Pet Food Study 2.0

Hey Consumers! Clean Label Project is proud to report that we just posted the results of our Clean Label Project Pet Food Study 2.0. Let us tell you about all the recent changes:

1. 1. We’ve added Private Label Brands- Be it Whole Foods Market’s Whole Paws or Costco’s Kirkland, we’ve tested and ranked 10 of the leading Private Label retailer pet food products and have them on our website. The results will surprise you.

    

   2. We’ve also added more national brands based on your requests. Clean Label Project tested over 1,000 different dry and wet dog foods, cat foods, and treats. We heard from you that we missed some of your favorites, so we bought and tested them. For those of you whose products we missed this time around, we still have your suggestions and will look to include them in future releases.

    

   3. We’ve added in brand report cards. We know that variety is the spice of life, and some of you like to provide a variety of food options for your pets. That’s why we’ve created brand report cards. We heard from you that while the product star-ratings were clear, the overall brand performance was difficult to interpret. This is a summary of how ALL of the products from a specific brand performed. Check out the brand report cards by clicking here.

    

   4. We’ve factored in ingredient quality. We know you want a quality, nutritious food for your dog or cat in addition to one that is low in industrial and environmental contaminants. While it’s always best to consult your veterinarian for your pet’s specific nutritional needs, we have created a system to help. Not all pet food ingredients are created equal– some products use preservatives, artificial colors or chemicals, while other products do not. Some products are dedicated to using quality meats, vegetables, and starches, while others use loopholes to include lower quality ingredients. Our ingredient quality system captures this, rewarding products for using a smaller number of quality, transparent ingredients rather than a large number of less regulated ingredients.

    

   5. We’ve expanded our testing to include Mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are poisonous chemicals produced by different types of fungus. These fungi are primarily found in grains and seeds. Knowing that grains and seeds are important ingredients in some pet foods, we felt this was an important addition to our testing. All pet foods from the original study and 2.0 have now been tested and evaluated for mycotoxins.

    

   6. We removed Amazon links for 1-star products. Clean Label Project is an Amazon Smiles Affiliate. Clean Label Project, like numerous other charitable organizations, gets a donation from Amazon when consumers buy products using the links on our website. However, we get questions from consumers and the industry wondering why we post the Amazon link for 1-star products. Clean Label Project believes in arming consumers with information- the good and the bad- and allowing you to make your own decisions. Despite this, we understand that providing consumers the option to buy products we rank as poor on our site sends a mixed message. We want consumers to have a choice, but we can no longer endorse, even by accident, low ranked products. That is why, effective immediately, we have removed the Amazon links from all Clean Label Project 1-star rated products.

    

   What’s next?

    

   1. Increased transparency. You want to know more details behind what is driving the star-ratings of your favorite pet food products. We hear you. That’s why we are creating a new website. The new website will allow you to drill down into how each of your pet food products fare relative to the rest of the category in specific areas like toxic metals, pesticide residues, BPA/BPS, and more! Stay tuned for the new website to be launching later this fall.

    

   2. Infant Formula and Baby Foods. In addition to our continued focus on bringing truth and transparency to pet food, Clean Label Project is expanding our category scope to also include infant formula and baby food. Hopefully, Clean Label Project can help you make the right choice for your whole family.

    

   Clean Label is humbled and grateful for all of our newsletter and Facebook followers for helping and supporting us in our mission to change the definition of food and consumer product safety in America. It is with your ongoing support and appreciation that we are able to do what we do. In a perfect world, every company that received a poor grade from Clean Label Project would immediately start working to improve the quality of their products. When companies compete to improve the purity and quality of their products, consumers win. Please continue to forward and share your learnings with family and friends so that together we can change the pet food status quo.

Yours in Health,

Jaclyn Bowen MPH, MS

Executive Director

Clean Label Project