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- This topic has 14 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 9 months, 3 weeks ago by
aimee.
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AuthorPosts
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aimee
ParticipantSome new “rawhide alternatives” being marketed appear to me to simply be rawhide renamed
The chew traditionally called rawhide is a by -product of the leather industry. Hides are sourced at slaughter and sent to a tannery where they are dehaired and fleshed ( the fat layer under the skin is removed). What remains is the dermis. Another word for dermis is corium. The tanner splits the corium into upper and lower layers, The upper is used to make leather, the lower is used as a source of collagen for sausage casings, drug capsules, supplements, gelatin etc , to make rawhide chews, and now apparently some “rawhide alternative”. chews.
AAFCO doesn’t define the word “rawhide”, Merriam Webster defines it, in this context, as “untanned cattle skin”
I find the reasons given from the manufacturers of chews made of full thickness cattle skin or corium, as to why their product is not rawhide, interesting.Company A appears to report that their untanned cattle skin product is not rawhide because it is sourced from the head of the cow and they seem to define hide as skin as coming from the trunk of the cow. Additionally, they seem to say that since their product is full thickness skin, and rawhide is the lower split.of the corium, their product is not rawhide. Finally, it looks like they are saying their product doesn’t use chemicals in processing. Not sure what is meant by this, since technically, water is a chemical
Company B seems to say their collagen chew isn’t rawhide because rawhide consists of all layers of the skin and their product is only the lower split of corium. Note that their definition of what is rawhide looks to be the opposite definition than that of company A
Company C’s collagen chew appears to me to be identical to company B in size , shape, color, and country of origin making me wonder if they are the same chew being imported by two different companies. When asked if their product was corium, customer service said the answer to my question would be emailed to me. The email stated that all information was proprietary. Under magnification their product appears to me to be a tangle of fibers which is how corium and traditionally labeled rawhide also appears to me.
Company D said the raw material they use in their “rawhide alternative” chews is corium which is also used for human food production, and that no hide is used in their products. I don’t know how they are defining “hide” but it seems they may be defining hide as the top split of the corium and then claiming that the bottom split is hide free. A tannery resides at the same address as this chew maker, who also appears to market beef hide chews under a different brand name , which look to me to be the same in appearance to their “hide free” chews .
Company E , unlike A-D, doesn’t seem to claim their collagen chew is a “rawhide alternative” or say it is not hide. It is labeled “collagen from beefhide”. This company also makes several brands of chews labeled as beefhide.
It seems to me, that what the above products have in common, is that they are all appear to be made from either full thickness or partial thickness untanned cattle skin
In my opinion it is very unethical when companies claim that that chews that they apparently making of full or partial thickness untanned cattle skin are rawhide alternatives. From discussions with distributors and shop owners , I’d consider some to be disingenuous . Even after passing along to them the information from the manufacturers that certain chews are made of the corium , the same material that traditional rawhides are formed from or full thickness cattle skin, I continue to see them market the product as a hide free rawhide alternative.
I wonder what will happen to companies that label their corium dog chews as rawhide, which is how chews made from corium have traditionally always been labeled. I see some shop owners say they will not sell chews labeled as rawhide, stating that rawhide is dangerous, yet they sell these “alternatives” and other stores stop selling rawhide because sales of the chews labeled as alternative outsell those labeled as rawhide, which I think is in part due to the “bad press” on rawhide.
Interesting to me, is that recently a class action was filed against a company alleging that the chews they market as an alternative to rawhide are actually hide ,and a paper was published in which two of the seven dog chews that were examined, labeled as”rawhide free” appeared to be mislabeled.
Unfortunately, it seems that I can not rely on product labeling to accurately describe what a product is, nor can I count on regulatory bodies to remove mislabeled products from the market.
Would love to hear others thoughts on the issue.
crazy4cats
ParticipantThis is very concerning to me. Companies seem to be purposefully manipulating ingredient labels that could possibly hurt our pets all in the name of greed! They are making so much money on these fake no hide chews. They are extremely expensive and people are paying for them!
I really hope the class action lawsuit can make a dent in this issue!
Also makes me suspect of anything I buy!
Thank you for the heads up, Aimee!
pugmomsandy
Participanttest post
crazy4cats
ParticipantHere is the current class action lawsuit against Earth Animals regarding their so called “No Hide Chews”.
aimee
ParticipantHi Crazy4cats,
My understanding, at least in the state I reside in, is that chews do not have to comply with AAFCO labeling unless they also make a claim that could be considered a nutritional claim. This could be something like “easily digestible” or “source of protein”. I think it is up to the feed control official to decide if the product is making a nutritional claim. This could be why, in my opinion, there is no AAFCO definition for the term”rawhide”. I think, that without a definition, this opens the door for manufacturers to market their hide based products as “rawhide free” when making a nutritional claim
This isn’t to say though that a chew, such as rawhide, because it doesn’t have to meet AAFCO labeling is not regulated. Rawhide is considered “food” by the FDA and so it has to comply with the FD&C act of 1938 and can come under regulation if adulterated.
It seems to me that many are confused on this point, resulting in people reporting/saying that rawhide is not regulated and since it is not regulated ,it may be a source of significant levels of toxins. In actuality the risk is likely no different than other sources of pet food.. This misunderstanding, in my opinion, is then exploited and used to market “rawhide alternatives” , which in some cases appear to be made of the same tissue as rawhide, yet are being sold at a much higher price point . I think consumers are willing to pay this higher price because they think this product is “safe” and chews labeled as rawhide are not safe.
aimee
ParticipantHi Crazy4cats,
I posted back a few days ago but it never showed up here , so at some point this may be a duplicate post. Interestingly when I tried to search for more info on the class action suit I found a different suit filed by Sage Fulfillment LLC involving Earth Animal Ventures
Yvonne H
ParticipantI wish I had read these posts before I purchased the NO-HIDE Chicken chews.
But, I did not and now my dog is paying the price.Normally, my dogs get nothing other than dog food, I live on the second floor and do not care to make multiple trips downstairs throughout the night.
Between throwing up, extremely soft stools and generally pacing all night, this chew was the only thing different in her diet yesterday.
Though I read the label carefully, I must admit, it sure looked like a rawhide chew once she started chewing it. When it started to unwrap, I cut the loose pieces off with a scissor to avoid getting them stuck in her throat. When it totally unraveled, I threw the whole thing away.
My other dog was a lot smarter. One sniff and he had no interest.
aimee
ParticipantHi Yvonne,
So sorry to learn of your experience. Hope your dog is felling better. Always report any suspected adverse events to your state feed control official and to the FDA.
Mike S
ParticipantThis is a test
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Yvonne H
ParticipantI asked the vet to report it to the FDA but I will followup also snd contact the local Department of Agriculture.
This is SO wrong.
KathyA P
ParticipantI am so glad I saw these posts! I usually only give Best Brand odor free bully sticks to chew for a half hour to an hour. I saw the no hide ad and decided to try them. When they came, I started having second thoughts because they look just like rawhide to me. Thank God I didnât give them before I saw this! Iâm throwing them away!
Yvonne H
ParticipantMy dog has been sick for three days now.
$170 vet bill for a $5 chew.You may be interested in reading the information I found regarding the class action lawsuit against Earth Animal and their NO-HIDE chews
Yvonne H
ParticipantI found further information on Truth About Pet Food
aimee
ParticipantHi Yvonne,
I’d encourage you to read all the original documents that are posted on TAPF I found them very interesting.
aimee
ParticipantI’ve come across sellers of rawhide who insist their chews, made of corium, have no skin in them, insisting that corium is a tissue layer below the skin. This is incorrect. Corium is the middle layer of skin and is the layer traditionally labeled rawhide.
I think the people saying this simply are unaware of the structure of skin and parrot information they are given to market the product. Corium is not a common word, and the pet industry seems to be relying on people not being familiar with the term.
Dermis, however, is a word that I think most people recognize as referring to the skin, e.g. dermatology, so I was quite shocked when a company representative insisted their “collagen” chew was not made of skin, nor did it contain any part of the skin. The chew is dermis, NOT skin.
Baffling. Can they not hear what they are saying? Seems to me that the pet industry is gaslighting consumers.Â
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Search Forums
Recent Topics
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Search for Great Quality, Small sized dry kibble.
by
Kate G
2 days, 9 hours ago -
Struvite Treats?
by
RosiePops Mom
5 days, 15 hours ago -
4health and other Dental chew info
by
jetski racer
3 weeks, 5 days ago -
Cane Corso lipomas
by
ste stef
1 month, 1 week ago -
Ultimate Pet Nutrition Nutra Thrive
by
l m
1 week, 1 day ago
Recent Replies
-
Hazel willia on Ultimate Pet Nutrition Nutra Thrive
-
Cat Taylor on Full Moon Freeze Dried Chicken Treats
-
blazermax maxi on Chicken Soup for the Soul Pet Food
-
Shirley VerStraete on C.E.T. HEXTRA Chews by Virbac
-
Ahsan Bhatti on Chia Seed (Topic 2)
-
Robert Fine on Music
-
Lia S on Treat reviews/ratings?
-
Ramesh Kumar on Stella and chewys wild red raw kibble or open farm raw mix?
-
ApolloCa on "Kahoots" brand foods
-
Ramesh Kumar on Sudden problem with Merrick Grain Free Dry
-
A on Cat Lane review
-
Ramesh Kumar on Ultimate Pet Nutrition Nutra Thrive
-
Naba Jacw on Benny Bullys Liver Treats
-
Ramesh Kumar on Pomeranian Food – Less protein?
-
Stephen Council on Blue Buffalo not good per vet