Removed amaranth from Ocean Blue?

Sharon - personally I am referring to the statments from the Vet at the FDA as she did specifically say it wasn't approved for use in pet food - I do believe the original response from her stated further testing would need to be done before it could be considered safe. 

Honestly, I would think the main concern would be the amounts used.  If it's used as a "grain" substitute, large quantites would be present - I would have a bit of concern over that until proven other wise.  If it were the leaf used, not as a staple ingredient, I would have to look into it.  I have not researched the leaf being used in pet food.   
 
ETA:  I hope you don't mind if I steal your not a grain explanation and share it with others.

f it's used as a "grain" substitute, large quantites would be present

If you're looking at where amaranth is included in the ingredient list in most of these foods it's clear that it's NOT there in any large quantities. It's usually like 20th down on the list or more meaning there's probably only enough added to get some of the benefits from the amino acids. It's certainly not being used as a protein source. I have never seen it listed in the top 10 ingredients in any of the foods I've seen that include it.  I still think some of the petfoods are using the leaf variety because it's a veggie like spinach. There are SO many varieties of Amaranth it would be impossible to say that any of these companies are even using the same variety.

I hope you don't mind if I steal your 'not a grain' explaination and share it with others

Why would I ? There is PLENTY of information online about Amaranth. They will all tell you that amaranth isn't actually  a grain. Most will tell you it is a seed that can be USED as a grain so is therefore classified along w/grains.

http://wv.essortment/com/whatisamaranth_rirz.htm
http://www.primalseeds.org/amaranth.htm
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/cropsystems/DC3458.html
http://healthrecipes.com/amaranth.htm

Well here is some interesting information I just came across. This article claims amaranth seeds DO NOT contain saponins.
www.seedsofchange.com/enewsletter/issue_38/quinoa.asp

Right you are about the variety.  Sadly, it doesn't seem as though anyone is willing to share what type of amaranth they are using.

[quote[why did timberwolf stop using it

I guess when enough people cry wolf,they listen??? Maybe the leaf has got something bad in it,or the stem or the seed and they thought it best to stay away from the unknown! Who knows,this amaranth uproar has never made any sense to me [8|]

Not an uproar for me - I don't feed any commercial food nor do I feed any carb source so it really doesn't matter much to me.  It was a discussion on a previous thread and I offered to try to get info from dog food companies that use it as well as the FDA.
 
The previous discussing brought the knowledge from John at Eagle Pack that amaranth wasn't approved for use in pet food  - that would be where all this stems from.  Naturally, if it wasn't approved, everyone wanted to know why and why it was being used.
 
I think these have been very informative threads and we've all learned a lot.  []

I'm just curious, is it possible to assume that there wasn't a lot of amaranth to begin with? I took a look at the TO website and the protein levels haven't changed.

I've tried amaranth- yuck.  I can eat quinoa and millet without complainaing, so it's not that I'm super picky...but the texture is kind of slimy- like okra, and the taste is kind of gross, too.  I rinsed it and toasted it first- still gross.
 
 

If you look at where Amaranth was located in the list of ingredients it's clear that TO was not using it as a protein source. It was included for these reasons :
 
The mineral contents in amaranth surpass every other grain. For example, it has twice as much calcium as milk. Unlike most other grains, it contains the amino acids lysine and methionine. It's high in vitamins A, C and E. About 10% of amaranth is made of an unsaturated, high-in-linoleic-acid oil.
 
That's why you see no change in the protein levels. I for one don't think they should have removed it. There are hundreds of thousands of ingredients that are not or have not yet been approved for use in pet foods, or people foods. That doesn't mean there's anything WRONG w/them. They just haven't been tested.  Amaranth also has no more saponins than millet and other seeds and millet is approved.  Saponins are destroyed during the cooking process anyways so that's not even a valid reason to not use it.

    Hi Sharon,  If you don't mind me asking, did you have the surgery you were talking about, and if so, how are you doing? Also, were you able to sell the TO in the generic bags with the ingredient labels stuck on them?

ORIGINAL: jessies_mom

    Hi Sharon,  If you don't mind me asking, did you have the surgery you were talking about, and if so, how are you doing? Also, were you able to sell the TO in the generic bags with the ingredient labels stuck on them?

 
Hey, thanks for asking    I made an appt to see an ENT md and he checked me out and said everything was fine !  He looked at the MRIs and said that the technician 'overread' them and that just because the films were cloudy in that one area, it didn't necessarily mean there was fluid in the mastoid cavity. He even did hearing tests and everything was normal.   Better safe than sorry I guess but I'm really ticked off that I was put through that kind of a scare for no reason. I was REALLY worried about having to go through that operation.  Well luckily that's one less thing I have to worry about now.
 
I haven't bothered w/trying to sell the TO in the generic bags. Actually I'm going to take it over to the Humane Society to see if they want it. If they want to give me some money for it, fine.. I'll sell it to them cheap.  Otherwise I'll donate it and take the tax write-off for next year. My cats really like it though so I've set aside a few for them.
 
Sorry for being OT folks.........