Type Subsidiary Area served Worldwide Founder Dick Van Patten | Industry Pet food Key people Dick Van Patten Parent organization Big Heart Pet Brands | |
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Products Dog food, cat food, zoological food Owner The J.M. Smucker Company Headquarters Los Angeles, California, United States Founded 1989, Pacoima, Los Angeles, California, United States Profiles | ||
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods, a subsidiary of Big Heart Pet Brands, is an American commercial natural pet food manufacturer with its headquarters located in Burbank, Los Angeles, California. Established in 1989 by actor Dick Van Patten, the company markets itself as "Food For a Lifetime" and promotes itself as having "the finest food you can buy for your pet." It is currently owned by the J.M. Smucker Company.
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History
Natural Balance began in 1989 when Van Patten was a guest on John Davidson's show. Van Patten had lunch with the show's band drummer who rescued dogs and cats. Van Patten told him when he was a kid he had snakes, alligators, and every kind of animal you could imagine. The drummer and Van Patten had an idea of making a health food for dogs. At the time, Van Patten played tennis with a veterinarian and she said the best quality food should have no filler, no wheat, no corn, no soy and no by-products.
Many of Natural Balance's dry formulas maintain this initial ingredient list; others, such as the dog food rolls, include wheat flour and sugar. As of 2014, the food rolls have been reformulated to not contain wheat flour and instead utilize brown rice.
"My partner and I started Natural Balance Pet Foods in 1989 with the intention of developing the finest, healthiest pet food on the market. We wanted a pet food based on sound scientific principles and truth, not marketing hype. We did it! Not only for dogs & cats, but for large carnivores, such as lions, tigers, polar bears, and wolves in zoos and animal reserves worldwide!"
Initially Natural Balance lost money, until the brand was picked up by Petco and featured in more than 625 stores.
On May 22, 2013 Natural Balance merged with Del Monte, maker of pet foods such as Kibbles 'n Bits, Meow Mix and Milo's Kitchen. In March 2015 The J.M. Smucker Company purchased Natural Balance and the Big Heart Pet Brands from Del Monte.
Products
According to Van Patten, Natural Balance products are made from high quality ingredients and carefully selected. The product line includes L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets, Original Ultra Whole Body Health, Vegetarian, and Wild Pursuit high protein diets.
Pet food formulas
Natural Balance has a large variety of both dog and cat formulas in dry, treats, rolls, or canned form.
Limited Ingredient Diets-Dry Dog
Limited Ingredient Diets-Wet Dog
Discontinued Products
Zoological formulas
Natural Balance was a member of Association of Zoos and Aquariums and has created zoological products that are formulated specifically for carnivores in zoos and wild animal parks and not sold to the general public. These foods were developed by Director of Zoological Product Research and Development Dr. Martin R. Dinnes, a founding member of the American College of Zoological Medicine.
Natural Balance's zoological formulas were used by, among others, Big Cat Rescue, Tippi Hedren's Shambala Preserve, Toledo Zoo, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park and SeaWorld.
Programs
Natural Balance is the official dog food of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Arson Investigation and Explosives Detection Canines.
Honoring Service Dogs
Natural Balance partnered with the Petco Foundation to raise money to honor service dogs across America. The organizations aspire to raise $1 million to honor guide dogs and military service dogs across America. Natural Balance and Petco are working to build a National Monument for Military Working Dogs, which will be dedicated at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, in 2013.
Recalls
On April 16, 2007, Natural Balance informed the FDA that they had received complaints from consumers regarding a select amount of Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food. Some animals were reported to have vomited and a few experienced kidney failures. Natural Balance immediately issued a voluntary recall for all its Venison dog products and its dry Venison cat food after lab results showed that some of the products contained trace amounts of melamine. The source of melamine was believed to be from rice protein concentrate.
On April 27, 2007, Natural Balance issued a second recall for three canned dog food and one canned cat food. Like the first recall, the contaminants were melamine in rice protein concentrates. As with the venison based formulas, rice protein concentrate was not on the list of ingredients of the four products. This time, Natural Balance claimed that their canned food manufacturer American Nutrition, Inc (ANI) added the rice protein concentrate without their knowledge or consent, calling it a "manufacturing deviation". In response, ANI issued a press release denying any deliberate or intentionally wrongful conduct, claiming that "customers specifically required rice-based formulations". Along with Natural Balance, other pet food organizations such as Blue Buffalo and Menu Foods were affected by the contaminated products and issued recalls.
Additionally, in July 2007, a small lot of certain Natural Balance canned pet foods were recalled after it was determined that they may have been involved in a large-scale Botulism outbreak, associated with its producer Castleberry's Food Company. No illnesses were reported with the pet food.
As a result of this recall, the company invested $800,000 to build a laboratory to test for melamine, acid, and other toxins. All of Natural Balance products are now tested for 9 known contaminants through the company's Buy With Confidence program, and sold if the production run has passed testing.
Laboratories
Natural Balance's Buy With Confidence laboratory uses ELISA to test for 5 mycotoxins Aflatoxin, DON, Zearalone, Ochratoxin and Fumonisin. Polymerase chain reaction is used to test for Salmonella and Ecoli. Melamine and Cyanuric Acid are tested for on a LCMS (Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry). The Chemists and Microbiologists that are employed at the laboratory all hold their Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline.
Testing protocol
According to Natural Balance, the accuracy and reproducibility of the tests have earned official approvals and third party validations, including:
Consumer reassurance
Natural Balance states that it is the first known pet food company to offer email notification regarding any pet industry news that could affect their pets. They are also the first known pet food manufacturer to offer data base test results on Aflatoxin, DON Vomitoxin, Zearalone (Mycotoxin), Ochratoxin, Fumonisin, Salmonella, Ecoli, Melamine and Cyanuric Acid to consumers through their website using the best by code on each food container.