Clean Label Project

[1 bruce 1]

Thanks for the laugh!! I needed that!

Always happy to make someone smile and laugh =)
(I'm tipping an imaginary hat. I feel kind of fancy right now.) =)

 

[Joan's Kitties]

Always happy to make someone smile and laugh =)
(I'm tipping an imaginary hat. I feel kind of fancy right now.) =)

It's a gift! :-)

 

[1 bruce 1]

It's a gift! :-)

(Tipping hat again)
I feel like the Planters Peanut Dude =D
Where's my monacle?!?!

 

[Joan's Kitties]

I assume those "contaminants" exclude carrageenan and other natural substances. If the CLP cared about those things, Purina, Whiskas, 9 Lives, Meow Mix, and Hill's - which all got 5 stars - would be rated lower than brands like Tiki Cat.

No, they don't consider those additives contaminants.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Most research is conducted at the aggregate level, so it only tells us what’s true on average, not what’s true for all.

Not only that but did you see this in the FAQs: "The five star system is our way of telling consumers how contaminated their pet’s food is compared to the rest of the products we tested. [...] "
(my bold)

Have they tested 100% of the food out there?! lol

 

[Daisy6]

No, they don't consider those additives contaminants.

Exactly my point. When judging how bad a cat food recipe is, you have to include all of the crap that should not be in there.

 

[6catsmom]

WJLA re-tested the 10 dog foods that were found to contain the most heavy metals in the Clean Label Project’s study.
Here are the test results (at the bottom of the page):
Long-term health effects of pet food containing heavy metals: Are they safe?

 

[6catsmom]

After reading the reports, I think it’s not a bad idea to avoid the food with the lowest rating..

 

[Joan's Kitties]

WJLA re-tested the 10 dog foods that were found to contain the most heavy metals in the Clean Label Project’s study.
Here are the test results (at the bottom of the page):
Long-term health effects of pet food containing heavy metals: Are they safe?

After reading the reports, I think it’s not a bad idea to avoid the food with the lowest rating..

What do you think of this?
The “Clean Label Project” is playing dirty.

 

[1 bruce 1]

What do you think of this?
The “Clean Label Project” is playing dirty.

Good article, but I agree with the commenting that mentions calling integrative medicine "not caring about evidence" a bit of a snitty, childish remark that really didn't need to be said.

 

[6catsmom]

I have read most of the articles regarding CLP online, including the link you provided. I can see there are a lot of criticisms and doubts about them. The 5-star rating system is not clear, I agree. But I do consider a lot of aspects when choosing the food for my cats. From bad ingredients, BPA etc, to company recall history, founded year and even if the customer service is responsible or not. CLP is one of the aspects but not my top priority. I won’t use Whiskas/Purina even if they are ranked 5 stars in CLP. I do use some wet food that was ranked 3 stars in their project, but would like to avoid those with 1 star ranking, just to play safe. There is no “best food” in the market. CLP/ heavy metal test is just one way to evaluate a food. No matter what we choose, food rotation is always important. The more variety we add, the safer the diet will be.

 

[Azazel]

Good article, but I agree with the commenting that mentions calling integrative medicine "not caring about evidence" a bit of a snitty, childish remark that really didn't need to be said.

My vet is integrative and she is the most knowledgeable, reliable, thoughtful, and informed vet I have met. I stopped reading the article after that comment.

 

[Joan's Kitties]

I have read most of the articles regarding CLP online, including the link you provided. I can see there are a lot of criticisms and doubts about them. The 5-star rating system is not clear, I agree. But I do consider a lot of aspects when choosing the food for my cats. From bad ingredients, BPA etc, to company recall history, founded year and even if the customer service is responsible or not. CLP is one of the aspects but not my top priority. I won’t use Whiskas/Purina even if they are ranked 5 stars in CLP. I do use some wet food that was ranked 3 stars in their project, but would like to avoid those with 1 star ranking, just to play safe. There is no “best food” in the market. CLP/ heavy metal test is just one way to evaluate a food. No matter what we choose, food rotation is always important. The more variety we add, the safer the diet will be.

I came to many of the same conclusions decisions and also rotate my cats' foods. Included in my rotation is Purina Beyond Turkey, and unfortunately the recipe was changed (and not for the better as it now contains menadione) after I used the first case. Since I am using a Purina product, may I ask why you wouldn't use it?

 

[1 bruce 1]

My vet is integrative and she is the most knowledgeable, reliable, thoughtful, and informed vet I have met. I stopped reading the article after that comment.

I agree. It's still a good article but hopefully the author will realize that backhanded slap remarks like that might dampen their credibility to some audiences.

 

[Joan's Kitties]

I agree. It's still a good article but hopefully the author will realize that backhanded slap remarks like that might dampen their credibility to some audiences.

I expected that CLP was something like the EWG database of cosmetics/foods rated for safety. Even the EWG is not without criticism, but at least there is a sense of satisfaction and a "feeling" of safety when one can choose one product over another. With the CLP, however, even if one wanted to err on the side of caution and reject foods that tested poorly, there aren't any good options since their recommended foods, even if "cleaner" than others are problematic in their other ingredients. Was it the author who made the comments or someone commenting on the article?

 

[1 bruce 1]

I expected that CLP was something like the EWG database of cosmetics/foods rated for safety. Even the EWG is not without criticism, but at least there is a sense of satisfaction and a "feeling" of safety when one can choose one product over another. With the CLP, however, even if one wanted to err on the side of caution and reject foods that tested poorly, there aren't any good options since their recommended foods, even if "cleaner" than others are problematic in their other ingredients. Was it the author who made the comments or someone commenting on the article?

I can truthfully say I don't know.

I think CLP, as a whole, is a great idea. Ingredients can be tricky to figure out and I think finding "clean" labels is important and a damned fine goal. "Natural",and other words used that have absolutely NO mandating need to be called out for what they are--buzz words.
But I just don't trust it right now. In their dog food section, some of the best brands IMO are rated 1 star and true, utter crap is rated 5.
I won't (and don't) bash Purina as a whole, but no one on Gods green earth will ever convince me "Beneful" contains "cleaner" ingredients than things like Orijen. I'm not even talking ingredient lists or what the food actually contains, I just do not buy that Beneful contains the "cleanest" meats (and sugars, and dyes, and lions and tigers and bears oh my) than a smaller company that has everything to lose by using shit quality ingredients.
JM(cynical)O =)

 

[Daisy6]

Anyone who says integrative medicine vets and doctors do not care about science and research does not know what integrative medicine is.

 

[6catsmom]

I came to many of the same conclusions decisions and also rotate my cats' foods. Included in my rotation is Purina Beyond Turkey, and unfortunately the recipe was changed (and not for the better as it now contains menadione) after I used the first case. Since I am using a Purina product, may I ask why you wouldn't use it?

When choosing a food, one of my most important criteria is that the brand shouldn’t have any previous recall that linked to pet deaths. This is an unacceptable mistake that should NEVER been made, in my opinion. This is also why I avoid using Weruva and JM Smucker (although they may be good food to some people).
Every pet parent may have different standards for a good cat food. But our common goal is to find the safest and best possible food for our cats.

 

[Azazel]

Just bumping this thread to let everyone know that Champion (owner of Orijen and Acana) is being sued for high levels of mercury in their cat foods. The lab results are provided by the clean label project.


Another Champion Pet Food Lawsuit, Now it is Cat Food

 

[Joan's Kitties]

I was particularly interested in the safety of Orijen because I had been feeding it to my cats regularly. When I checked the CLP score for Cat and Kitten and Regional Red last August, I saw they were rated at 1, the lowest rating, yet they were not in the CLP list of the 10 worst cat foods. Why would they sue Champion in particular if they found that there were not the "worst"? Another thing to consider: Product value is part of the star rating. I think this should be irrelevant to the "clean" rating since a high priced food judged to be overpriced will result in an overall lower score, while a food with ingredients considered to be less healthy or bad for cats, if it is inexpensive, will have a better value rating, thereby raising it's total score.