# Honest Kitchen



## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Anyone else use it? I know Marie does!  I ordered 10 pounds a week or so ago and it came in 2 days. My dogs are going nuts for it. I only feed it in the morning. I'm accustomed to Tag jumping up and down for his meals, but holy cow!! He practically does a pogo-stick dance for this stuff, even though it looks like baby vomit when it's all ready to serve, lol! 
I've added this and that (egg, meat, yogurt, etc), and served some with just the mix and water. So far, I'm pleased. The dogs clean it up and no one has had diarrhea or anything. Tag has had an iron gut since he was little; I've fed him bits of this and that since he was a puppy and I'm hoping variety is the key, and I hope to continue.


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

I use a bit of Honest Kitchen Preference every day. I don't use the amount it says on the box for my dogs. But I mix a little in their food.


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

I do the same as JB but with Invigor....just mix it in with the meat, etc.


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## SFdoglovr (Feb 17, 2010)

We use Keen and Thrive for our pug/beagle, and its wonderful. In the morning his meal is 1/2 HK, and 1/2 kibble, and at night its just kibble. I love the company, their philosophy, the way they prepare the food, everything! Dry hard crunchy food must be tough on the system after a while, and this food is a good way to avoid dehydration and ease stress on the internal organs. The formulas we use are affordable, the other ones are a pricey, but are also grain free.


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## Enhasa (Feb 6, 2010)

i got a sample from my local pet store (embark) and i tried a small bit on my dog today.

it seems to like the taste a lot!
hopefully the stool will be solid.

how much water do u guys add? I do not know how firm/watery the food should be :/


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Enhasa said:


> i got a sample from my local pet store (embark) and i tried a small bit on my dog today.
> 
> it seems to like the taste a lot!
> hopefully the stool will be solid.
> ...


http://leerburg.com/honestkitchen.htm
This tells how much water and shows what it should look like


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## SFdoglovr (Feb 17, 2010)

its 1c of dry food to 1c of water. I have noticed that thrive is more runny than keen because it is lacking the oats. Make sure it sits for 20 minutes. I make mine the night before and refrigerate to make sure that it totally hydrates and my dog can absorb all the good stuff.


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## PiedmontMom (Apr 12, 2010)

I bought a 4 lb box of the Embark in anticipation for my pup next week. My husband tells me he read something about them using ingredients from China. Now he can't find where he read it. I suppose the concern would be from pesticides maybe? Anyone else read about this? How good is the source? I don't want to believe it.


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## brandiw (Jan 20, 2010)

Do you have to add anything (like raw meat) to the Honest Kitchen food? I am interested in HK, but I don't want to worry about having to add stuff in to make it nutritionally sound. We travel a lot and take the dogs with us, so a food like this would be easy to travel with as long as no additives are required.


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## Enhasa (Feb 6, 2010)

brandiw said:


> Do you have to add anything (like raw meat) to the Honest Kitchen food? I am interested in HK, but I don't want to worry about having to add stuff in to make it nutritionally sound. We travel a lot and take the dogs with us, so a food like this would be easy to travel with as long as no additives are required.


Force and Embark do not require you to add any additional meats or supplements, that is what I read.

Can someone verify if they are using China-sourced products?
I can't find it anywhere. They don't seem to mention it as well.

My dog has suprisingly very solid stood despite introducing it for the first time. I think I might just keep feeding this, as long as it isn't sourced or made in China.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

LazyGRanch713 said:


> Anyone else use it? I know Marie does!  I ordered 10 pounds a week or so ago and it came in 2 days. My dogs are going nuts for it. I only feed it in the morning. I'm accustomed to Tag jumping up and down for his meals, but holy cow!! He practically does a pogo-stick dance for this stuff, even though it looks like baby vomit when it's all ready to serve, lol!
> I've added this and that (egg, meat, yogurt, etc), and served some with just the mix and water. So far, I'm pleased. The dogs clean it up and no one has had diarrhea or anything. Tag has had an iron gut since he was little; I've fed him bits of this and that since he was a puppy and I'm hoping variety is the key, and I hope to continue.


[email protected] vomit! Your dogs sound like mine, they go nuts and waiting the 10min for it to become stew is torture for them LOL. What one are you feeding?


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

LazyGRanch713 said:


> http://leerburg.com/honestkitchen.htm
> This tells how much water and shows what it should look like


That's a great link Jenny! I use more water and it depends on the food. Two of mine have issues, one with bladder stones, one with crystals at times so I like to have more water in their diet. If I'm feeding Embark, I use 2/3 cup of THK to slightly over 3/4 cup of water. I find if I use Keen, which I am now just because of the cost of Embark, I use over a cup of water. Keen has oats and it thickens up quicker, IMO. Mine eat THK thick, thin, they don't care!


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

Regarding China: to the best of my knowledge, no, they get nothing from China. They are great to speak to, get the toll free number from their website, give them a call and let us know


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## Enhasa (Feb 6, 2010)

i'll call them tomorrow definitely.
doub they're open on sundays :/


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

brandiw said:


> Do you have to add anything (like raw meat) to the Honest Kitchen food? I am interested in HK, but I don't want to worry about having to add stuff in to make it nutritionally sound. We travel a lot and take the dogs with us, so a food like this would be easy to travel with as long as no additives are required.


Some of their food is intended to be a complete diet...just add water; other lines (like the one I use) are to be fed in addition to the dog's normal diet. So in my case, I feed a prey model diet and supplement with the honest kitchen.


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## Jacksons Mom (Mar 12, 2010)

I saw a little sample pack of the HK in our local pet store the other day for around $2.89 or something. I almost bought it, but was a little confused. I feed Jackson kibble (Acana) but most of the time, I mix in a bit of wet food with his kibble (or a bit of homecooked chicken) ... so is this something that I could mix in with his kibble? Is it essentially raw food?


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

Jacksons Mom said:


> so is this something that I could mix in with his kibble? Is it essentially raw food?


You might just want to read the website lol
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com


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## Enhasa (Feb 6, 2010)

i am reading on other websites that honest kitchen uses ingredients from China, Thailand and Philipines...

If this is true..........I am definitely no longer feeding my dog any of this.

Official response from Honest Kitchen:


> At The Honest Kitchen, we take great pride in the quality and integrity of each and every raw ingredient we use. Just like you, we are animal lovers, and take time to select only the finest ingredients for our recipes. We always strive to use U.S. origin ingredients whenever available but unfortunately not all the ingredients we use are grown within the United States and therefore, while the majority are always US origin, we do use some which are grown overseas.


uh........disappointed is an appropriate word. I JUST ordered a 4 pound bag of Force too. Definitely returning it and never looking back -_-; Wasted a few bucks to shipping......great...zzz


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## jclt (May 24, 2010)

I used to feed the Honest Kitchen until I found out they indeed *do* use *ingredients from China*. 

About 2 months ago, this information was not on their website. My wife inquired many times through emails to THK and phone calls and no one responded. Finally we read a post on their facebook page where people were asking. The posts were there for a while and finally someone from THK responded and admitted that they use Celery and Cabbage from China. They also use grains from Peru and Bolivia. They also use Bananas and Papayas from Thailand and the Philippines. 

This was very concerning to my wife and I and we decided that it just wasn't worth the risk of feeding to our dogs. Not only is is very risky to feed any food with ingredients from China, but Thailand and the Philippines use extremely strong pesticides. It was shocking to read this. They actually ended up posting it on their website, which you can see now because of all the commotion on their facebook page because they weren't open about it before. Apparantly, my wife's emails weren't the only ones that were ignored. She had a few people contact her through her Facebook page after The Honest Kitchen removed her comments (and removed her or blocked her) from their page. The last question she asked, which they removed her for was Do they dehydrate the ingredients in the other countries or do they dehydrate them in the USA which would make a little bit of a difference because then they fruits and veggies could be washed here and then cut up and dehydrated. Their response at first was that they couldn't tell her the location of their plants. She responded with a comment that she didn't ask them that at all. Then she asked again about where they are dehydrated. They deleted her. LOL. Unbelievable. I think us pet owners have a right to know where the food we feed actually comes from. 

Very very disappointing. But we decided we wouldn't feed The Honest Kitchen until they stop using ingredients from China and the rest of Asia completely. 

What came out of the whole Facebook thing was at least people pushed them to look for other sources. They claim that they are going to start using celery and cabbage from Europe by 2011. We might consider their food again if they are more open and honest in the future. However this illustrates the power of pet owners, if we really press these companies, they might start thinking about what they are doing. China ingredients are not good at all.


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## Enhasa (Feb 6, 2010)

Well,

I am definitely returning that box of food I just ordered.
I guess my stupidity/ignorance just cost me like 10 bucks in shipping both ways.
oh wells...

Foods from China, thailand, Philipines are bad enough.
RAW food from those countries.......i don't even want to think about it. bacteria, germs, toxins (pesticides etc) are all not removed/killed because of the lack of the cooking process.


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## jclt (May 24, 2010)

I know how you feel Enhasa! I was telling my wife that I wanted to make the dogs throw up the stuff the dogs ate. LMAO.


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## Enhasa (Feb 6, 2010)

LOL that'd be funny.

I fed my dog the sample yesterday, and it had very solid stools. My dog has a pretty sensitive stomach so I was very impressed with this food.

But oh wells....Looks like it ain't as perfect as I imagined it to be.
Back to Orijen I guess :/


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## jclt (May 24, 2010)

I like Orijen. Have you tried the grain-free versions of Acana? They are really good, a little cheaper than Orijen, but just as good, other than Orijen is higher protein. Some dogs like the higher protein, some don't.


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## Enhasa (Feb 6, 2010)

my dog used to have soft stools when on orijen. now that they're older, they're doing just fine. maybe they got used to it or something.

i tried acana praire (chicken). my dog doesn't seem to like it as much 
I had been interested to try out grasslands (lamb) all along, but my local pet store do not have the trial size bags in stock at the moment.


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## jclt (May 24, 2010)

Enhasa said:


> I had been interested to try out grasslands (lamb) all along, but my local pet store do not have the trial size bags in stock at the moment.


That's too bad. Have you considered the Acana Lamb and Apple? The only grain it has is oats. Oats are good. But what is good about it, is it really firms up stools because it has pumpkin in it. If a dog has soft stools, canned pumpkin is often recommended and really works. With Acana Lamb & Apple, it's already in there. It's great. I convinced my friends to try it and they couldn't believe their dogs stopped scratching and their dogs' stools have stayed firm. (They constantly for the years I've known them had soft stools. I'd see them in the backyard, not anymore.)


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## Enhasa (Feb 6, 2010)

my local retailer do not carry the lamb and apple  it looks good though!


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## Tails (Apr 5, 2010)

I am feeding my dog HK Embark at the moment and she does really enjoy it. Has anyone tried the Addiction raw dehydrated dog foods?. They have a 8lb bag for $56.78 at k9cuisine using a coupon code.
http://www.k9cuisine.com/m-9-addiction-foods.aspx
I'm thinking about switching from HK to this.


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## Enhasa (Feb 6, 2010)

no idea about this, but i was recommended sojos by my local pet store. anyone know if sojos import any meat/vegetables from china?

amazon.com sells sojos too for some reason


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## MagicRe (Jan 8, 2010)

it's my understanding that natural balance uses ingredients from other countries, including china, but they also have their own testing for those ingredients.

does honest kitchen do that, too?

this is a very interesting video...one problem i have is that dogs don't have to work very hard....it's another 'inhale' food.

seems to me...there is no real bridge between raw and kibble...either feed kibble or feed raw....it's certainly up to the dog owner...

there are companies, like darwin's pet foods and others....like http://www.blueridgebeef.com/products-raw-beef-chicken.html (blue ridge beef)

or primal grinds - http://www.primalpetfoods.com/product/list/c/9

i'm sure there are others equally as adequate...

for those who don't want to stand over a kitchen sink and prepare raw...but want to feed raw.....


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

MagicRe said:


> it's my understanding that natural balance uses ingredients from other countries, including china, but they also have their own testing for those ingredients.
> 
> does honest kitchen do that, too?
> 
> ...


If I had it my way, I would feed raw made by me and me alone. But having a dog who has choked a few times on RMB's....no thanks.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

jclt said:


> I used to feed the Honest Kitchen until I found out they indeed *do* use *ingredients from China*.
> 
> About 2 months ago, this information was not on their website. My wife inquired many times through emails to THK and phone calls and no one responded. Finally we read a post on their facebook page where people were asking. The posts were there for a while and finally someone from THK responded and admitted that they use Celery and Cabbage from China. They also use grains from Peru and Bolivia. They also use Bananas and Papayas from Thailand and the Philippines.
> 
> ...


Interesting, and disappointing. When I made my own raw, I didn't check to see if the veggies or any grains I added (occasionally) was a product of USA. Heck I don't even check to see if the food *I* eat is from China or not.


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## MagicRe (Jan 8, 2010)

LazyGRanch713 said:


> If I had it my way, I would feed raw made by me and me alone. But having a dog who has choked a few times on RMB's....no thanks.


understandable...and if i were in your shoes, i'd be buying primal grinds or talking to my butcher about a special grind....you have to be comfortable as well as your dog....


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## jclt (May 24, 2010)

I've fed the Addiction Homestyle Venison, Chicken, and the Lamb. Funny, although our dogs love Lamb, the Lamb one was the least liked but they still ate it up. 

They loved the Chicken and Homestyle Venison. 

Addiction promises that they do not use any ingredients from China.

We also noticed that the Addiction Foods dehydrated had bigger chunks of meat. The Honest Kitchen has hardly any or it's so small you can't see it. 
Plus when our dogs were eating THK, they had soft stools, with the Addiction, they always had firm stools.

We think we are going the route of feeding our dogs raw and using store bought meats and stuff. There's too much uncertainty about where the commercial pet food comes from. 



Tails said:


> I am feeding my dog HK Embark at the moment and she does really enjoy it. Has anyone tried the Addiction raw dehydrated dog foods?. They have a 8lb bag for $56.78 at k9cuisine using a coupon code.
> http://www.k9cuisine.com/m-9-addiction-foods.aspx
> I'm thinking about switching from HK to this.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

MagicRe said:


> understandable...and if i were in your shoes, i'd be buying primal grinds or talking to my butcher about a special grind....you have to be comfortable as well as your dog....


The thing is, even with premade raw, I can fill a kong up and freeze it for Tag. He digs that kind of thing  Recreational bones I can handle, except Dude just lays beside his and snarks at any other animal that comes within 100 feet of him  He rarely chews them. I gave Tag a rec bone when he was a puppy and he ignored it (little weirdo), but now he gets into them.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

I googled around and found this, I hope it's OK that I post it (it's from another forum I've never visited before):

"_ what I am saying is, it ain't just China, right here in the MidWest they're illegally pouring toxic waste over agricultural fields. It's BOTH THEIR elitist mentality that "the people" don't count.

However, you're right that if we begin to eat local, we can better fix some heinous act going on in our back yard, than one that has been slopped together in China, canned, boxed and stamped "GOOD FOR American PEOPLE AND PETS" by our dearly beloved "Food mach Death Administration"

This is not the time for any of us to be shy about stating what is going on: I know too much about the CxO realm, and international enterprise to be in the least bit surprised that post 2004 they felt they finally had a mandate to proceed, with what I do know is as depraved a global strategy as any - but never thought they would ever ever ever be allowed to get away with on American soil. And they're doing it. _"




_When I called and spoke to your help line before ordering, the nice lady said all your ingredients are from the US, or perhaps I misunderstood, that you do not use the ingredients from China that have so far been tested as contaminated (like the wheat, the gluten the RPC, or the derivatively contaminated products, like the chicken the fish the hogs etc.) Well, I understand the dried veggies and the dried fruit used in Sojos ingredients are sourced from China? I suspect you cannot find a local dried fruit and vegetables source.

I do know that all taurine, glucosamine and chondroitin coming into to the US is all sourced from BASF factories in China, so there you go.

It would be nice however, if you did test your ingredients ANYWAY for Corporate "Mela-Bling-Bling" or whatever is the new poison of the week - it's like that street game of dice, you don't know under which cup the poison is, and when you find it, it turns out it's not melamine it's RPC or rat poison or whatever... it's all a big game_

http://itchmoforums.com/news-recall-related/honest-kitchen-sojos-europa-reviews-t479.0.html


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## MagicRe (Jan 8, 2010)

i had bought tilapia from thailand...and try as i might...whilst i can find all kinds of reasons not to eat tilapia from china...i can find no reason to avoid tilapia from thailand and the phillipines.....

is there a website i could be directed to that points out the negatives.....i have tilapia from thailand in the freezer at the moment. i need to know if it's safe to feed my dogs.


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## infiniti (Mar 19, 2010)

China, Thailand, Phillipines and other Asian countries aside .... 

I wonder if Honest Kitchen will make my dog eat more heartily? She won't eat raw and she won't eat her kibble very heartily either. She's a food motivated dog and she likes healthy stuff - her treats are all mostly holistic and all natural stuff. I feed her Chicken Soup, and am about to switch to TOTW. But she doesn't jump for joy at either one. She likes homecooked, but sorry ... I don't cook for myself or my kids very often, and as much as I love and pamper Bella, I am not cooking solely for her.

Maybe I should give this stuff a try. 

As long as it doesn't come from China. I have a boycott against China. 

Other Asian countries, not so much.


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## MagicRe (Jan 8, 2010)

infiniti said:


> China, Thailand, Phillipines and other Asian countries aside ....
> 
> I wonder if Honest Kitchen will make my dog eat more heartily? She won't eat raw and she won't eat her kibble very heartily either. She's a food motivated dog and she likes healthy stuff - her treats are all mostly holistic and all natural stuff. I feed her Chicken Soup, and am about to switch to TOTW. But she doesn't jump for joy at either one. She likes homecooked, but sorry ... I don't cook for myself or my kids very often, and as much as I love and pamper Bella, I am not cooking solely for her.
> 
> ...


there are very good reasons to avoid fish from china...as there are plenty of news reports which talk about the toxicity of their fishing waters, especially their tilapia farms.

i would not buy fish from china, either. 

i was told...don't know if it's true...that there are only four farms for tilapia in the US, so most of it comes from china, thailand and the phillipines....

i'm wondering if anyone has information that would make me not feed my dogs tilapia from thailand or the phillipines.

i watched the video on honest kitchen....and i'm sure, for some, it would work out to suit their schedules.

for me, i do not want to feed my dogs anything from china.


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Hmm, I don't trust anything from China, period. But I'm ok with other Asian countries. I mean, I grew up in one, for doG's sake, and I'm fine. My mom bought her groceries from the market; everything was FRESH. We grew up eating free range chicken and eggs (IMO much better than battery raised chicken/eggs). If it's good enough for me, it's good enough for my pets.

China is iffy because they manufacture so MANY things, and most of their quality control is poor at best. They let babies die from drinking formula. I think that's a good enough reason to not eat anything that comes from China.

On a random note, I do think that Addiction is a better brand than THK. All their ingredients are Australian made/sourced, and Australia has excellent quality control of their meats and other foods.


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## Enhasa (Feb 6, 2010)

i am NOT ok with fish, meats and vegetables from china, thailand, vietnam, myanmmar, cambodia. these places usually use strong pesticides, and fish from china and thailand fish farms are often in the headlines for having extremely high toxins levels, with mercury being one of the frequent problems.

those countries also use very strong pesticides, as DDT are not outlawed, such as in india too. We all know DDT is very efficient, but it causes neurological problems. It isn't allowed in human food, but not so much for pet foods, especially for foods imported in the US.


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Enhasa said:


> i am NOT ok with fish, meats and vegetables from china, thailand, vietnam, myanmmar, cambodia. these places usually use strong pesticides, and fish from china and thailand fish farms are often in the headlines for having extremely high toxins levels, with mercury being one of the frequent problems.
> 
> those countries also use very strong pesticides, as DDT are not outlawed, such as in india too. We all know DDT is very efficient, but it causes neurological problems. It isn't allowed in human food, but not so much for pet foods, especially for foods imported in the US.


Do you have any reliable sources for your claims?


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## Tails (Apr 5, 2010)

jclt said:


> I've fed the Addiction Homestyle Venison, Chicken, and the Lamb. Funny, although our dogs love Lamb, the Lamb one was the least liked but they still ate it up.
> 
> They loved the Chicken and Homestyle Venison.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info  
I have thought that about THK. When I prepare the food it all looks soooo green I have often wondered how much meat is actually in it as it sure is hard to see. 
I think I'll finish off this box and then try the Addiction.


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## Enhasa (Feb 6, 2010)

i had read many news clippings when i was in singapore and china. news there are in chinese. i can try look it up, and get it translated.

this is actually very common in chinese newspaper.

one that i read most of the time was a local newspaper in hangzhou.

as for myammar and vietnam, a lot of their foods are often blocked and sent back by the singaporean government at the ports. it had made it into the local headlines many times. another that was pretty big was poisoning due to pedigree and purina and another brand (australian brand if im not wrong). 

i was born in singapore, lived there till i was 16. and stayed in china a few years in between for an exchange program. 

the only really country u can trust in asia, are taiwan, malaysia, japan, korea and maybe indonesia. not all farms in china are bad, but its really safer than sorry.

singaporeans prefer australian imports even if there is a big ass premium for it. to us its not even surprisingly to expect any of these crap. the singapore government also has much less tolerance than the USDA and FDA when it comes to a lot of toxin levels.

trust me, ask any asian dude who lived in asia for a while. they wouldn't even be surprised and tell you its no biggie because it happens all the time.


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Actually, I was born and raised in Malaysia  I don't really read Chinese, though. My Chinese literacy is something like grade 1 or 2 level. I can't read Chinese newspapers to save my life. I don't think Myanmar even really exports a lot of food stuff, do they?

I think I'm fine with eating food imported from Thailand, though. Might be a bit iffy, but I trust Thailand more than China.

I know that a lot of Australian/New Zealand made dog foods are available in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. They're more widely available in those countries than anywhere in North America, I think. I definitely trust products from Aus/NZ way more than products made anywhere else in the world, really. Third on my list would be Canada. That's why I really like Ziwipeak, Addiction, Orijen, and Acana.


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

In case anyone is interested. I sent Honest Kitchen an email yesterday with some concerns. I got a very detailed email back, explaining their purchasing processes, testing protocols, and quality control. 

I am pretty comfortable with the response. 

Folks that have a concern might try contacting them.


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## Enhasa (Feb 6, 2010)

myanmar exports some, not a lot compared to countries like china and vietnam.

about thailand. i do not know about their meats, because singapore don't source their meats from thailand. maybe thailand doesn't produce much, or singapore just sources it from elsewhere. most of the meat in singapore is sourced from malaysia, new zealand, australia and USA. 
thailand fruits are often imported into singapore (bananas, durians, papayas, coconuts) and there hasn't been much issues nor concerns around them for the past few years based on my knowledge. 
There were several recalls regarding their vegetables, but it was really minimal and not so serious. its like the typical recalls that happens in the USA. its kinda un-preventable. not lethal or anything, maybe just gives u the runs.
their fish on the other hand, has raised red flags constantly from time to time, due to high amounts of toxins, including mercury and other industrial heavy metals and toxins. This is mainly because there are no strict laws in both china and thailand, and factories, and oil refineries just dump all their crap into the rivers and/or oceans. 
To a lot of these companies, they rather pay the fine, if they ever get one, than to improve their filtration or to properly dispose of their waste, because that'll just cost more than the fine. financially wise, its better off to just throw it into the ocean. 

australia and new zealand have really strict laws, which is why they're usually problems-free. singapore adopts a really strict policy on toxin levels and stuff too, which is why many of the foods and even medication are not allowed in singapore, which in the USA, are allowed to be for sale. 

Singapore imports most of its food, since there is literally maybe 1-2 farms in the entire nation and thats obviously not enough to feed even 5% of the population.

and also, can you paste their response?

Thanks


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

JohnnyBandit said:


> In case anyone is interested. I sent Honest Kitchen an email yesterday with some concerns. I got a very detailed email back, explaining their purchasing processes, testing protocols, and quality control.
> 
> I am pretty comfortable with the response.
> 
> Folks that have a concern might try contacting them.


Could you possibly either post the email here or to me privately?
[email protected]

thank you very much!


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

This is the response I got from Honest Kitchen concerning their sourcing of their foods.

Hi John, 



Thank you for your email. We¡¯re happy that your dog¡¯s been doing well on the food and we do hope that you continue to use our products. All ingredients purchased oversees are from US suppliers. We trust and work closely with our suppliers and don¡¯t just purchase from strangers on commodities markets. All suppliers have quality control offices overseas where US employees work daily to ensure the implementation of Good Manufacturing Practices, pesticide application and testing as well as soil testing. All ingredients strictly follow established pesticide residue policies. Dicing, blending, cleaning and screening as well as QC lab testing take place in The United States. 



All our ingredients, regardless of where they are grown, are tested for salmonella, E-coli, coliform, lead, arsenic and mercury as well as melamine, yeast and mold & pesticide residues, before it even enters our plant. After production, every finished batch of food undergoes comprehensive testing as part of our Quality Control program for: bacteria, yeast and mold, contaminants such as heavy metals & melamine, and verification of pH and proximates (protein, fat, fiber and moisture). 



We are also an approved member of Green America, which places a high priority on sustainability, green business and fair-trade. As part as our application for membership, documentation on each of our suppliers both domestically and overseas, was supplied and evaluated by their organization in order to obtain approval for membership of Green America. It¡¯s a priority for us to source the best ingredients, and also promote a sustainable community. 



We really appreciate that most people are taking the time to thoroughly read all the facts and to contact us for verification as you have done, and to place their continued trust in us. As a company, we put out heart and soul into our foods and take great pride in both the quality and integrity of the ingredients we use as well as our finished products. Please let me know if you have any other questions. 



Kind regards,

Kat


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## Enhasa (Feb 6, 2010)

JohnnyBandit said:


> This is the response I got from Honest Kitchen concerning their sourcing of their foods.
> 
> Hi John,
> 
> ...


i think i will give this company another try i suppose, since there are good farms in china after-all and not all are bad. i am hoping that they are buying from the "good" ones, which is what i am interpreting.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

John,
Thanks for posting the response from THK for all of us!


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

InkedMarie said:


> John,
> Thanks for posting the response from THK for all of us!


Thanks from me, too


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

LazyGRanch713 said:


> Thanks from me, too


LOL, I asked John in email if I could forward it to you but you had asked in PM!


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## HuskyLuv (May 16, 2008)

I love THK foods and love how open and honest the company has been. I've sent many an email to multiple people within the company and have always received detailed, prompt and friendly correspondence in a very timely manner.

Regarding the concerns over ingredients sourced from Asia, not all of the formulas contain ingredients from Asia! First off let me address the concern over ingredients from China, the only ingredient coming from China is celery and even that is only obtained from US operated farms in China as a last resort when supplies from the US and Europe have already been exhausted. Besides celery, the only other ingredients from Asian countries are papayas, bananas, and coconut and none of those ingredients (including celery) are in The Honest Kitchen's Keen, Verve, Thrive and Prowl formulas for those that are concerned about ingredients from Asia. The formulas that do contain ingredients from Asia are Force, Embark, and Preference.

So rest assured that you can feed some of THK formulas without ingredients from Asia if you feel strongly about that, you do have options if you want to stick with THK. I also have printable coupons and coupon codes for THK products so if anyone is interested feel free to PM me.


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## jclt (May 24, 2010)

Actually Huskyluv,
due to so many complaints about The Honest Kitchen using ingredients from China, they were forced to go looking for other sources. For a long while, while people were asking THK directly in email and on the phone, they were not open and would not reveal that they do indeed use ingredients from China. Only after it was revealed by comments on their facebook page, did they finally admit to using, they say, celery and cabbage from China. They also use Bananas, Coconuts and Papayas from Thailand and the Philippines which is also very troubling because those places have one of the worst pesticides in use. Finally, after many questions on their public facebook page, they put the info on their website. However, they were not honest and open before. They were forced to admit it. They then put it on their ingredient page in May 2010. It was not on there before. 

Now (this week) they have noted on their ingredient page that from June 2010 they are sourcing cabbage from Europe. This is good, as it shows the power of consumer complaints. However, they do still note that they use Celery from China. Beware that the product you buy in the stores will still have the cabbage and celery from China because it is only from June, the products they package that will have cabbage from Europe, if we can trust what they say. You can be sure they're not throwing their products away that were made prior to June 2010. Also, it remains that in their new products they still have celery from China and bananas, papayas, and coconuts from Thailand and Philipppines (horrible pesticide use). 

I hope that they stop sourcing from China altogether and it will be a big win on the part of consumers expressing their distaste in companies using from China. Also, hopefully they will stop using ingredients from other countries with such dangerous pesticide use, like Thailand and Philippines. 

It is only because of people who speak up that pet foods are becoming safer. There is still a long way to go. But complaints sometimes do work. 

Also, there is another issue that needs to change with pet food products. What you see stamped on the box, is not true and honest and open at all... THK boxes say: "Product of USA". This is misleading, and they are allowed to be misleading, which is a shame. Their product is not a product of USA, it is a product of China, Thailand, Philippines, Europe, South America, and USA.

If they do indeed honestly stop using ingredients from China, Thailand, and Philippines, we might give their food a try again. But we refuse to feed our dogs anything from China, Cabbage or Celery.


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## HuskyLuv (May 16, 2008)

jclt said:


> Actually Huskyluv,
> due to so many complaints about The Honest Kitchen using ingredients from China, they were forced to go looking for other sources. For a long while, while people were asking THK directly in email and on the phone, they were not open and would not reveal that they do indeed use ingredients from China. Only after it was revealed by comments on their facebook page, did they finally admit to using, they say, celery and cabbage from China. They also use Bananas, Coconuts and Papayas from Thailand and the Philippines which is also very troubling because those places have one of the worst pesticides in use. Finally, after many questions on their public facebook page, they put the info on their website. However, they were not honest and open before. They were forced to admit it. They then put it on their ingredient page in May 2010. It was not on there before.
> 
> Now (this week) they have noted on their ingredient page that from June 2010 they are sourcing cabbage from Europe. This is good, as it shows the power of consumer complaints. However, they do still note that they use Celery from China. Beware that the product you buy in the stores will still have the cabbage and celery from China because it is only from June, the products they package that will have cabbage from Europe, if we can trust what they say. You can be sure they're not throwing their products away that were made prior to June 2010. Also, it remains that in their new products they still have celery from China and bananas, papayas, and coconuts from Thailand and Philipppines (horrible pesticide use).
> ...


I do agree with you for the most part on this and I have been following THK since I started using their products a year ago and I have also been following them on FB as well. But I do think it worth noting that any cabbage and celery in their foods do not automatically mean they are definitely from China as I noted before they do use China as a last resort and their cabbage and celery "may" come from other safer countries such as North America and Europe. I will admit though that I am not overly concerned about the ingredients from Asia since a lot of the foods that I eat myself come from a variety of Asian countries.



jclt said:


> If they do indeed honestly stop using ingredients from China, Thailand, and Philippines, we might give their food a try again. But we refuse to feed our dogs anything from China, Cabbage or Celery.


Are you against using THK because they use China, Thailand, and the Philippines as food sources at all or are you against using the formulas that have ingredients from China, Thailand, and/or the Philippines? I only ask because their Verve, Thrive and Prowl formulas do not contain any of the ingredients originating from the Asian countries of concern.


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## andrewM (May 28, 2010)

Gosh, I'd be really careful feeding anything from China. You know those pet foods that were recalled? A lot of the brands say that they are strict with their ingredients and they come from US operated farms. This doesn't mean anything when they are coming from China. They(China) poisoned kids, babies, adults, pets. Seems that companies are good at trying to convince people to stick with them, but I don't want to take the chance. Maybe one day they will use everything from America in their foods. Makes you wonder too, who dehydrates the stuff? Is it dehydrated in China/Asia? Then sent to them? It sounds like it. They say on their website they mix and blend the stuff.. but they don't directly say that the fruits and vegetables are dehydrated in our Country. I believe they buy the dehydrated bananas,papayas,celery,cabbage, coconut from Asia. Then they take the dehydrated stuff and mix it together with the other ingredients. This is really risky. It kinda makes me wonder why they have to test so much? You know for poisons ad melamine. If there was no risk and they got the fruits and vegetables whole and washed them themselves, then it would be safe and there would be no need to test the ingredients, but obviously, when they get them dehydrated, they don't know what's in it. I say they need to get rid of the Asian stuff and just use from America. In my opinion if they are going to start using cabbage from Europe, which might be safer... who knows..., then they should just drop the celery. Celery is not highly nutritious for dogs anyway. Why bother using it at all now? And I too agree on the pesticide use in Asia. It's really bad.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

andrewM said:


> Gosh, I'd be really careful feeding anything from China. You know those pet foods that were recalled? A lot of the brands say that they are strict with their ingredients and they come from US operated farms. This doesn't mean anything when they are coming from China. They(China) poisoned kids, babies, adults, pets. Seems that companies are good at trying to convince people to stick with them, but I don't want to take the chance. Maybe one day they will use everything from America in their foods. Makes you wonder too, who dehydrates the stuff? Is it dehydrated in China/Asia? Then sent to them? It sounds like it. They say on their website they mix and blend the stuff.. but they don't directly say that the fruits and vegetables are dehydrated in our Country. I believe they buy the dehydrated bananas,papayas,celery,cabbage, coconut from Asia. Then they take the dehydrated stuff and mix it together with the other ingredients. This is really risky. *It kinda makes me wonder why they have to test so much? You know for poisons ad melamine. If there was no risk and they got the fruits and vegetables whole and washed them themselves, then it would be safe and there would be no need to test the ingredients, but obviously, when they get them dehydrated, they don't know what's in it.* I say they need to get rid of the Asian stuff and just use from America. In my opinion if they are going to start using cabbage from Europe, which might be safer... who knows..., then they should just drop the celery. Celery is not highly nutritious for dogs anyway. Why bother using it at all now? And I too agree on the pesticide use in Asia. It's really bad.


And if they didn't do rigorous testing, people would be crying foul as to their lack of quality control. Just sayin.


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## andrewM (May 28, 2010)

LOL, I emailed THK yesterday about my concerns with Asian ingredients and pesticides, they gave me the exact carbon copy email as the one that is posted in this thread. They're just copying and pasting. They didn't even answer my questions. 
Well, I give up, I'm just not taking the chance and feeding it. I found another better food that's actually raw and made completely with American ingredients.

Edited to change "not taking the change and feeding it" to what I meant it to say: "not taking the chance and feeding it".


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

andrewM said:


> LOL, I emailed THK yesterday about my concerns with Asian ingredients and pesticides, they gave me the exact carbon copy email as the one that is posted in this thread. They're just copying and pasting. They didn't even answer my questions.
> Well, I give up, I'm just not taking the change and feeding it. I found another better food that's actually raw and made completely with American ingredients.


And what food would that be?


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## andrewM (May 28, 2010)

Johnny, what food? Do you mean THK? That's short for The Honest Kitchen.
I'm moving my dogs to PawNaturaw. It's organic. Heard really great things from other dog owners about it.


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

andrewM said:


> Johnny, what food? Do you mean THK? That's short for The Honest Kitchen.
> I'm moving my dogs to PawNaturaw. It's organic. Heard really great things from other dog owners about it.



I know HK. I was wondering the other food you are considering. I will check it out.


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## andrewM (May 28, 2010)

Oh. LOL. Sorry, I wasn't sure what you meant.


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## SFdoglovr (Feb 17, 2010)

I was actually just reading the information they posted on their website about ingredients. Its very interesting. I don't feel so awful about them now. I mean, they use ALL organic grains, all human grade meats, non gmo veggies, and the imported things are few (the coconut is organic also). From what I understand, most imported papaya has the risk of lots of pesticides. I give them credit for listening to their customers and making changes. They are affordable, and I appreciate that. Some of the other dehydrated foods are through the roof. I think the Keen and Thrive ingredients are fine, and my dog does so well on it that I'm going to stick with them and hopefully see some good changes. I always feel like as soon as I find a food thats it great, a whole bunch of issues come up!


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

andrewM said:


> Johnny, what food? Do you mean THK? That's short for The Honest Kitchen.
> I'm moving my dogs to PawNaturaw. It's organic. Heard really great things from other dog owners about it.


I have too, and it looks great. But....

_ Safety, purity and quality of PAW NATURAW distinct by instinct ® products are of the utmost importance. Behind the scenes, PAW NATURAW seriously addresses the smallest quality control details from start to finish for your security and comfort._
http://www.pawnaturaw.com/safety.html

By that logic, the amount of testing they do is no different than THK's testing, which you questioned?


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

SFdoglovr said:


> I was actually just reading the information they posted on their website about ingredients. Its very interesting. I don't feel so awful about them now. I mean, they use ALL organic grains, all human grade meats, non gmo veggies, and the imported things are few (the coconut is organic also). From what I understand, most imported papaya has the risk of lots of pesticides. I give them credit for listening to their customers and making changes. They are affordable, and I appreciate that. Some of the other dehydrated foods are through the roof. I think the Keen and Thrive ingredients are fine, and my dog does so well on it that I'm going to stick with them and hopefully see some good changes. I always feel like as soon as I find a food thats it great, a whole bunch of issues come up!


Xeph pointed out in another thread that if (general) you worried about every little thing that might maybe possibly go wrong, you'll never find anything you're happy with, and Xeph is right. I might go to a restaurant tonight and eat something that wasn't properly cooked and come down with botulism. Being paranoid never helped anything 
I am satisfied with THK, and I have known people who have fed it for years with no problems and, like you, am happy to see a company who is listening to their client base. I am also happy with very many kibble brands.


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## andrewM (May 28, 2010)

@Lazy, Oh I'm not telling you what to do. You can choose to feed ingredients from China and other places in Asia which have the worst pesticide use, but I'm not. It's fact, not paranoia. There's a difference. 
Anyway, I again emailed THK to repeat the questions I asked, which they ignored on their facebook page and in 2 emails, and guess what? They ignored my questions. Which puts up more red flags. The simple questions of if they have their ingredients dehydrated in the countries they originate from, and the second question was what best before date can I look at on the boxes to know which cabbage was from China and which was from Europe (there supposed new supplier starting June 2010.) They won't answer. I don't find them very "honest" at all. I give the best to my dog, I won't settle for China and pesticide.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

andrewM said:


> @Lazy, Oh I'm not telling you what to do. You can choose to feed ingredients from China and other places in Asia which have the worst pesticide use, but I'm not. It's fact, not paranoia. There's a difference.
> Anyway, I again emailed THK to repeat the questions I asked, which they ignored on their facebook page and in 2 emails, and guess what? They ignored my questions. Which puts up more red flags. The simple questions of if they have their ingredients dehydrated in the countries they originate from, and the second question was what best before date can I look at on the boxes to know which cabbage was from China and which was from Europe (there supposed new supplier starting June 2010.) They won't answer. I don't find them very "honest" at all. I give the best to my dog, I won't settle for China and pesticide.


If you think that China is the only place with pesticide and food problems, you're wrong. Even making a home made cooked or raw diet for your dogs isn't cut and dry "safe", which IMO sucks. Meat animals are pumped with growth hormones, which affects the meat, milk, and plants that are fertilized with manure. We eat this; children eat it, dogs eat it, cats eat it, etc.
http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/hormones/
http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/Factsheet/Diet/fs37.hormones.cfm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/20/pesticides-in-food-what-t_n_581937.html#s91777
http://searchwarp.com/swa51791.htm

Scary stuff, not just for our dogs, but for US.


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## HuskyLuv (May 16, 2008)

Well put LazyG, I completely agree.



andrewM said:


> I give the best to my dog, I won't settle for China and pesticide.


Just because we feed The Honest Kitchen does not mean we are settling for foods made with ingredients from China. As I've said before, two of THK dog formulas and their cat formula do NOT include any ingredients from any of the Asian countries of concern.


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

andrewM said:


> LOL, I emailed THK yesterday about my concerns with Asian ingredients and pesticides, they gave me the exact carbon copy email as the one that is posted in this thread. They're just copying and pasting. They didn't even answer my questions.
> Well, I give up, I'm just not taking the chance and feeding it. I found another better food that's actually raw and made completely with American ingredients.
> 
> Edited to change "not taking the change and feeding it" to what I meant it to say: "not taking the chance and feeding it".


I did some research on the Paw Naturaw products. I have been all over their site and I have found nothing that says their ingredients are all from the United States. It says they are USDA Certified Organic. Imported products can be USDA Certified Organic. If you do a search of the USDA's site it is not a difficult process. There are organic farms all over Asia. Even in China. 

I am not saying its a bad food. Looks pretty good other than their nutritional analysis seems like its a little low in protein. 

In any case, they do not have an additive based diet for someone that uses their own protein sources. Which is what I do. 

Their product is also pricey. If I used the three pound rolls it would cost me in the neighborhood of $600 a month to feed my dogs.


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## jclt (May 24, 2010)

I can confirm that pawnaturaw contains only US ingredients. They put it in writing on Twitter and Facebook and my personal email. I too recommend their product. I alternate using pawnaturaw and primal and others. The fact that you can't afford it has nothing to do with it not being from China. I'm with the others on this one. Our dogs are too well-loved to slip into the lazy way of feeding and accepting Chinese ingredients. No way. Plus my wife and I stay away from companies that try to hide things like this until they're exposed and then have no choice but to admit. We wonder what else the honest kitchen is not honest about. We have an appointment with a holistic vet and we will start feeding our own homemade raw after we get the recipes. We are getting a vitamix blender and will be pureeing our own veggies and fruits and adding raw meaty bones. Were fed up with dishonest pet food practices and labelling.


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

jclt said:


> I can confirm that pawnaturaw contains only US ingredients. They put it in writing on Twitter and Facebook and my personal email. I too recommend their product. I alternate using pawnaturaw and primal and others. The fact that you can't afford it has nothing to do with it not being from China. I'm with the others on this one. Our dogs are too well-loved to slip into the lazy way of feeding and accepting Chinese ingredients. No way. Plus my wife and I stay away from companies that try to hide things like this until they're exposed and then have no choice but to admit. We wonder what else the honest kitchen is not honest about. We have an appointment with a holistic vet and we will start feeding our own homemade raw after we get the recipes. We are getting a vitamix blender and will be pureeing our own veggies and fruits and adding raw meaty bones. Were fed up with dishonest pet food practices and labelling.


First of all I said NOTHING about not being able to afford it. Frankly that assumption was rude. It is rude because there are a great many folks that excellent pet owners that cannot afford 600 bucks a month to feed two dogs. I don't happen to be one of them. What I did say is that it is pricey. You could source your own domestic certified organic ingredients locally, purchase it at retail prices and come out cheaper. 


Secondly.... I don't twitter, so I cannot attest to them stating their product is a sourced domestically on twitter. I have been all over both their website and their facebook page and I have found NOTHING stating all their ingredients are domestic. 

In any case I have sent them an email.


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

jclt said:


> I can confirm that pawnaturaw contains only US ingredients. They put it in writing on Twitter and Facebook and my personal email. I too recommend their product. I alternate using pawnaturaw and primal and others. The fact that you can't afford it has nothing to do with it not being from China. I'm with the others on this one. Our dogs are too well-loved to slip into the lazy way of feeding and accepting Chinese ingredients. No way. Plus my wife and I stay away from companies that try to hide things like this until they're exposed and then have no choice but to admit. We wonder what else the honest kitchen is not honest about. We have an appointment with a holistic vet and we will start feeding our own homemade raw after we get the recipes. We are getting a vitamix blender and will be pureeing our own veggies and fruits and adding raw meaty bones. Were fed up with dishonest pet food practices and labelling.


I had a little more time and read their facebook page start to end. It might be there but for the second time I saw nothing that their products are all sourced with ingredients originating in the United States. Only that their products are USDA Certified Organic. Imported products if they meet guidelines can be USDA Certified Organic. 

I did see on their facebook page a complaint that they are not good about responding to emails. 

We will see.


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