Bad Ingredients

Ingredients to be aware of

http://www.tailblazerspets.com/tailblazers-pet-ingredient-dictionary.php

Rice - Cheap filler can cause diabetes in dogs, often indicates poorest quality possible.

Salt - Used to cover up rancid meat and fat, can cause kidney and heart disease, hypertension -- used to encourage cats to drink, source of sodium chloride.

Corn - Inexpensive feed-grade can include moldy grain or fungus which has cause death

Chicken by-product meal - Found in 23% of pet food products analyzed. Ground up carcasses, internal organs, beaks, feet. Concentrated.

Corn gluten meal - Found in 31% of pet food products analyzed. Waste product, cheap, non-nutritive filler but used as protein source -- can cause allergies and sugar imbalance.

Brewer’s rice - Found in 31% of pet food products analyzed. Waste product from breweries, cheap, non-nutritive filler can be harsh on intestines and lead to diabetes.

Wheat gluten - Found in 28% of pet food products analyzed. Poor protein source, used as a cheap, non-nutritive filler -- causes allergies.

Ground rice - Found in 17% of pet food products analyzed. Filler -- has been linked to diabetes, always indicates white rice, not whole grain but usually floor sweepings from rice industry.

Meat by-products - Found in 18% of pet food products analyzed. Non-descriptive indicates 4-D meat, cheapest source, can include diseased tissues (tumors) and organs.

Ground yellow corn - Is the entire corn kernel, ground or chopped. Corn is considered highly allergenic for many pets, is a cheap ingredient and is not recommended. Most corn is genetically modified (See GM), also making it undesirable. Because corn lacks or is low in critical essential amino acids such as lysine, methionine, arginine and taurine, it is not a good source of protein. (Natura.com)

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. (AAFCO, 2003) Soy protein is much harder to digest than meat, and is considered a cheap, poor quality protein filler. Most soy is also genetically modified (see GM), which makes its long term effects impossible to predict.

Corn gluten - Is the gluten removed from corn. Gluten is the sticky substance in corn (or wheat) that gives the starch its tough elastic quality, helping to hold together the pulverized composite of animal feed-grade ingredients (and create KIBBLE!) (Dr. Corrine Chapman, Rocky Ridge Vet Care). Gluten contains no nutritional value.

Ground wheat - Is the entire wheat kernel reduced in particle size by impact, shearing or attrition. (AAFCO, 2003) Since this is made from whole kernel (non-fractionated), it still has its nutrients in tact including protein, carbohydrates and B vitamins. Wheat however, is not very digestible and is used in lower quality foods.