A reporter for a NJ newspaper recently interviewed the President and CEO of Sierra Natural Petfoods, Greg Carr. The following discussion was excerpted and reprinted here to provide readers some historical information about SNP, pet food recalls, and why Sierra Natural Petfoods offers a "safe" alternative.
Is Sierra Natural a new food?
Sierra Natural Petfoods began in CT in 2001, and has expanded slowly through Fairfield County, CT Westchester & Rockland Counties in NY, Long Island, and of course more recently into North Jersey. Where we cannot deliver ourselves we ship to our customers via Fedex Ground, at little or no additional cost to the customer. We have about 5000 dogs and cats that have thriving on our foods for many years.
What makes Sierra Natural so great (the sound byte answer):
Sierra Natural’s Holistic Petfoods start with the highest quality ingredients, and then add 8 groups of sequestered vitamins & trace minerals to make a food that maximizes the health and well-being of your pet. We add NONE of the things that you would not want in your pet’s food such as by-products, artificial preservatives, chemical dyes, added sugars, wheat gluten, or for that matter, even wheat. Our cooking process maximizes the food’s digestibility, deliverable nutrition, and the great taste. Plus, our industry-unique home delivery program provides an incredible freshness that is unattainable with a normal 3-tier distribution system. That freshness = great taste which = happy dogs & cats. The end result is one of the best pet foods available at any price, and more than likely your pets will enjoy it.
Where is the food made (meaning can I say that feeding our pets Sierra eliminates the concerns about pet food from China, etc.)?
The simple answer is that our foods are 100% manufactured in the Midwest, with all ingredients sourced here in the states, except for the (free-range) lamb, which comes in from New Zealand. As a result, neither Sierra Natural Petfoods, nor the manufacturer of our foods had any of their products recalled or involved in the Chinese Pet Food Recall. If one is really concerned about China as a source of potential problems, then yes, feeding SNP is about as safe a way to go as possible. For multiple reasons these problems could never have occurred with our brands. Let me explain why I say that.
In 2007, there were over 160 companies, whose pet foods were recalled, and I might add that some of them had a market image as quite high quality producers. Most are also owned by large corporations where reducing costs has become a corporate mantra. It turns out they had found a way to reduce costs by adding wheat gluten, corn gluten, and/or rice protein concentrates to their foods. These additives are sometimes used for legitimate reasons, such as to help a soft pet food retain its texture. Allegedly, they are sometimes added for their ability to spike the measurable level of delivered protein in a pet food, although it is widely accepted that there is no actual nutritional value added from those ingredients. So, hypothetically, if a manufacturer was making a batch of food, and just suppose the lamb used was not providing the expected protein level committed to on the label of the brand, the manufacturer could do a couple of things. He could add more lamb, which could raise costs significantly, or theoretically he could add wheat gluten and change the apparent results of the protein level without adding much cost at all.
These low-cost ingredients, which were being sourced from China, had somehow been tainted with melamine, a compound used in the production of plastics. Interestingly melamine substantially enhanced the ability of these additives to raise the measurable (not the usable) protein level in a pet food. Sadly, the melamine, apparently in combination with another ingredient was toxic to the pets that were eating it. Sierra Natural does not now, nor have we ever used these types of supplements in our foods. Since they provide no actual nutritional value, we feel they should not be in any pet food. If these other so-called high quality producers had taken the high road in the production of their brands, and never used these questionable additives in the first place, there would have been no opportunity for the infection of melamine to occur and none of our beloved pets would have gotten sick or died at all.
Over the last 10 years, while not as well known, there have been 4 or 5 major recalls of pet foods, and none of them caused by our Far East neighbors. The various determined causes included an aflatoxin poisoning, resulting from a bad shipment of corn, the use of rendered meats (essentially read as roadkill) in pet foods, and even the use of meats from a cow that had MBE (Mad Cow Disease). The common theme is a recurring corporate mantra, “we must cut costs”. This ongoing drive to minimize cost is nice, but not if it reduces the overall quality of the product or increases the risk of a production problem. We believe that the reason SNP has not experienced any major QA problems to date is because of the purchasing standards, ingredient testing and quality assurance procedures in place. Interestingly, if an unthinkable problem did somehow occur, we are one of the very few companies that could implement a recall direct to the consumer. If any of the problems described above had happened to our foods, by date code, we would have known who had the affected product and who did not, and then gone out and removed it immediately from the customer’s pantry.
So to recap, Sierra Natural Petfoods:
· Is not controlled by a large corporation constantly pushing to reduce cost.
· Purchases ingredients within the US from reputable suppliers of many years
· Is focused on food quality, safety, and flavor, not short term company profits.
· Does not use ingredients that do not provide nutritional value to the food.
· Partners with a family owned manufacturer with similar values.
· Provides a safety net to your pets that could if necessary recall all the way to consumers’ pantries.
Is the food 'human grade'?
We use only human grade quality ingredients.
What are the benefits to feeding a pet top quality dog food?
The health benefits of a top quality food are somewhat nebulous, and difficult to measure. E.g. it would be difficult to prove that quality pet food made from human grade level ingredients could add 1-2 years to a dog’s life, or even more difficult to define that the health of those years would yield a better quality of life. However, there have been many instances where proper nutrition, in the early life of a dog, has been used to minimize or eliminate health problems later in life. An example would be the work Eagle Pack has done to solve the Rickets problem with Great Danes and Hip Dysplasia in German Shepherds. With Labradors and particularly Weimeraners also they now believe that specific levels of phosphorous in the food, and a specific range of protein fed in the first year or life can prevent the typical arthritis problems these breeds experience later in life. You might Google these problems or Eagle Pack or The Great Dane Lady to get more info than you will ever be able to contain in one story.
Good foods like ours are supplemented to maximize and maintain the good health of our pets with many healthy ingredients such as Glucosamine for joint and bone health as well as Prebiotics and Probiotics. These are live bacteria strains similar to what is in Activia Yogurt that enhance a dog’s digestive system and the immune functions. The cost of a top notch pet food is minor, if these ingredients are able to prevent one trip to the vet.
What does 'holistic' mean when it comes to dog food and why is it important?
Unlike the terms “all-natural” or “organic” interestingly, there is no specific definition of the term “Holistic” when it is applied to pet food. On a more general basis it refers to a food which is developed with the overall integrated long term health of the pet in mind. It is important because every ingredient that goes into a food can impact the long term health of pets. Each must be selected for the overall impact on the food, not a specific feature or benefit.
Is there a cat food available too?
We have two high quality cat foods available. One a high protein Cat/Kitten formula and another lower fat version for the more sedentary indoor cat.
Why do your customers like this food for their pets?
Our customers know they can provide no better nutrition for their pets than ours, and they appreciate the convenience of free home delivery. Plus, we are able to bring it to them at prices about 15 -20% below what a comparable food would cost in a pet store!