Poor quality ingredients fortified with vitamins and minerals. (Iams Original Formula Cat Food)

Member Name: xcorlett

Product:	Iams Original Formula Cat Food
Date:	09/02/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: They have great advertising

Disadvantages: And a product that doesn't quite match up

Recently I came across a calculator of sorts for comparing and rating dog and cat foods. I've all about healthy feeding and it is amazing how well some low-quality pet food companies market their food as high quality. I'll use the calculator to to give an estimation of how good this one is.
You can find the calculator at http://www.dogforums.com/5-dog-food-forum/5388-dog -food-calculator.html

Here goes... (I've copied the calculator, then added the results below each factor).

Giving Dry Dog Food a Grade:
Start with a grade of 100:

For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points
-MINUS 10 POINTS (Chicken By-Product Meal)

For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points
-PASS

If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
-PASS
For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points
-PASS
If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer's rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points
-MINUS 5 POINTS (Corn Meal, Corn Grits)

If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
-MINUS 3 POINTS
If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
-PASS
If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points
-MINUS 3 POINTS (corn grits and meal)
If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
-MINUS 2 POINTS
If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points
-PASS
If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
-PASS
If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
-PASS
If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points
-PASS
If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to beef), subtract 1 point
-PASS
If it contains salt, subtract 1 point
-PASS
Extra Credit:

If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
-NOT ORGANIC

If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points
- CANNOT FIND AN ENDORSEMENT FOR THIS DIET
If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
- EXTRUDED
If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
- NO PROBIOTICS
If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
- NO FRUIT
If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
- NO VEGETABLES
If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points
- NOT HORMONE OR ANTIBIOTIC FREE
If the food contains barley, add 2 points
- NO BARLEY
If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
- NO FLAX
If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
- NO OATS
If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
- NO
For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "turkey" as 2 different sources), add 1 point
- ONLY ONE SOURCE

If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
- NO
If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point
- NO


94-100+ = A
86-93 = B
78-85 = C
70-77 = D
<70 = F

This one gets a D grade at 77 points.
Also, the inclusion of beet pulp is another negative factor not taken into account by the calculator. Beet pulp is not a great staple food and is used primarily because it is very cheap. End-of-life products are the ingredients in most commercial pet foods. There is increasing research to show that these low quality ingredients are hurting our pets when fed year after year. Dried kibbles are far from a natural diet for dogs and cats, and when you combine that with low quality ingredients that have simply been "fortified" with vitamins and minerals, one can see how trouble can start.

Summary: Look elsewhere, much better brands are out there