What's your guys' opinion on the Acana/Orijen issue?

Kaja

https://truthaboutpetfood.com/lawsuit-filed-against-champion-pet-food-acana-and-orijen/

I didn't know about this till this morning actually. I'm not sure what any of those numbers mean, or if they pertain at all to the Canadian products, so I lean on the more experienced folks here on the forum. What are your thoughts? If you currently feed Acana/Orijen would you change because of it? Or wait for proof/verdict?

Iman

From what I recall from a discussion on another dog community I frequent, this lawsuit is based off a "study" that won't release the raw data, methodology, etc. Also, the heavy metal levels found were within normal ranges for what's in the raw meat being used to make it. So essentially this is a whole lot of fear mongering... a lot of pet owners aren't well versed in science so it's easy to prey on fears like this. Orijen even appeals to the naturalistic fallacy with their own marketing!

Anyway Koharu used to be on Orijen's puppy kibble but I found it was too high protein for her so I switched. Nothing wrong with the kibble itself, she just didn't have great poops on it.

nanners

If what I’m reading in these articles is correct, most people are more upset about the presence of heavy metals and BPA in their premium kibble than they are about potential health hazards. Champion is being sued for selling products under “false pretenses” because their kibble is advertised as being very holistic and natural, and unfortunately the average consumer just isn’t knowledgeable enough about this topic to know that this really isn’t an overly concerning finding.

The amounts of arsenic, mercury, etc. aren’t even close to meeting what is considered harmful for a dog (at least in the studies done by the NRC). The BPA finding is a little confusing for consumers considering the kibble isn’t sold in plastic packages. However, the amount of BPA found in Orijen/Acana is still by far less than that found in most canned dog foods. Like Iman mentioned, heavy metals are still present even in the raw ingredients, so this really seems like it’s been blown out of proportion.

Overall, I don’t think any of these findings make a good argument to stop feeding your dog Orijen/Acana if they’re doing well on it. A dog eating a long-term diet of nothing but chicken, rice, and veggies is more at risk for adverse health issues than they would be on this kibble.

Crispy

Ellipse Analytics is a thinly veiled child of The Clean Label Project, it appears, and IMHO, any company and/or Lab that doesn't want to release any of its raw data is kind of a joke.

I take the lawsuit against Champion Pet Food as a grain of salt. There's a couple lovely links on the Clean Label Project.

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/64mpty/we_are_the_clean_label_project_a_nonprofit_that/

https://globalpets.community/news/the-clean-label-project-earns-from-low-rated-pet-food-sales

https://therawfeedingcommunity.com/2017/06/20/why-wont-clean-label-project-listen-to-concerned-pet-owners/

http://www.chadhayesmd.com/the-clean-label-project-is-playing-dirty/

Kaja

Thanks, guys! I wasn't about to change Kaja's kibble without any good reason, and I do really like the Acana/Orijen kibbles. Thank you for setting my mind at ease!