There has been a lot of controversy and confusion lately regarding dog food nutrition and the ingredients that they contain.
No doubt you have either read Facebook posts or listened to the dog show on italkFM on Saturday mornings in which there was an attempt to discredit certain dried dog foods and especially Chudleys which was actually mentioned on air.
The controversy seems to revolve around the term "EC Permitted Antioxidants" or "EC Permitted Additives", a term which is said to allow pet food manufacturers to add certain preservatives and additives to their food without actually having to list them.
The concern seems to be that some of these preservatives and additives are actually linked to cancer and other health problems.
The term "EC Permitted Antioxidants" can be found on dog food manufactured by Dodson & Horrell because it has been required by law. However, new regulations that came in to effect September 2011 has allowed this term to be removed to make the ingredients more user friendly to read and avoid confusion.
Because Dodson & Horrell are committed to using only the best ingredients in the manufacture of their pet foods, the antioxidants and preservatives used in production are actually: mixed tocopherols (also known as vitamin E), vitamin C and rosemary extract which are natural antioxidants helping to maintain the stability of the food.
These antioxidants are declared on the bag as follows: “EC permitted antioxidants: mixed tocopherols, vitamin C and rosemary extract”. Translated into laymen’s terms this actually means: “The antioxidants being used in this product are permitted for use in pet food by the EC and they are as follows: mixed tocopherols, vitamin C and rosemary extract” and nothing more sinister than that.
Both Chudleys and Autarky products are manufactured using a fixed recipe, which ensures quality and consistency in every batch. They only contain raw materials, which are sourced from non-genetically modified origins, using locally sourced ingredients wherever possible.
In addition, they contain the parts of the chicken carcass, which are nutritionally beneficial to the animal; for instance, no feathers or undesirable parts are included.
All chicken used in Chudleys and Autarky recipes is of human grade. Chudleys and Autarky products are made in the UK in a dedicated medication-free pet food plant, controlled under ISO and HACCP systems.
All products are manufactured in accordance with the rules of the quality assurance scheme ISO 9001:2000.
The procedures followed ensure traceability of each ingredient, in some cases back to the field in which it was grown, essential when requiring the highest quality ingredients.
In addition to this, ISO 9001:2000 ensures all daily routines have the strictest of quality control systems, from the delivery of raw ingredients through the computer controlled blending of those raw ingredients; the extrusion process which cooks the raw ingredients, to the laboratory that tests every cooked batch, before giving authorisation for the food to be bagged and palletised.
So in conclusion, all of our products use only the best ingredients which contain no harmful additives, chemicals or anti-oxidants. All the ingredients are listed and nothing is hidden.
