Stella & Chewy's freeze dried - "pea fiber" new ingredient

[lisamarie12]

I don't use S&C's FD due to it being too high in phosphorus, however, for those who do use SC FD, I noticed they have now added pea fiber to their cat food.

They came out with a new 3.5 oz bag of meal "morsels" that includes the pea fiber, not sure if SC's regular sized bags will be the same.

I know some people would prefer not to have any peas, pea flour, pea protein, pea fiber or pea anything in their cats' food, especially raw.

Have a great day everyone.

 

[missmimz]

Yes the pea fiber does appear to be new. I have a bag of FD turkey that's a few months old and doesn't contain pea fiber. It's high up there on the ingredients list too.

Seems like they're moving in the direction of Merrick by using more fillers and less meat based ingredients. 

 

[lisahe]

I also have a bag of "legacy" S&C that doesn't have either the pea fiber or the menadione. The amount of pea fiber seems like it must be small (and I have to wonder if they added it because the food has so much bone, hmm) but I agree with @missmimz that it's not a good sign!

We only use a small amount of Stella & Chewy's so it won't be a big loss, particularly since the cats like Northwest Naturals and Feline Natural so well!

Thanks, LisaMarie12, for posting about the new ingredients. It's so frustrating to see how often the recipes get changed.

 

[red top rescue]

Oh, they have gone to the menadione too?  That's totally unnecessary.   You have to watch the good guys like hawks, lest they turn into bad guys. 

"Food sources of natural vitamin K (K1) are green leafy vegetables; which are not on the ‘top ten’ list of many pets. Pet food ingredients that could provide natural sources of vitamin K are alfalfa and kelp. However, as you probably have figured out, synthetic vitamin K or menadione is a great deal less expensive than the natural sources of alfalfa and kelp."

(Quoted from http://bigcatrescue.org/menadione-sodium-bisulfate/)

 

[lisahe]

Thank you for adding that quote, @Red Top Rescue! I wonder if that explains the alfalfa meal in Merrick's LID foods. (Which I now no longer feed anyway because of, yes, peas!)

And you're right about having to watch the companies like hawks: things can change so fast. And good for Rad Cat for making special lids for their food to tip people off to the HPP meat.

 

[red top rescue]

If you buy from Chewy.com, and you have one of the new products with pea fiber and menadione, you should contact Chewy.com because their list of ingredients does NOT include those!  So either they still have legacy product or they have not updated their ngredients list.  I checked because there was something I bought at the store that had some differences in the ingredients list, and Chewy.com had an outdated ingredient list posted.  (The newer formula was better.)  I did notify them and they said they would review their ingredients for that particular brand.  I havent checked back to see if it's changed, I just let them knw that what I got in the store doesn't match what they have on the web site.

Chewy's FD Chicken ingredients (per Chewy.com)

Chicken (Ground with Bone), Chicken Liver, Chicken Gizzard, Pumpkin Seed, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Phosphate Monobasic, Choline Chloride, Dried Pediococcus Acidilactici Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Longum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Taurine, Tocopherols (Preservative), Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

Stella & Chewy's FD Turkey ingredients (per Chewy.com)

Turkey (Ground with Bone), Turkey Liver, Turkey Gizzard, Pumpkin Seed, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Phosphate Monobasic, Choline Chloride, Dried Pediococcus Acidilactici Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Longum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Taurine, Tocopherols (Preservative), Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Monnitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

No peas, no menadione.  So either they have legacy, or they have an outdated ingredients list. 

 

[lisamarie12]

 
If you buy from Chewy.com, and you have one of the new products with pea fiber and menadione, you should contact Chewy.com because their list of ingredients does NOT include those!  So either they still have legacy product or they have not updated their ngredients list.  I checked because there was something I bought at the store that had some differences in the ingredients list, and Chewy.com had an outdated ingredient list posted.  (The newer formula was better.)  I did notify them and they said they would review their ingredients for that particular brand.  I havent checked back to see if it's changed, I just let them knw that what I got in the store doesn't match what they have on the web site.

Chewy's FD Chicken ingredients (per Chewy.com)

Chicken (Ground with Bone), Chicken Liver, Chicken Gizzard, Pumpkin Seed, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Phosphate Monobasic, Choline Chloride, Dried Pediococcus Acidilactici Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Longum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Taurine, Tocopherols (Preservative), Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

Stella & Chewy's FD Turkey ingredients (per Chewy.com)

Turkey (Ground with Bone), Turkey Liver, Turkey Gizzard, Pumpkin Seed, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Phosphate Monobasic, Choline Chloride, Dried Pediococcus Acidilactici Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Longum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Taurine, Tocopherols (Preservative), Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Monnitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

No peas, no menadione.  So either they have legacy, or they have an outdated ingredients list. 

I order from Chewy occasionally and whenever I'm researching a new product (new to me), there is sometimes a discrepancy with Chewy's ingredient list vs the manufacturers, the former having an old list -- this has happened several times. One company I contacted, I can't remember which one -- the customer serv rep said they (the company) was responsible for updating Chewy with a new ingredient list whenever there is a formula change.

And then of course there is always the confusing issue of companies being allowed to use old ingredient labels, despite a change in formula, per the FDA, for up to six months.

 

[lisahe]

I order from Chewy occasionally and whenever I'm researching a new product (new to me), there is sometimes a discrepancy with Chewy's ingredient list vs the manufacturers, the former having an old list -- this has happened several times. One company I contacted, I can't remember which one -- the customer serv rep said they (the company) was responsible for updating Chewy with a new ingredient list whenever there is a formula change.
And then of course there is always the confusing issue of companies being allowed to use old ingredient labels, despite a change in formula, per the FDA, for up to six months.

This explanation for the Chewy/manufacturer discrepancies is what I'd suspected. That and the old labels.

And this pea bandwagon is so disappointing... not to mention unnecessary!