Innova Evo

[Aimee]

Has anyone heard of Innova Evo? This is Innova's newest food that is grain free and the advertising is that it has the benefits of feeding a raw food diet. Here are the specs:

ingredients:
Turkey, Chicken, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Potato, Herring Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Natural Flavors, Eggs, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Garlic, Apples, Carrots, Tomatoes, Cottage Cheese, Alfalfa Sprouts, Dried Chicory Root, Ascorbic Acid, Taurine, Lecithin, Rosemary Extract, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Beta Carotene, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Biotin, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid), Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Calcium Iodate), Direct Fed Microbials (Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium thermophilum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product)

guaranteed analysis:
Crude Protein (minimum)...........42.0%
Crude Fat (minimum).................22.0%
Crude Fiber (maximum)............. 2.5%
(carb content is only 12%)
Moisture (maximum).................. 10.0%
Linoleic Acid (minimum).............. 4.2%
Vitamin E (minimum)................. 300 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)* (minimum).................. 500 mg/kg
Omega-3 Fatty acids (minimum)... 0.50%
Total Microorganisms* (minimum)..........90,000,000 CFU/LB

(Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, Enterococcus faecium in equal amounts

calorie content:
4243 kcal/kg
537 kcal/cup
1 cup=4.40 oz (124 g)

Link to the product page

What are your individual thoughts on these ingredients? If this is a dry food, I'm curious how they get it into that crunchy kibble form without all the grains. Also, they claim you can get "all the key nutritional benefits received from the feeding raw food diets". I wondered if this would be a good substitute for raw. Thoughts?

Aimee

 

[totallyhip]

Wow sounds almost too good to be true. It does say on the site that it is a dry food. I wouldn't mind trying it for Luke.I have heard that dogs don't break down wheat products that well.
What do you feed them for treats then? Most treats all contain whole wheat.

 

[susan fulcher]

We do not carry dry food in our store,only raw food. I personally would never feed dry to my raw fed dogs. A few years back we carried the premium dry foods and Natura was one of them. They had a good dry food but they also mixed proteins,which I do not do. We did sell lots of Inova and dogs did well on it. This new food looks like Inova minus the grains,it's still kibble. Even though we do not sell dry food anymore, companies still send us retailer packages on new product. When I read the brochure I was shocked at what I read. Dr. Belfield who makes Mega C had a lengthy article on raw food all negative. I have never read such negativity towards raw food except from the gal who has that website second chance ranch. I had to call my friend up north who has a natural pet store and still sells dry food. I asked if she recieved her retailers package on the new food.She was very up set at the brochure. She called her rep and told him she was going to stop carrying Natura food in her store because of the article in the brochure. She believes in raw,sells raw and feeds only raw to her own dogs. A week later her rep got back to her and said they have stop distributing the brochure and will be changing the brochure. As far as I am concerned it's too late, they showed thier true colors. Although her rep also said natura will be coming out with a raw food in the future?????? Now do they agree with raw or not according to the brochure. When companies do things like this ..flip flopping around I figure all they care about is the money and when all they care about is the money then they might be cutting back on quality in your product to make more money. I would not give my money to any company slamming raw food.Also Dr. Belfield has a building named after him on the Natura plant site.

 

[SoleilBxrs]

We do not carry dry food in our store,only raw food. I personally would never feed dry to my raw fed dogs. A few years back we carried the premium dry foods and Natura was one of them. They had a good dry food but they also mixed proteins,which I do not do. We did sell lots of Inova and dogs did well on it. This new food looks like Inova minus the grains,it's still kibble. Even though we do not sell dry food anymore, companies still send us retailer packages on new product. When I read the brochure I was shocked at what I read. Dr. Belfield who makes Mega C had a lengthy article on raw food all negative. I have never read such negativity towards raw food except from the gal who has that website second chance ranch. I had to call my friend up north who has a natural pet store and still sells dry food. I asked if she recieved her retailers package on the new food.She was very up set at the brochure. She called her rep and told him she was going to stop carrying Natura food in her store because of the article in the brochure. She believes in raw,sells raw and feeds only raw to her own dogs. A week later her rep got back to her and said they have stop distributing the brochure and will be changing the brochure. As far as I am concerned it's too late, they showed thier true colors. Although her rep also said natura will be coming out with a raw food in the future?????? Now do they agree with raw or not according to the brochure. When companies do things like this ..flip flopping around I figure all they care about is the money and when all they care about is the money then they might be cutting back on quality in your product to make more money. I would not give my money to any company slamming raw food.Also Dr. Belfield has a building named after him on the Natura plant site.

interesting! we really like Innova round these parts, and are curious to see what they have said about BARF. (and what types of corporate foot-in-mouth brochures they have put out.) Susan, can you post more detailed info?

-Kat

 

[boxer]

The idea of a grain-free food is great And I'm sure it will be a great option for allergic dogs where people don't want to go to raw. I'd be a bit concerned about the very high protein levels though - a raw diet is generally somewhere near the "ideal" of 22% protein, so I just wonder how a growing dog will do on 42%. That's higher than a lot of puppy foods - and those often cause growth probs. Can't see why an adult shouldn't do well on it though. The fat levels too, are high. Particularly if I had a pancreatic dog, that might give me cause for thought.

I don't see it as a raw alternative though. One of the major benefits of feeding raw is that the food is in a form that the dog is well designed by nature to use. Most nutritionists are continuously telling people not to eat too much highly processed foods, and that vegetables are better for us when raw or only lightly cooked. Can't see that it's different for dogs (actually, it should be even more the case for dogs, given that they haven't been cooking their food for hundreds of years like humans have).

I think it's probably a very good kibble, and a decided improvement on those containing grains, but I don't think it's a substitute for a raw natural diet. No idea how they get it to 'puff up' into kibbles though Presumably some sort of high pressure extrusion?

 

[kit02]

I was going to ask that about the very high protein levels also – is that really good?

They had a good dry food but they also mixed proteins,which I do not do.

Is that just personal choice? I mix them all the time, is that OK to do?

 

[totallyhip]

The idea of a grain-free food is great And I'm sure it will be a great option for allergic dogs where people don't want to go to raw. I'd be a bit concerned about the very high protein levels though - a raw diet is generally somewhere near the "ideal" of 22% protein, so I just wonder how a growing dog will do on 42%. That's higher than a lot of puppy foods - and those often cause growth probs. Can't see why an adult shouldn't do well on it though. The fat levels too, are high. Particularly if I had a pancreatic dog, that might give me cause for thought.

I was reading on the site that it says its a "low carb diet". I'm not a fan of the low carb diet for human and esp would be concerned about it on my dog. Everyone needs carbs for energy and survival. Luke currently eats the Innova Dry dog food, raw was going to be our next choice if he didn't do ok on the Innova. But he is doing good. I thought about maybe trying this... not sure if I will.

 

[Albie]

That is a very interesting looking food... I guess they are jumping on the raw food band wagon, but not quite since the food is not raw. I noticed recently that Breeder's Choice and Natural Balance have frozen raw foods. It seems like this was Innova's answer to the growing raw food trend. As a side note, I'm going through a really lazy phase right now with Lacy's meals. We are in the midst of some major home renovations so I tried some food from The Honest Kitchen. Right now, I am feeding Verve in the morning and a raw ground mix from a Place for Paws at night. Lacy is extremely particular, and she is eating the Verve with no problems. I think the Verve is too grain heavy, so I add ground meat to it, but I am loving the convenience of this food. Next time I order, I will probably get Force or Embark, which are grain-free. If you are looking for something convenient, you may want to try one of these foods.

 

[susan fulcher]

Kat, I will look for the brochure. I miss placed it when I was getting ready to go to NY to a seminar by wolf expert Dr. Mech. As soon as I find it I will post some of what they say.

Kit,my homeopath vet does not believe in mixing proteins. To be honest thanks to her good advice and homeopathy I have healthy dogs even with the problems they have had so I will confess once and awhile if I have little bit of meat left over from the day before I will mix it with what ever they are eating,but I do not do to often. She is coming this week to speak at a seminar we are presenting in our town on holistic care and I wil ask her again. Who knows maybe in 7 yrs she has changed her oppinion on that. I know she never liked Inova or Canidae because of the mix proteins.

Georgia, I think honest kitchen is a good choice for those lazy phases.

Susan

 

[susan fulcher]

Evo and raw diets

Guess what I brought some files home to do work and what was shoved in them the famous EVO brochure and a collectors item I guess.

First they "Compare EVO to a RAW DIet" .....I'm sorry but kibble is cooked food not raw.

They say EVO has been especially designed to provide all the key nutritional benefits recieved from feeding raw diets but with the benefits of 21st Century nutritinal research.

Raw: Diet based on meats,bones,fat,cartilage and connective tissue.
EVO: Formula based on ground chicken & turkey meat,bones,fat,cartilage and connective tissue......They forgot to mention the chicken meal and turkey meal in the food.

Bridging The Gap:Thousands of years of domestication an selective breeding have created a much different representation of the canine species than that of thier wild or ancient ancestors.Armed with a well researched understanding of these diferences, Innova EVO has been formulated to bridge the gap between the archetypal needs the canines species..........EVO provides our highly evolved companions with a safe and convenient alternative to BARF and raw diets.
Next 2 pages is about Enzyme Myth vs Facts.

And 2 more pages...A word from Dr. Belfield:

He starts off by saying before dogs and cats were domesticated they did eat raw but when humans domesticated dogs and cats he also shared his *cooked* food...............Some pet owners switched to higher quality pet food and some to raw. One of the most prominet changes was in the skin and coat...............Because of the positive changes. many believed it was the diet.
Dr Belfield goes on to say : my concerns about raw meat diets have come from my years as a eat inspector for the USDA.
first concern is contamination by salmonella and listeria species of bacteria, these are killer organisms.True the early animals in the wild did consume thier
meat raw. But how many became ill. How many died?........
Second : has to do with domestication. But his biggest concern is related to the larval form of a tapeworm Echinococcus grannulosus.....

Final

As a veterinary practitioner for thirty seven years and a veterinary meat inspetor for seven yrs,In good conscience, cannot recommend raw diets to my clients.My advice to my clients is to cook the meat until all the redness is gone. When this is done,there is no vomiting,the cholesterol level is normal;the risk of infection by microorganism and parasites diminishes micronutrient upon which they evoled.