Powdered Cellulose

[Oscar's Mom]

On the acmepet nutrition board(thanks Owens Mom for recommending it!)we are having a discussion about powdered cellouse. It's in Sensible Choice C&R and L&R. A few of us have written to SC about it but have not heard back yet. We cant figure out if this is an ok ingredient or a bad one. Is this really wood or plant material? Or is Natura calling it wood because it comes from a tree, which is a plant. Any thoughts?

This is the definition from naturapet.com
Powdered Cellulose Binder
Powdered Cellulose is purified, mechanically disintegrated cellulose prepared by processing alpha cellulose obtained as a pulp from fibrous plant materials.
Powdered Cellulose is a fancy term for wood. Dried wood is cleaned and processed into a fine powder and used to add bulk and consistency to cheap pet foods.
Filler ingredients are never used in Natura foods -- and certainly not wood particles!

[dutchman]

Here are two manufactures web sites where you can read their sales pitch on why powdered cellulose is good for us and our animals. I wonder how many other brand names it is hiding under?

http://www.cellulosefillerfactory.com/
http://www.solkafloc.com/original/home/home.html

Let us know what you find out,

Tom

[wireweiners]

Cellulose is a plant fiber and could come from any plant source including wood products. It is indigestable to anything except ruminants. Some of the cheaper dog foods do use it as filler and some of the "diet" dog foods may also use cellulose or other plant fiber as fillers because they add bulk without adding calories. I believe this discussion came up under the greenies thread. It is my understanding that greenies are an edible chew toy like the Booda Velvets. They probably use cellulose to get them hardness and texture. While I wouldn't want to feed my dog any food with cellulose as a major ingredient I don't think the cellulose in the greenies is harmful. It would simply pass through the dog. The worst case scenerio would be loose stools.

[Oscar's Mom]

It surprises me that Sensible Choice uses this ingredient, I thought they were one of the better brands. In the Chicken&Rice it is the 5th Ingredient! In Lamb & Rice its the 8th. Thats way to high on the list for me. They dont use it in the herbal blend.
Thanks for the links, Tom.
I'll post their response when they get back to me.

[Oscar's Mom]

Here's the response from SC:
Thank you for your interest in Sensible Choice. Powdered Cellulose
comes from plant cells. It is not wood, it is our fiber source. It is found in many foods cake mixes, diet soda, sauces, bakery goods, salad dressings, cheese, and candy. The cellulose if purified, it contains no protein, it helps your pet from becoming constipated or developing diarrhea.

After everything I've read about this, I don't think its a bad ingredient, but not a good one either.

[Owen's Mom]

I think another word for it would "Filler" It bulks up the food and makes the doggie feel more full, longer. It provides no nutritional value, and is probably used to help form the kibble.



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~~Amy & Owen~~
22.8 lbs of Black and Tan Standard Muscle!!
www.dachshundrescue.org