Contacting California Natural

[Stacykins]

I decided to write up an email to Natura, regarding the California Natural wet food, specifically the Deepwater Fish Formula. Out of all the flavors, he seems to adore that one the most. Thankfully, he'll eat the chicken and venison one too (I rotate between the three). But I thought I'd share the reply I got from them. I asked, inquiring about heavy metal testing done on the fish used in the canned foods. While the fish used are herring, salmon, mackerel, and whitefish, all 'low mercury', they are still predatory fish and have some mercury content. Not as much as the big predatory fish (Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish, for example), though. This was their reply to me. Perhaps not as much information as I'd like, but it does give some insight into what goes into the food.


Dear Stacy,
Thank you for contacting Natura Pet Products. Mercury is usually an issue in very large ocean caught fish such as tuna, swordfish, etc. which are not used in Natura formulations. Salmon is known to be mercury-free. The fish used in our formulations have been tested for metals & shown to be less than 1ppm.

If you have any additional questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Best regards,
Heather, Licensed Veterinary Technician

1ppm is 1 milligram of 1 kilogram. I wish I could find research pertaining to the use of fish and related mercury levels in pet food. But alas, I can only find information regarding humans! This is a fascinating topic to me, so I hope to be able to dig up some research somewhere. Perhaps my university library could hold some articles on the subject. Or I'll contact my Uncle who is a veterinary professor, and see if he can recommend any good places to look for information.