Goofy Fad Foods and the Prices People Pay

Over on Facebook a commentator to an old post about dog food thinks it’s a Big Deal that a “fresh frozen” dog food passed an AAFCO feed trial. 

 But feed trials have been passed by Purina and Pedigree since the beginning. 

Nearly every grocery store brand —Blue Buffalo, Hills Science Diet, Hills, Nutro, Iams, Royal Canin, and Eukanuba — has been passing feed trials since the day they were created. 

This self-styled dog food expert did not know that?  Huh.

Setting aside how easy it is to pass a feed trial (it’s a MINIMUM standard) this person was pushing a fresh frozen dog food company charging a pretty serious price for their product: $24.95 for 4.5 pounds of rice, chicken guts, and thighs (72 oz). 

For the record, rice is less than 85 cents a pound retail (dry), and frozen chicken thighs are $2 a pound retail at your local grocery.  

Frozen chicken legs are less than a $1 a pound retail at your local grocery. 

You can feed your dog chicken and rice for about $1 a pound, and for no more trouble than going to Petco to have your pocket picked at the frozen dog food case. 

 And remember, “Fresh frozen” dog food is a *lot* of water weight. Purina Dog Chow is 45 cents a pound dry. 

As always, feed what you want and spend what you want. But when someone who does not even *know* about the ubiquitousness of feed trials tries to tell you they have a company run by an equity investment firm that had just “discovered” chicken guts, chicken parts, and rice that they are selling for over $6 a pound ... and it passes  FEED TRIAL.... 

Caveat emptor. 

Don’t know what that means? Look it up.