.....?! I can't post them on here, but if you would like me to email them to you....email me at jlphilli@ncsu.edu