Blue Buffalo Dog and Cat food Really GF?

I had sent for a sample of this food, the ingredients sounded great from their ad, and very healthy-wise in preparation ( they don't cook their vitamins, but put in separate pellets for full nutrition). When I got the sample Jazz was very excited, her first sample in the mail! When she tried it, she about inhaled it! I would give her a small amount each night as a treat after pottying before bed. I went to buy some and really read the full ingredients, there is rye in there and barley!

But they claimed to be gluten free, and advertise on line as such. So I wanted you all to be aware.

When you google gluten free dog food the paid ads on the right hand side list Blue Buffalo, but beware!

Check it out for yourself

They circulate the ads, so click on this a few times if you don't see it first.

And the top sponsered ad link is by them also


Gluten Free Pet Food
BlueBuff.com Take the True Blue Test to Find a Better Food for Your Pet. Learn Now


This is part of their Health Philosophy statement

Quote :

All of our great-tasting, natural and holistic BLUE^TM Life Protection Formula and BLUE^TM Spa Select^TM recipes feature deboned chicken, lamb or fish as the first ingredient,
which means there is more real meat than any other ingredient. Plus,
each recipe includes wholesome whole grains, garden vegetables and
antioxidant-rich fruit—things you'd put on your own grocery list.

And because the health of our dogs and cats is so important to us, we never use animal by-products, and our gluten-free recipes do not contain any artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. What's more, we never include corn, wheat or soy, as they have been known to trigger allergies.

What a contradiction!

To be continued............

On their website pages on the right hand column they have this emblem with their

'Tru-Blue Promise"

Which states:

Finest Natural Ingredients
No Animal by-Products
No Corn, Wheat or Soy
Gluten Free

you can view that on this page

right under the true blue test on the right hand side.

Here are the ingredients for their Fish and sweet potato recipe, something my dog would love to death!

Quote :

High Quality Protein
Dogs love our tasty whitefish, and it provides them with the essential amino acids they need every day.

Wholesome Whole Grains
Hearty whole grains like brown rice, barley and oats supply the complex carbohydrates that your dog needs for energy.

Healthy Garden Veggies
Whole carrots, sweet potatoes and garlic are three of the nutrient rich vegetables that your dog will get in every bite of BLUE.

Almost the same as the Chicken and brown rice recipe

Quote :

High Quality Protein
Dogs love our tasty chicken, and it provides them with the essential amino acids they need every day.

Wholesome Whole Grains
Hearty whole grains like brown rice, barley and oats supply the complex carbohydrates that your dog needs for energy.

Healthy Garden Veggies
Whole carrots, sweet potatoes and garlic are three of the nutrient rich vegetables that your dog will get in every bite of BLUE.

All the ones I checked, including their organic recipe, contained barley and oats ( probably contaiminated) You can check the rest for yourself.

I decided to write to them to express my disappointment.

This is the ingredients from the sample they sent for my baby to try.

Quote :

Deboned Chicken, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Whole Ground Barley, Chicken Meal, Rye, Rice Bran, Tomato Pomace (natural source of Lycopene), Whole Potatoes, Natural Chicken Flavor, Chicken Fat (preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Flaxseed, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Kelp Meal, Taurine, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Yucca Shidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Turmeric, Garlic, Sunflower Oil (natural source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids), Herring Oil (natural source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Fructooligosaccharides, Monooligosaccharides, Dried Chicory Root, Black Malted Barley, Oil of Rosemary, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin C, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Beta Carotene, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Folic Acid, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Calcium Phosphate, Zinc Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Zinc), Iron Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Iron), Copper Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Copper), Manganese Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Manganese), Potassium Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Potassium), Cobalt Proteinate (source of Chelated Cobalt), Potassium Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Salt, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, Bifidobacterium longum, Enterococcus faecium.

I've highlighted the dangers to us in this list.

It took them 7 days to respond, but here it is:

Quote :

Dear XXXXX,


Thank you for your interest in BLUE. All
grains have a gluten component of the whole grain. When we say gluten free, we
mean that we don’t buy or formulate with only the concentrated gluten
fraction of the grain, e.g. concentrated rice gluten is made only from the
hydrolyzed portions of the whole grain rice, producing a concentrated gluten
ingredient that can be used as a protein supplement, replacing meat protein.

The amount of “gluten” in
whole grain contributes a minimal amount of protein to the whole diet.
Nevertheless, the gluten is a protein part of the grain that constitutes the
germinal or reproductive part of the kernel. Geneticists have
experimented with producing a gluten-free grain, but it is not been
commercially practical.



Please feel free to contact me with any
further questions.






Best Regards,



The Blue Buffalo Company

Is it just me or is that a run-around answer?

Needless to say , I am very disappointed:cry:

They also recalled some cat food in the recent melamine scare.

Hey, Kudos on the new forum, the pets are usually forgotten.

I appreciate all the info on this food, and your time to post it all.

I am currently looking for other ways to eradicate gluten from my home.

good to know!

Hi Yentl! Good to see you around, I'd though you'd deserted us.

Good to see you back. This is an important subject, not sure why I neglected it for so long!

We learn and grow!

That would quantify as a non answer. I'd send them one of the formulated from Celiac.com information sheets on what comprises gluten from a medical standpoint, and give them contact information for the celiac societies if they wish to keep saying it's a gluten free food. It cannot quantify as gluten free!

Quote :

The legal definition of the phrase "gluten-free" varies from country to country. Current research suggests that for persons with celiac disease the maximum safe level of gluten in a finished product is probably less than 0.02% (200 parts per million) and possibly as little as 0.002% (20 parts per million).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten_free

That would royally tick me off if I had ordered it and it got to me and I saw it had barley, rye and malt to boot! I can't so much as touch the food that has gluten in it!

While there is "gluten" in gluten free foods (rice gluten, lupine gluten.. etc) those are not 'gluten' like items we cannot eat. it's chemical makeup is completely different.

Tells me someone in their little formula lab needs to go back to the books

Yes , I agree, but maybe the labeling criteria for animal food isn't the same as for people food? I am not up to date on the particulars. Maybe they can legally advertise it as such.