[Daphne R]

Apologies if this has been asked before, but as I reviewed the Editor’s Choice Brands for October 2017, I find that some of the highly rated food is from Merrick and Castor. I’m curious how Dog Food Advisor continues to highly rate those brands since their acquisition by Purina. Are they staying true to their previous quality, despite being acquired, and if so, how are we to know? Thanks in advance!

[Steve M]

I wouldn’t buy anything purina touches!

[Mike Sagman]

Hi Daphne R.,

Thanks for your comment. Purina purchased Merrick on July 21, 2015 (over 2 years ago).

Initially, we, too, had some concerns. But so far, the merger appears to have had only positive effects on their products.

Please keep in mind that corporate buyouts occur in the business world all the time, even within the pet food industry. In many cases, the additional resources of the larger company can help improve the products of the smaller one.

Smucker recently bought Big Heart Pet Brands (Meow Mix), Mars took over Natura Pet (California Natural) and a Brazilian company just purchased Chiquita Brands (bananas).

None of us has any way to forecast the ultimate results of this or any other similar corporate event. It’s simply too early to know.

In any case, we’re not expecting any immediate impact on the quality of the company’s products — at least not right away.

By the way, as explained on our website, our reviews are based entirely upon the legally verifiable information published on government-regulated pet food labels only.

And nothing else.

Our ratings have nothing to do with recall histories, legal findings, corporate mergers and buyouts, rumors, lawsuits, customer service incidents, ingredient sources, processing temperatures or any other variable.

So far, it appears Purina was smart this time and kept most of the original Merrick team and the products appear to be of the same quality. We’re impressed at how responsive the leadership and personnel have been each time we’ve contacted the company when we have questions.

We still really like this company. As with all our Editor’s Choice selections, if we see any serious changes, we’ll be sure to remove the brands from our lists.

Hope this helps.

[Robert F]

Thank you for your vigilance!

[Author]

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