Gluten Free Label On Dog Food

[Daxin]

Okay. My poor dog is sensitive to certain things in food. Imagine my surprise when we found a dog food labeled as gluten-free. Thought we'd give it a try. Upon reading the ingredient list I find BARLEY!!!!

We e-mailed the company, and this is the chain of conversation that followed:

Us: Just wondering how you can claim that the dry dog foods are gluten free? they contain barley products which are not gluten free and oatmeal, which is by nature gluten free until it is harvested on the same machinery as regular gluten containing grains...thus they are no longer gluten free. Reasonable product, however a false claim for people searching for foods that are healthy for their pets with these types of intolerances...if you mislead in this direction then what else would you mislead about?

Them: Thank you for your interest in BLUE. All grains have a gluten component of the whole grain. When we say gluten free, we mean that we don

[Darn210]

Now...we are not eating the dog food, it is more the principle of the bad labeling. Thanks...just needed to vent.

. . . and vent you should!!! It would also be a source of cross contamination in your house . . . from handling the dog food . . . and from receiving doggie kisses!!

Thanks for the heads up on this company!!

[2kids4me]

it is not just this company/ Labelling laws for pet food manufacturers ARE different than for human food. There was a thead about this a while ago. They do not label it as wheat free - just free of "added gluten"...and many leave out the word "added"..it is a more common claim on pet food bags since the whole fiasco with contaminated gluten source from China that led to many pet deaths.

So now pet food companies want to let it be known that they use whole grains rather than just gluten that could be contaminated.

Is it right? No, it leads to confusion for those of us who are used to that label on human food. A majority of the popualtion of pet owners dont even know what gluten is - only that it killed pets when it came from China.

Is it legal? - yes, because it is not meant for human consumption. As far as I know there is no company that produces pet food in a dedicated gluten free facility.

edit - add on - there ARE foods free of gluten for pets, see post below. They are produced in facilities that also make gluten containing pet food

Sandy

[AMQmom]

I have one of those Gluten-Free shopping guide books and it lists Nutro as gluten-free dog and cat food.

[psawyer]

I have one of those Gluten-Free shopping guide books and it lists Nutro as gluten-free dog and cat food.

Not all Nutro products are gluten free. A number of their cans and pouches have wheat gluten in them. Read the ingredients, as the ingredient will be listed as "wheat gluten." Some Nutro products are gluten-free.

Most wet foods with gravy or sauce use wheat gluten as a key ingredient in the sauce. That is why the recall in 2007 affected so many different brands and formulas.

Pet food is my business. We own a store that sells pet food and supplies.

[ravenwoodglass]

I am glad I never picked up one of those bags. What they are doing is dangerous for us super sensitive folks. I go with Innova Evo, a totally grain free dog and cat food. My pets thrive on it. There are some other for sure gluten-free foods for pets out there, I just look for the ones that are totally grain free. Dogs and cats do not need grains in their diets, the companies use them as fillers and binders for the waste product meat that is generally used.

[mamaw]

I buy all no grain pet food. It is more costly but so worth it for the pet & the family members who are celiac....

[psawyer]

...the companies use them as fillers and binders for the waste product meat that is generally used.

This generalization is in false. In most cases, the meat sources used are from the same pool as our own food.

Some people are confused when they see the term "meal" on a pet food label. Meal is meat which has had the water and fat processed out. Since meat is over 75% moisture to start with, the result is a much more concentrated form of the meat. Nothing is added, and only moisture and fat are removed.

As a previous poster has mentioned, the rules on labeling for pet foods are different than for human food, and in most cases force the label to says less than it wants to. For example, on a human food you can list "whole grain basmati rice," but if that same ingredient is in a pet food you can only say "brown rice."

[jkmunchkin]

Y'know I didn't post about it, but I had the same thing happen to me not with BLUE, but with HALO! It says right on the bag that it's gluten free, but the 3rd or 4th ingredient in, is barley.

Atleast you got a response. I emailed them several weeks ago and haven't heard a thing.

My dog is not sensitive to foods, and I just wash my hands after feeding him, so I wasn't giving it to him for any reason other than I'd heard it's an excellent food; but I wanted to alert them to the mistake for anyone that does really need to feed their dog gluten free.

Would have been nice if my email was acknowleged.

[ShayFL]

This could be REALLY important for someone who has a celiac baby/toddler and a dog. Think about it. Kids put everything in their mouths!!

[ravenwoodglass]

This could be REALLY important for someone who has a celiac baby/toddler and a dog. Think about it. Kids put everything in their mouths!!

It's actually really important for all of us. The pets lick themselves and deposit gluten residue all over their coats, we pet them and then we get 'mystery' glutening. Opening a canned gluten pet food with my family can opener got me for months. I thought I was reacting to tomatos. About the only thing I use regularly canned. Got a can opener for just my food and all was okay again. Many of us find we have problems also if we have pet birds. I finally ended up giving my parrot away because I got tired of the risk and the hassle of trying to keep his seed from invading the whole house. Also some cat litters have gluten ingredients and can put a lot of dust into the air.

[ShayFL]

Good point. Our dog food is gluten-free and so are their treats. We already went there even before I went gluten-free. Had a dog that was sensitive to it. She had neuro symptoms (siezures and strange twitching). Went away when we switched to lamb/rice based food. It should have been a clue for me as well........

[AndrewNYC]

I am concerned that my lhasa apso may have refractory sprue.

[Leslie-FL]

It's actually really important for all of us. The pets lick themselves and deposit gluten residue all over their coats, we pet them and then we get 'mystery' glutening. Opening a canned gluten pet food with my family can opener got me for months. I thought I was reacting to tomatos. About the only thing I use regularly canned. Got a can opener for just my food and all was okay again. Many of us find we have problems also if we have pet birds. I finally ended up giving my parrot away because I got tired of the risk and the hassle of trying to keep his seed from invading the whole house. Also some cat litters have gluten ingredients and can put a lot of dust into the air.

Uh-oh . . . I hope Fresh Step isn't one of those!