Stretching the Truth for Your Pets

Alright, another one that I got from a commercial.  This one ran during the local news a few days ago.  I didn't really pay much attention tonight as we had a late dinner.  But this one is something that I find a bit annoying.  This one is something that can apply to food for humans as well as what the pet food that this commercial was referencing.


So there was an ad for a product called Fresh Pet.  I get that they are claiming that it is better than most dry pet foods based on the fact that the first ingredient is meat.  But there is a lot that I don't get.  How does having no corn or wheat make it a better product?  Just what is unhealthy about corn or wheat?  That is just a part of the problem.  They claim that this is less processed then the typical dry food.  Have you seen the stuff?  It comes in a tube kind of like a roll of sausage.  Do you know how they get it in that shape?  Yep, they pureed everything together after it is cooked.  So what's the difference in processing?  How is it less processing if you puree something after cooking as apposed to before cooking?  Just another annoying example of how these companies seem to think the public is stupid.  Don't be stupid and fall for the marketing crap that these marketing companies are selling you.  Make a decision based on what is best for your pet.

So how does this relate to human food?  Pretty simple, marketing like this isn't limited to just pet foods.  How do you think they get McNuggets to all look the same?  They will tell you they are all white meat which is true, for the most part (more in a moment).  What they aren't telling you is that they are all chopped and formed.  The chicken is sent through a chopper then pressed into forms.  At it's best the will allow the natural juices of the product to be the binder.  However, and this is the more in a moment piece, the government of the United States will allow a certain percentage of the product to not be what they claim it to be.  They can state that the nuggets are 100% white meat chicken provided the additional things added (a lot of which is salt) is below that legal limit.  I don't know what those limits are but they are probably higher then what you think.

There you have it.  The problem isn't really with the product, it is with how they market it.  Calling something less processed is just a sales line.  Are you going to fall for it?