Vitamins And Minerals

Question:
To Whom It May Concern:

I just unsubscribed from your emails and would like you to know that it is because I looked at your site and saw that you now source from China, saying that vitamins and minerals are not available from other countries. Perhaps you have all along but when I called a year or so ago, I was assured that nothing was put into the foods from China.

I beg to differ -- the real issue is that they cost more. Yes, most do come from China, including those for human consumption. However, there are ones that are not and I can tell you I would rather purchase high quality food that did not contain any so that I could add my own than to purchase any food that includes Chinese anything.

In fact, I give my pets...vitamins and minerals that are made in the United States and do include Norwegian Kelp. Nothing from China or Asia.

So this customer will not purchase or recommend you foods any longer.

Answer:
As stated in our Learn section, we purchase any ingredient we can from U.S. suppliers, and have been working with some of them for decades. Our 35 years of feeding hundreds of thousands of animals through multiple generations, some Wysong-fed pets now living beyond their mid-twenties, gives us confidence in our ingredients.

Although we understand the reasons for not wanting to buy things from China, it is now impossible to go about life without doing so. As for nutrients, hundreds of millions of doses of Chinese nutrients are consumed around the world daily by animals and humans and no deleterious consequences are occurring

We know of no non-Chinese sources for the ingredients that are sourced from there. The entire pet food industry uses these sources. If you doubt this, a simple Internet search will bear this out.

US companies either only supply (not manufacture) amino acids (that are sourced from Asia), or they only manufacture amino acids meant for research or pharmaceuticals. None of them offer food grade ingredients classified as safe to use in pet foods.

If you know differently, please send us the specific manufacturing sources in the United States. Note that we said manufacturers, not sellers of products who simply claim domestic sourcing.

Question:
Thank you for your response. I can appreciate what you are saying but will not, under any circumstances, knowingly purchase products that contain ingredients from China. No matter what companies say, they cannot test these products. China would not even allow the FDA to monitor tests trying to find the problems with jerky. Since they eat dogs, the health and safety of our pets is not a priority for them.

That said, I would much rather a company that makes quality products would leave out the vitamins and minerals so that the pet parent can add their own. And yes, there are ones that are not sourced from China. I personally use Nupro and they do contain amino acids. The difference is that their product is made of ingredients from the US except for the kelp, which is Norwegian. There are also a few companies that make vitamins for human consumption that are comprised of various plants and seeds rather than chemically made.

This is just my preference.

Answer:
Thank you for your reply, and we do understand the worries you have.

However:

1. China has to be concerned about quality or they will lose market. Unlike the US, people who damage the Chinese reputation will be imprisoned. As in the US, there are both scrupulous and unscrupulous companies and people in China. One must be selective there as here. I have attached a rough draft of an article by Dr. Wysong that will give you perspective on vitamin and mineral safety. (http://www.wysong.net/pet-health-and-nutrition/vitamin-and-mineral-safety.php)

2. The company you site does purchase ingredients from China, and the Norwegian kelp you mention and the yeast (both non-US), do not supply the spectrum of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids necessary to fortify processed foods.

3. No company can produce vitamins and minerals from plants and seeds in sufficient quantity to fortify foods. If you know differently, please provide the name of a manufacturer of such plant and seed raw materials. We would immediately convert to them as a supplier.

4. People cannot, as you suggest, find domestic sources of vitamins and minerals to fortify their own foods. They are in the same position as we and all manufacturers. It is a fact of life.

As noted previously, if you can provide actual company names that manufacture these nutrients for use in human or pet products, please let us know. In our extensive research, no such company has been found.

I hope this information will be useful to you in understanding that you have been misled with regard to the above matters, and that Wysong has not and does not compromise health. After 35 years feeding hundreds of thousands of animals through multiple generations, with some living into their late twenties, we say that with confidence.