Natura Foods

Sadly, another one of the food brands we swore by has gone by the wayside.

Natura Pet Products has recently sold to Proctor and Gamble. Why does that matter? Because Proctor and Gamble makes IAMS, notorious for animal testing.

P & G, in fact, is still using animal testing, despite the fact that more efficient, reliable, humane methods exist.

Natura has issued numerous statements attempting to assuage concerns about the quality and morality of purchasing their products given the change.

The latest, issued June 1st, contains a bit of a surprise. Former President of Natura, Don Scott, was expected to step down as part of the change. He's staying. And he assures retailers and consumers that:

"...our commitment to quality has never been stronger and we will continue to offer world class products for your pets... our nutritional philosophy will not change... our approach to formulation and product design will remain the same... all Natura dry products will continue to be produced in Natura's plant in Fremont... and our ingredient selection philosophy is unchanged..."

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it - and maybe that's true. For now, anyway. But what happens when Natura's product line doesn't have the same profit margin as Eukanuba and IAMS? Will Natura then be manufactured by Menu Foods, a prime player in the national recall of pet foods in 2007? The number of pets killed due to the poison allowed to be placed in those foods remains unknown, but is almost certainly in the thousands, with some estimates nearing 10,000.

P & G's participation in the recall was voluntary, but the fact remains that it never should have needed to partipate in the first place.

They're such a huge producer of products, that I'm not sure we'll be eliminating every P & G food from our home, but none of the animals here will be using any Natura or P & G product --ever.

Sadly, the impact on a few reputable retailers has been significant. One of our family's best friends has seen significant impact to her store. When the news was issued, all Natura Products were immediately pulled from her shelves. You see, Pack Tracks has an absolute commitment to not selling any product made in China, or any product they wouldn't feel 100% confident feeding to their animals. They put countless hours of research into identifying the sources of all products they sell, including personally speaking with manufacturers and distributers to be sure that they are selling high-quality, USA or other safe-sourced products. You'd be surprised how few of those there are, and now several (California Natural, EVO, Innova, Healthwise, Mother Nature, and Karma) are off the shelves for good.

Hope it's worth it, Natura. What doth it benefit a pet food company that they gain a large backer, and lose their integrity?

If you're looking for a high-quality pet store (they do take online orders), why don't you give Pack Tracks a looksee.