Reading labels

As you’ve probably read in this blog before, I’m a self-confessed Science Geek. I like the details. So, it should come as no surprise that label reading is part of my routine as a dedicated Dog Mum and pet professional.

This week has provided some good food for thought – the importance of reading labels.

First up is Sox’s Vitamin B supplement, Cobalazorb. When the latest box arrived, it was immediately noticeable that the packaging had changed:

There were differences that could be alarming for us. I have been managing Sox’s inflammatory bowel disease for years now and this supplement is vital since his malfunctioning gut does not digest all the goodness from food as it should. I emailed the company, ADM Australia PTY Ltd.

I have just received a new pack of Cobalazorb for my dog, who has chronic enteropathy.  This pack prominently promotes that the product has a chicken flavour and also does not state that the capsule is a vegetable capsule – only “capsule.”

I’ve compared it to the previous pack, which states a flavouring but with no specific type and a vegetable capsule.

Given his sensitivities, I wanted to check that there have been no ingredient changes to the original product and that this is a change in packaging only. 

Great news! The company responded the same day with this reply:

Thanks for reaching out.

I can confirm that only the packaging has changed for Cobalazorb, everything else remains the same as before. The flavouring is still artificial chicken (no actual chicken) and the capsules are vegetarian, so OK to use in dogs and cats with allergies and sensitivities.

Please reach out should you have any further questions.

At this point, I was winning. That was until the delivery the next day of our latest 12 kg bag of Purina Pro Plan Gastrointestinal kibble, our mainstay dog food. Only this time, the bag came with a prominent label announcing “Coming Soon, New Look and Formula.”

New formula…and when you turn over that label there’s a reminder that new foods should be transitioned over 10 days.

I emailed Purina to ask what the formula changes will be, explaining that I am using this food for Sox’s chronic enteropathy (IBD). It took them 2 days to reply, “We have reached out to our wider team regarding your questions about the formula changes and we’ll get back in touch with you as soon as possible.“

This reply doesn’t fill me with great confidence and history shows that whenever pet food companies change formulations, it is usually so they can reduce the cost of ingredients while improving profit margin. Decreasing cost of production often means decreasing the quality of the ingredients. Dog food is a big business.

Time will tell if I am going to need to find another food for Sox, and how long I will wait for a definitive reply from Purina.

I encourage all my clients to read labels – you’d be surprised how often products formulations are changed – a change in packaging is often a good reason to check the label.

P.S. A big shout out of thanks to ADM for such fabulous customer service (plus for not changing the formula of a valued supplement)

Kathleen Crisley is Fear-Free certified dog massage therapist and canine fitness trainer. She has a particular passion for working with dogs and their families to ensure injury prevention and quality of life. She specialises in working with anxious and emotionally damaged dogs. Her mobile practice, The Balanced Dog, is based in Christchurch, New Zealand