Re: Natural Balance Product Removal / Menu Foods

We at Solid Gold Health Products for Pets, Inc. ("Solid Gold') realize that consumers are very concerned with the recent product food recalls. We would like to assure our customers that there are no safety concerns with Solid Gold products. The product recalls and removals have centered around ingredients sourced in China, in particular wheat gluten and now rice protein concentrate. These products are thought to be contaminated with melamine. Neither of these ingredients are used in any Solid Gold food products, nor do we source any ingredients from China, either directly or indirectly. We do not use gluten meal of any kind in any of our foods.

All the ingredients in Solid Gold products are sourced domestically with three exceptions. The lamb meal used in our dry foods is sourced from New Zealand, which produces some of the cleanest meat in the world. The potato protein used in Barking at the Moon is sourced in Europe. Our Blended Tuna canned cat food (grain free) is produced offshore due to the lack of tuna processing plants in the United States.

MENU FOODS DOES NOT PRODUCE ANY SOLID GOLD PRODUCT

We at Solid Gold realize that customers are very concerned with the recent recall of canned products made by Menu foods. We would like to assure our customers that there are no safety concerns with Solid Gold products. Menu Foods does not make Solid Gold foods in any of their manufacturing facilities. Solid Gold is not subject to the current recall. Furthermore, Solid Gold does not use wheat gluten in any of our dry foods, canned foods, treats, or supplements. Wheat gluten is the suspected cause of the problems involving the recalled food. Gluten is the protein found in grain. Gluten meals such as wheat gluten and corn gluten are included in pet food as a protein source in lieu of meat, which is a more expensive form of protein. Solid Gold believes dogs and cats should receive most of their protein in the form of meat, not grain.

Dry Food Changes

We have recently implemented changes in our dry foods based upon new exciting research, supply issues, and regulatory changes.

All our dry foods now contain tomato pomace, taurine, and salmon oil.

Tomato pomace is an excellent source of the super-antioxidant Lycopene. Research shows that people with diets rich in tomato products, which contain lycopene, appear to have a lower risk of certain types of cancer. Tomato pomace is also a superb source of soluble fiber.

Taurine is an amino acid essential for heart health. Historically, taurine supplementation in diet was not thought necessary for dogs, however, research is now showing certain breeds of dogs can have problems with heart disease caused by taurine deficiency. The FDA has now approved Taurine as a feed additive for dogs foods, so we are happy to include it in all our dry dog food formulas.

Salmon oil is an excellent source of DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid), an Omega 3 fatty acid important for brain and central nervous system development in growing puppies. DHA is also thought to be important for retinal health, so we have added it to all our adult foods as well. The addition of salmon oil may cause the food to smell a bit fishier, which should be a bonus for most dogs and cats!

We have made some other formula changes due to supply issues. For instance, we have substituted “ocean fish meal” for “menhaden fish meal”. The hurricanes in the gulf last summer have practically devastated the menhaden herring supply, which caused the cost of this fish to skyrocket. Ocean fish meal can contain fish such as herring, mackerel, sardines, anchovies, etc. It is much more available at this time than is menhaden herring. It has become difficult to keep a fresh supply of the secondary ingredients we use, such as the herbs, fruits, and vegetables due to only using each ingredient for one or two foods. In order to maintain a constant, fresh supply of ingredients, we have also streamlined the formulas a bit.

None of these changes are major. The core ingredients and formula of all the dry foods remain the same. Most dogs and cats should have absolutely no reaction when switching from the old formula to the new. There may be sensitive dogs and cats though who may have some slight digestive upset. This should diminish as they adjust to the new food.

Please visit the dry foods page to see the new formulas for each food.