FAQ

We are using only raw materials from animal origin (meats and fats) deriving from animals which were fit for human consumption, and this is true for all our animal products.

For ENOVA we made a clear, simple choice: no ingredient at risk for GMO contamination and no ingredient from “exotic” countries. The raw materials (excepting lamb meat from New Zealand) are strictly from EU origin, mainly from Germany, and always from the same producers (not via dealers) in order to have a food that is 100% safe for GMO, uniform in the final product and therefore in its performances.

The “dried meat” definition used by other companies is covering all the normal animal meals, as there is no real definition of what should be a low-bone content (this can be seen also in the fact that more than one company claims “Chicken meal” in USA and “Dried chicken meat” overseas for the same product). There are chicken meals on the market with more than 30% of ash and chicken meals with less than 10% of ash; therefore this is just a marketing definition. The ash content of the chicken meat meals that ENOVA contains is varying from 8% to 15% with an average of about 12%. So if you consider that a living chicken contains about 11–13% of ash in the dry matter of the body, you will see that the meals we are using correspond to that “natural” content of bones and so for the meats, which would be about 2/3 (60–65%). To produce a chicken meat meal – as it is used in pet-food – you cannot use the pure meat, as this is not possible for the technology these products are manufactured with at the moment all over the world. Of course there is a real dry meat available, but this is destined entirely to human food industry (soups, sauces…) and is so expensive, that it is not possible to use it in pet food and, as far as we know, no one is using this; furthermore, the amounts available are too small for pet-food industry requirement. And it will not represent an advantage for the pets, as you would have to add to that meat the missing minerals in order to match the dog nutritional requirements; so you would have to create a mixture which, in the end, is the same than to use the normal meat meals! Our decision to use the same definitions used by other companies is just a way to highlight the quality of our meat ingredients, the absolute best available on the market.

Rice is the most digestible grain: its starch is absorbed by dogs & cats more or less completely; this doesn’t happen with other grains (corn, wheat, oat), in which starch availability to digestion is lower. If you add to this the fact that rice contains no gluten, the protein that can cause allergic reaction in sensitive (celiac) dogs, the choice for ENOVA has been since the beginning for rice, in spite its’ higher price than other grains’.

For ENOVA we decided to include these three sources: chicken fat, fish oil & flaxseed. These 3 ingredients enable ENOVA to provide the perfect amount & the correct proportion of Omega-6 & Omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-6 & Omega-3 are polyunsaturated essential fatty acids, whose effect are, just to list the main ones:

OMEGA-6:

– Reduce inflammatory reactions

– Improve skin & coat condition.

OMEGA-3:

– Reduce the painful effects of arthritis inflammation

– Reduce inflammatory reactions in general

– Improve skin & coat condition

– Reduce the yeast infections (malassezia)

– Prevent the onset of atopic dermatitis

– Promote a correct development of nervous system & sense organ in growth stage

– Prevent some cardiac diseases

– Slow down the development of some metastasis & some kinds of cancer

– Reduce the cholesterols level in the blood

While is commonly accepted that the a correct ratio Omega-6:Omega-3 is between 10:1 & 5:1, lately some researchers suggested as ideal ratios between 4:1 & 2:1 (especially in case of treatment of above-mentioned conditions) – ENOVA fully complies with this more recent, higher requirement!

In detail, protein hydrolysates are low-molecular-weight peptides that are much more easily digestible at the intestine level than normal proteins and much less or, better, not at all able to induce food allergy reactions. Their small dimension & weight allow them to pass the intestine barrier without stimulating the allergic process; this makes of no importance the source of the original digested protein. And this is also the reason why hyperdigestive (hypoallergenic) diet foods are made with hydrolysated proteins. These molecules are also proved to be very effective in improving the palatability and acceptance of dog/cat dry food; therefore protein hydrolysate are of paramount importance to ensure ENOVA the highest palatability performances without compromising its digestibility & hypoallergenic qualities. Please consider that all dog/cat food producers use protein hydrolysate (or digest) as appetizer, but not everyone declares them in the ingredient list (consider also that EU legislation is more strict in this sense than the US one); this is a further demonstration of our serious approach in the making of ENOVA dry foods. The meat base for the current hydrolysate is a mixture of poultry and pig.

Joint conditions (hip & elbow dysplasia, arthritis, arthrosis) are always more common concerns in our dogs’ population, especially in elder and/or large dogs. It has been proved that some special molecules (especially glucosamine & chondroitin), also known as chondro-protectors, are necessary for the correct function of joints: in case of joint conditions (arthritis, arthrosis caused or not by dysplasia) it has been noticed a reduced synthesis of these molecules. Therefore they must be provided with food in order to help the regeneration of damaged joint tissues and also to reduce the pain. These two additives work better if provided together: chondroitin works together with glucosamine, increasing its beneficial effect on joint recovery.

It must be noted that in ENOVA the declared levels of these two nutrients are not the sum of an average estimated content of each ingredient, but are exactly the quantities that we add (as a normal ingredient and that’s the reason why they feature in the ingredient list) to the food. This means that the quantities declared in ENOVA are real and the levels are so high (up to 1.000 mg/kg each in the LARGE BREED & LIGHT products) that they provide the same (sometimes even more) chondro-protectors as the main joint-health supplements in pill.

A simple example: joint supplement – composition: chondroitin sulfate: 100 mg/pill + glucosamine: 200 mg/pill

Large Breed Puppy 4 months old (expected adult weight 35 kg and current weight 15 kg):
1,5 pills per day, that is 150 mg chondroitin sulfate & 300 mg glucosamine;

A simple example: joint supplement – composition: chondroitin sulfate: 100 mg/pill + glucosamine: 200 mg/pill

Large Breed Puppy 4 months old (expected adult weight 35 kg and current weight 15 kg):
1,5 pills per day, that is 150 mg chondroitin sulfate & 300 mg glucosamine; Enova Puppy/Junior Large Breed: 405 g/day, that is 405 mg chondroitin sulfate & 405 mg glucosamine.

Propyl gallate is not a preservative but an antioxidant, whose EU definition is: “substance which prolongs the shelflife of foodstuffs by protecting them against deterioration caused by oxidation, such as fat rancidity and colour changes”, while the preservatives “are substances which prolong the shelflife of foodstuffs by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms” (see EC Directive 95/2 – 20 February 1995).

Consider that the dosage of propyl gallate used in ENOVA is less than 35 ppm (or mg/kg) that, combined with the action of tocopherols of natural origin, allows a perfect preservation of the nutritional properties of the food and its fat (especially Omega 3 fatty acids that are very easy to spoil – but very important for your dog’s health) for at least all its shelf-life.
Propyl gallate (or E310) is proved and permitted by the EU as effective antioxidant and to be on the safe side, the EU has fixed a safe limit for antioxidants like propyl gallate which is at least 100 ppm in some human foods, but higher in some other foods (see EU legislation).
And it is allowed for all animals – even for the animals used for human consumption. So there is really no risk and there has been no proved case that a dog or a cat got ill by the use of propyl gallate when it is used in the legal way. That is the reason why the compound has been allowed by the EU; it is in the official list of the EU additives. Many companies are using propyl gallate since more than 10 years without any problems.

Here are some useful links on this subject:
a quick overview on propyl gallate
a page updated October 2007 in which is referred that in the Carcinogenic Potency Database (6540 scientific tests) there is no published scientific paper that reports a carcinogenic effect of propyl gallate on rat and mouse). The situation is different for the other two main antioxidants still widely used in petfoods, BHA (see) and BHT (see), on which there are serious doubts about their carcinogenic potential.
a 2007 article in which is referred that “Propyl Gallate is a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) antioxidant to protect fats, oils, and fat-containing food from rancidity that results from the formation of peroxides” and “in four other studies, Propyl Gallate at doses up to 2.04 g/kg was nonteratogenic in rats, rabbits, mice, and hamsters”) a 1994 scientific paper in which is reported that propyl gallate, “which exhibits antimicrobial activity, has been found to be toxicologically safe after almost 30 years of evaluation.”

ENOVA pet foods are manufactured under the more strict food quality & safety standards available; the plant is certificated since years with ISO 9001:2000 (now ISO 9001:2008), HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point, against hygiene and health related problems with food production), and IFS (International Food Standard, a high-level food quality-control standard, requested for human food production).

Yes definitely. Incoming ingredients and final products are both tested for heavy metals on a regular basis, in order to have foods that are safe for daily use & that fully comply with requirements of EU Reg. 574/2011 as for heavy metal levels.

Absolutely yes! We love pets and therefore we are doing our best to offer them the best possible food, without exploiting or hurting them in any way… So no cruel animal experiments, but only simple, non-invasive acceptance (palatability) tests with the agreement of the pet owner.