Evo Dog Food Review

5 PAWS

EVO pet food is one of the companies owned byNatura Pet. which in turn was bought by Procter &, Gamble in 2010. Brands produced by Natura Pet, in addition to EVO, include Innova ,California Natural. Healthwise. Mother Nature Natural Dog Biscuits. and Karma featuring 95 percent organic ingredients. Natura Pet’,s products focus on natural diets and high quality ingredients. Proctor &, Gamble previously purchased Iams and Eukanuba a number of years ago.

Company History And Background Info

Natura began in 1992 when John and Ann Rademaker andPeter Atkins founded the company in Santa Clara, California. They wanted to develop the “,healthiest pet food in the world.”, According to the company, they consulted with veterinarians, breeders and nutritionist’,s and used top-quality ingredients like USDA-inspected turkey, lamb, chicken, whole grain rice, vegetables and Grade A dairy products for their pet formulas.

According to the EVO web site’,s FAQ section. Proctor &, Gamble was interested in Natura because:

“,P&,G was attracted to Natura based upon the superior quality and performance of Natura’,s brands and products. P&,G has a long-standing commitment to excellence in pet care and pet nutrition and remains driven by their mission to ‘,enhance the well-being of more dogs and cats.’, This acquisition enables P&,G to touch more dogs and cats through expansion into the natural pet foods arena with industry leading products and formulas…,Natura’,s founders, John and Ann Rademakers and Peter Atkins, identified P&,G as the right company to grow and nurture the Natura business. Their belief was that P&,G’,s mission and philosophy are aligned with Natura’,s mission and philosophy. The acquisition by P&,G allows Natura to continue developing new, healthy pet food solutions so that even more pets experience the benefits of Natura’,s high-quality, super-premium brands.”,

Proctor &, Gamble’,s purchase of Natura would allow the relatively small company which sold its products through specialty stores and vets to be distributed through Proctor &, Gamble’,s extensive system of retailers.

Many people feared that when Proctor &, Gamble bought EVO and the other Natura Pet brands the quality of the foods would suffer and there would be changes in the ingredients. This had occurred when P &, G bought Iams years earlier and changed it from a pet store brand into a popular grocery store pet food. There were definite changes in the ingredients and quality of Iams for the worse. Some people who had been recommending Natura’,s products stopped doing so simply because Proctor &, Gamble had purchased the company. According to Natura, they have not changed any of the ingredients or products due to the purchase. A statement was issued saying:

“,We have the same commitment to quality, the same ingredients, the same formulas and the same manufacturing processes. Our high-quality, natural brands are the same as before the acquisition. Our nutritional philosophy is the same and will remain unchanged.”,

We’,ll look at each food separately, on its own merits, to see whether it’,s a good food to feed your dog and whether it should be recommended.

Evo Dog Food Recalls And Lawsuits

Natura Pet was involved in a class action suit against them in 2011-2012. The lawsuit claimed that Natura violated California’,s Business and Professions Code when advertising their dog and cat food products. It also claimed that Natura made false and misleading statements about the human grade quality of its food in its advertisements, promotional materials and labeling. The Defendants denied that they did anything wrong. Ultimately, the parties decided to settle.

The settlement covers persons residing in the United States who purchased any Natura product for personal, family, or household purposes (the “,Class”,) during the time period from March 20, 2005 to July 8, 2011 (the “,Class Period”,). All Innova, EVO, California Natural, HealthWise, Mother Nature, and Karma dog and cat food products are included in the settlement. Natura agreed to create a $2,150,000 settlement fund. The maximum amount someone can receive in the settlement is $200. An appeal is pending and distribution is awaiting the outcome of that appeal. The deadline to submit a claim has passed.

The lesson here for other dog food companies? Don’,t say your pet food is human grade unless you can back it up!

Evo was involved in a voluntary recall in March of 2013 due to a single case of Salmonella in a 2.2lb package of Evo Turkey &, Chicken cat food. Check out the full recall notice for more info.

Company Manufacturing Practices

The company seems to employ good manufacturing practices. According to their web site, all of Natura’,s dry kibble products are produced at their U.S. manufacturing plant in Fremont, Nebraska. They state that they have received certifications from the following organizations:

The company also utilizes over 100 internal quality control checks.

Product Overview

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Natura doesn’,t make prescription diets and their product line for EVO is somewhat limited but they offer dry and canned food as well as some treats (check out our article on kibble vs. canned dog food ). Their foods include chicken &, turkey, red meat, herring &, salmon, and weight management formulas, as well as canned foods that are 95 percent meat-based.

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