Health

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Purina Dog Chow: Adds Up to 2 Years to Your Dog’s Life*

Purina Dog Chow Imagine if your choice of dog food could extend the life of your favorite pet by years.

That seems to be the claim in a currently running commercial for Purina Puppy Chow and Dog Chow. The ad says, “add up to two healthy years to his life.”

What proof does the company have? The ad goes on to say, “a groundbreaking 14 year study by Purina proves that Puppy Chow, then Dog Chow nutrition, fed properly over a lifetime, helps add up to two quality years with your dog.”

Wow. Who would feed any other brand to their dog if Purina is so much better?

*MOUSE PRINT: The company never tested other brands of dog food compared to Purina. “All dogs received the same 100 percent nutritionally complete and balanced foods – only the amount differed. ”

In fact, here is the test methodology:

For the first three years, the control group was fed an unlimited amount of food during 15-minute daily feedings; afterwards they were fed an amount estimated to be the caloric requirement for large breed dogs in “normal” body condition. Each dog in the lean-fed group always received 75 percent of the amount eaten by its paired littermate. All dogs consumed the same diets, which were 100 percent nutritionally complete and balanced (first a puppy formula, then an adult formula) — only the quantity provided was different.

Translation: what was really tested was how underfeeding your dog could extend his life.

While the advice from the actual test may be sound — that slim dogs live longer — it may not be just this brand that can extend your dog’s life.

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Cheesy Changes: American Cheese Relabeled

Stop & Shop Cheese Singles SCan you spot the difference between these two packages of cheese slices?

They have the same UPC code, the same look, and probably the same taste faintly reminiscent of a product once called american cheese.

The one on the right is called “Pasteurized Process Cheese Food” and is currently being phased out in favor of the item on the left called “American Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product.” So, big deal, they changed the name, you say. The name change had to be made because the ingredients no longer met the federal definition (the standard of identity) for “pasteurized process cheese food.”

*MOUSE PRINT:

ss cheese ingredients

Uncle Sam has a very specific recipe for mandatory and optional ingredients in “pasteurized process cheese food.”   In particular, this product must be a minimum of 51% cheese (isn’t that reassuring), and no more than 44% moisture.

In the early 2000s, Kraft Singles starting using “milk protein concentrate” in its products and that was not allowed by the federal recipe. Rather than change their recipe, Kraft renamed it to “american pasteurized prepared cheese product.” [See second story here.] There is no federal standard of identity for such a product.

Other brands, including store brands, have been slow to change, but most have now eliminated “cheese food” from their labels.

So what do you get in the new products? From the labels, it is not even clear if it contains american cheese anymore, or whether it is at least 51% cheese. What it does have is 50% more cholesterol than before, and almost 40% more salt.

And, to add insult to injury, the new Stop & Shop product, while still a pound, only weighs 453 grams instead of the old 454. How cheesy can you get?

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Clorox: Making a Stink about Scents

cloroxLaundry bleach has a very distinctive strong smell that some people like and other people hate. No wonder that major bleach manufacturers like Clorox have come out with scented versions of their liquid bleach.

They now make “Citrus Blend” (far right), “Fresh Meadow,” and “Mountain Fresh” scents in addition to regular.

There is one key thing, however, they don’t tell you on the label about the scented versions. They contain less than half the active ingredient of regular bleach.

*MOUSE PRINT:

“The scented bleaches contain a sodium hypochlorite concentration of 2.75%. Clorox Bleach – Regular Scent has a sodium hypochlorite concentration of 6%.”  –The Clorox Company

The label for the scented versions conveniently omits the ingredients statement that appears on the regular version: 

Clorox ingredients

When asked in an email why there was a lower percentage of bleach in the scented versions and why it was not listed on the label, the company did not respond. [But see below for lengthy explanation received after this story was posted.]

The label on the scented version does indicate that it should not be used for disinfecting purposes, however.

So, if your whites smell better but look a little more dingy these days, now you may know why.

UPDATE:  Harold Baker, also known as “Dr. Laundry” at the Clorox Company sent Mouse Print* a response to the scent issues raised above on February 22, 2007:

I wanted to briefly comment on some of the details you point out in this post, and hopefully shed some light on the “why” behind some of the differences in our products, and dispel any misconceptions.

What is the bleach level in scented bleach products?  As you point out in your Mouse Print quote, from a Clorox Company source, it is 2.75% sodium hypochlorite.  This is less than the 6.0% found in our Clorox®Regular-Bleach.

Why isn’t this displayed on the label? Are you trying to hide it from consumers?  Actually, if you check the store shelves, you will find that unless any consumer product is registered with a Government entity, it will NOT list specific amounts of any formula ingredient.  Clorox® Regular-Bleach is a registered disinfectant therefore the active ingredient statement you displayed is required by EPA.  The scented versions are not registered disinfectants and therefore do not list formula ingredients. Look at other laundry products: liquid or powder laundry detergents, stain and soil removers, even fabric softeners do not list specific ingredients on their labels. Most products are mixtures of 6-20 ingredients which would require a lot of label space to spell out.  So at best you will see general description, like surfactants or enzymes, rather than very long technical names which are meaningless to the average consumer.  How would this information help them decide whether to purchase and use a product?  Believe me as a formulator, I would love it if my competitors would list out their ingredients so I could duplicate it more quickly and get it to market.   The only other reason to have specific ingredients would be for safety.  In fact, all consumer companies share this information, on a confidential basis, with Poison Control Centers to insure appropriate treatments are followed in emergencies. 

Why wouldn’t all Clorox bleach products have the same bleach level?  The Clorox Company has a slogan “We begin and end with the consumer”.  This means that we spend a lot of time monitoring consumer needs and developing products that meet their desires.  Consumer use situations and preferences vary and if you want to be successful in the marketplace, one listens carefully, develops and tests carefully and then markets EACH product to a target group.  So some consumers want strong, disinfecting bleach, while others want less bleach odor or more control of the product.  It is our job to find the best way to deliver those needs to be the #1 bleach company that consumers trust. [PRODUCT LISTING OMITTED by Mouse Print*]

So hopefully, you better understand that there are good reasons to sell a variety of bleach products with different actives levels.  We know this is true and if you check the store shelves you’ll find a number of competitors that try to copy our products.   Â