Rather than hijack the 'Redford Naturals' thread ...

As I was looking for any information about Redford Naturals I ran across a couple of interesting notes.

The Limited Ingredient version of RN is new as of March of 2017, the the company seems to have been around since 2016 (trademarked in March of 2015 by PSP Franchising) which makes it a very young pet food company.

Since finding any type of 'in depth' information about the food was impossible, I submitted the following on their ( AGONIZINGLY SLOW ) web site:

Quote :

I'm part of a Husky group and one of our members asked us about Redford Naturals - which drew a big blank from all of us, so we started looking.  Much of what we were looking for is readily available but two specifically are not.  First, who is the actual manufacturer of Redford Naturals dry line of dog food?  Secondly what's the source of your ingredients?

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The second topic in this post is a note about an Amazon house brand call "Wag"

Wag was produced originally by Quidsi (founded in 2005) and the Quidsi line was purchased by Amazon in 2010. Quidsi was dissolved and Wag was picked up as a private label for Amazon Prime customers.  Susan Thixton and I had about the same results when talking to Amazon about the product.

The following is a transcript of *my* conversation with Amazon (I've cleaned it up a bit to shorten it, but nothing of consequence was dropped):

Quote :

Hello,
08:51 AM PDT Amala(Amazon): Hello, my name is Amala. I'm here to help you today.
08:51 AM PDT al jones: I'm a member of a Husky forum and we like to know about the food we feed our dogs.
08:52 AM PDT Amala: Oh, I see that you wish to know the details for Wag Dog Food. I'll certainly help you in this regard.
08:53 AM PDT al jones: One of our members was comparing Redford Naturals, Wag, and Taste of the Wild. TOTW we all know well but Redford chooses to completely ignore requests for source and manufacturer.  so I stretch it a bit
08:54 AM PDT al jones: Was wondering if you knew who the actual manufacturer of Wag is? And what the source of the ingredients is?
08:54 AM PDT Amala: I can completely understand that. I'll try to see if I can gather that information for you.
Please allow me a moment.
08:58 AM PDT Amala: I see that the manufacturer of the Wag Dog Food is Wag.
09:01 AM PDT al jones: I can't find any manufacturing plants listed for Wag ... and I've looked.
09:01 AM PDT Amala: Though I have a few details about the item on my website, I can help you with the link to get in touch with the manufacturer to get more details about it.
09:02 AM PDT al jones: would you please.
09:02 AM PDT Amala: Here is the link to get in touch with the manufacturer:
https://www.getwag.com.au/contact-us
09:03 AM PDT al jones: It's manufactured in Australia and imported?????
09:04 AM PDT Amala: My apologizes. Here is another link for Wag Support:
https://wagraw.com/pages/contact-us
09:05 AM PDT al jones: Which points to a Canadian Company???
09:07 AM PDT Amala: I would have loved to help you if I had complete information about it. As this is a seller on our website, I do not have much information about it but I can assure you that contacting Wag may help you fetch more details regarding the item.
09:08 AM PDT al jones: Wag was a part of the Quidsi group which Amazon purchased in 2011. Quidsi was dissolved and Wag was revitalized as an Amazon product which I why I'm looking at amazon for information.
09:09 AM PDT Amala: I do understand that Wag products are sold and shipped by Amazon. However, they are manufactured by Wag, which is the reason I do not have complete information.
09:09 AM PDT al jones: Okay. Thanks
09:10 AM PDT Amala: Thank you for your understanding.

Well, obviously Amazon support doesn't know anything about WAG ...

Trying to find out the who and what about the 'real deal' of our dog food is often an exercise in futility.

The response from PetSuppliesPlus was:

Quote :

Kelly (Pet Supplies Plus)
May 25, 10:48 AM EDT
Hello, Al!
Our Redford Naturals line is manufactured in Kansas by a trusted manufacturer which makes many large natural food brands. It's one of the best in the business! All ingredients are from the USA except the lamb and salmon which are sourced from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. All of our products are made from quality, natural ingredients, and we have no ingredients from China. Redford is comparable to Holistic Selects and Merrick Premium dog food!
Thank you,
Neighbor Services

Hmmm...it is my understanding that there are a few ingredients, mostly vitamins, I think, that are ONLY available from China...

Amy, Yep that is my understanding as well. Vitamin K is synthetic for most dog foods, and altho some countries in Europe are making vitamin packs for kibble manufacturers here in the states, it seems like vitamin k is still produced in China. The exceptions are foods like Acana and Orijen who are currently making their kibble using whole foods to replace the vitamin packs.

It looks like I've conflated two different topics in this thread so, without further ado:  

After the initial exchange with Redford Naturals (Pet Supplies Plus) a year ago, I sent another message:

Quote :

al
May 25 2018, 4:32 PM EDT
Without being too argumentative, the cooking process almost always removes vitamins and minerals – it’s an inevitable part of the process. I know of no dog food and / or manufacturer who doesn’t supplement their food with vitamins and minerals to replace those that were leached out during preparation. On that note, I know of no manufacturer of those vitamins here in the US (to include Canada.)
Would you mind expanding on how Redford works around that problem without an imported substitute.
The most common source for the vitamin packs has been China, but quality control has let some adulterated packs slip past and we’re concerned since you don’t mention the origin of the supplemental vitamins.
//al

Their last response was:

Quote :

Kelly (Pet Supplies Plus)
Jun 7 2018, 11:13 AM EDT
Hey Al!
I just wanted to let you know we're waiting on an answer from our manufacturer on this! As soon as I hear back I will let you know!
Kelly, Neighbor Services

While I understand trade secrets and all that, lack of response is one thing I won't tolerate.  I figured I'd send on a "it's taking a long time to get a response from you in-house team."
Again, I'll update this when (if??) I ever get an answer.  Not answering questions is, in my book, the best way to lose customers.

It's now been just over a year since I originally asked PetSuppliesPlus - for whom this is their house brand. They report themselves as being the manufacturer.

It's now apparent that they have no interest in answering the question of where their vitamin packs originate - and I'm past caring.

They sent me an introductory email - don't think I'll take them up on it.

There aren't any feed stores that sell a halfway decent kibble on the side of the river that we are moving to so I expect to be ordering what kibble we use online. It's too bad these people refuse to answer questions about their product. At least Wag since it is something I could feed. Will probably be switching to Earthborn Holistic as our supplement to raw. Not a lot of options for dogs who can't have chicken or potatoes.

I have to admit surprise, after exchanging emails for a year Pet Supplies Plus (the manufacturer of Redford dog food) sent me this:

Quote :

Lauren (Pet Supplies Plus)
Jul 9, 11:43 AM EDT
Hi Al,
Thank you for reaching back out to us! I apologize for the delay in getting you a response. We have looked back into your inquiry and since your original message, we do have some ingredients that come from China. Since I was unsure if there was a specific diet you were inquiring about, I have included the Chicken & Brown Rice ingredient country of origin as an example.
Please note that our manufacturer has a strict supplier approval program to ensure all the ingredients they are using are safe and from responsible sources.
CHICKEN & BROWN RICE
Chicken - USA
Chicken Meal - USA
Brown Rice - USA
Oatmeal - USA, CANADA
Rice - USA
Chicken Fat - USA
Rice Bran - USA
Herring Meal - USA, NORWAY
Natural Flavor - USA
Flaxseed - CANADA
Dried Blueberries - USA, CANADA
Dried Spinach - HUNGARY, CANADA
Dried Egg Product - USA
Salt - USA
Fish Oil - USA
Potassium Chloride - USA, CANADA
Choline Chloride - USA, CANADA
Vitamin E Supplement - FRANCE, GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, CHINA
Mixed Tocopherols (a preservative),
This is a component of the antioxidants used to stabilize rendered proteins and oils, fats.
Zinc Methionine Complex - USA
Zinc Sulfate - USA, MEXICO
Niacin Supplement - BELGIUM, TAIWAN, SWITZERLAND
Iron Proteinate - USA, CANADA
Ferrous Sulfate - USA
Vitamin A Supplement - SWITZERLAND
Copper Proteinate - USA, NETHERLANDS
Copper Sulfate - CHILE, MEXICO, USA, NETHERLANDS, RUSSIA
Thiamine Mononitrate - GERMANY
d-Calcium Pantothenate - GERMANY, SCOTLAND, CHINA
Manganese Proteinate - USA, CANADA
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride - GERMANY
Riboflavin Supplement - GERMANY, KOREA
Sodium Selenite - USA
Vitamin D3 Supplement - SWITZERLAND
Manganous Oxide - INDIA, MEXICO
Vitamin B12 Supplement - FRANCE
Calcium Iodate - CANADA, USA
Folic Acid - FRANCE
Biotin - GERMANY
Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide (a source of Iodine) - INDIA
Rosemary Extract.
Also in the antioxidant
I hope that information answers your inquiry. Please let me know if I can further assist you!
Thank you,
Lauren, Neighbor Services

Made in the USA (well at least the first three ingredients are ...)

Which is pretty close to what they list on the website:

Chicken; Chicken Meal; Brown Rice; Rice; Oats; Rice Bran; Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid); Herring Meal; Natural Flavors; Dried Egg Product; Dried Blueberries; Dried Spinach; Potassium Chloride; Salt; Fish Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid); Choline Chloride; Calcium Carbonate; Zinc Sulfate; Vitamin E Supplement; Ferrous Sulfate; Niacin Supplement; Copper Sulfate; Thiamine Mononitrate; Calcium Pantothenate; Vitamin A Supplement; Manganous Oxide; Pyridoxine Hydrochloride; Sodium Selenite; Riboflavin Supplement; Vitamin D3 Supplement; Biotin; Vitamin B12 Supplement; Calcium Iodate; Folic Acid; Rosemary Extract

But they're out of stock ...

It's nice that they did get back to you. I'm not surprised they are out. With the DCM there's a slew of people switching their dogs food right now to anything they can get their hands on that seems decent and doesn't have peas, legumes, or potatoes.