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Victor changed their formula

774 views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  sydneynicole 
#1 · (Edited)
Unfortunate... Victor changed their formulas. I have been feeding Nutra Pro for a while. Some plant ingredients got moved up, more blood meal than beef meal, overall kcal per cup dropped from 475 to 401. They did not respond to anyone on their FB page who asked about these changes and it was not (to my knowledge) publicized on their site.

Here is a link on Chewy where they conveniently list old and new: https://www.chewy.com/victor-select-nutra-pro-active-dog/dp/129281

Time for me to look for another brand, again. Though Orijen did not sell out to Purina, so maybe I'll just go back.

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ETA, just to keep track...
I think a few formulas have changed but I'm just posting about Nutra Pro because it was what I fed. Here are the differences as listed on the Chewy website:

Ingredients

Old Formulation: Chicken Meal, Beef Meal, Whole Grain Millet, Blood Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Menhaden Fish Meal (source of DHA-Docosahexaenoic Acid), Pork Meal, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Flax Seed (source of Omega 3 Fatty Acid), Feeding Oat Meal, Yeast Culture, Natural Chicken Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Dried Kelp, Salt, Montmorillonite, Tomato Pomace (source of Lycopene), Dried Carrot, Choline Chloride, Dried Chicory Root, Taurine, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Hydrolyzed Yeast, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, L-Carnitine, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate, Riboflavin Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Lecithin, Fructooligosaccharide, Folic Acid, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Product, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Citric Acid, Rosemary Extract.

New Formulation: Chicken Meal, Blood Meal, Whole Grain Millet, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Yeast Culture, Grain Sorghum, Menhaden Fish Meal (source of DHA-Docosahexaenoic Acid), Beef Meal, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Pork Meal, Natural Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Carrot Powder, Tomato Pomace (source of Lycopene), Taurine, Salt, Choline Chloride, Dried Seaweed Meal, Zinc Methionine Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Hydrolyzed Yeast, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Calcium Carbonate, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Ferrous Sulfate, L-Carnitine, Selenium Yeast, Copper Sulfate, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Riboflavin Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Powdered Cellulose, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Trichoderma Longibrachiatum Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Silicon Dioxide, Tetra Sodium Pyrophosphate, Vegetable Oil, Rosemary Extract, Green Tea Extract, Spearmint Extract, Lecithin, Fructooligosaccharide, Folic Acid, And Yucca Schidigera Extract.
Caloric Content

Old Formulation: 3,909 kcal/kg, 475 kcal/cup

New Formulation: 3774 kcal/kg; 401 kcal/8oz cup.


Victor does not show the differences on their website. They did not post anything about it on Facebook but there are plenty of recent FB comments asking about it. Victor did not post anything on the "News" section of their website. The only thing they have about it is an FAQ entry. It is towards the bottom of the list of FAQs

"Why has the order of ingredients changed in some dog food formulas?

In compliance with AAFCO requirements, we reduced the amount of calcium in our formulas and made other slight enhancements to the ingredient profile depending on the product. In making these changes, the order of ingredients may have shifted."

All VICTOR super premium dog food maintains the highest quality, complete and balanced nutrition for dogs. "
 
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#2 ·
I see this now!

I was pretty annoyed that there was no announcement of some sort that they changed the formulas. I used to feed the Nutra Pro as well and I found out when I started noticing changes in my dogs that I couldn't attribute to anything in particular. One being digestive issues in a senior dog with a sensistive stomach who I already struggle to keep weight on - not cool.

That answer as to why the ingredients changed seems like BS to me. From the changes they made, it seems pretty clear that they reduced the amount of meat/quality of meat sources in the food which in turn reduces their cost to produce the food, while leaving the price the same. Maybe they also tweaked calcium levels, but there were more changes than that.

I had always recommended Victor and liked them as a company, and this was the one kibble all 3 of my dogs really thrived on. I mean, yes, the food is still of good quality and safe and I'm sure some dogs/owners will never even notice there was a change. And they are still better than a lot of dog food companies out there. But I don't like how they handled this, overall.
 
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