Food Friday: Annamaet Sustain

I bought this bag of Annamaet Sustain because I wanted to try out another fish-based kibble. This company actually makes two different grain-free fish kibbles, the other is their Aqualuk formula. Sustain is unique because it is made with sustainabley-harvested fish. Knowing the current state of world fisheries, this is a pretty cool concept.

The Company

Annamaet is named after the founder's mother, Anna Mae. Rob Downey is unique among the pet food company executives I've read about so far, because he has actually published papers on dog diets. He's been publishing in places like the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine since 1979. Are you impressed? I'm impressed. Rob Downey also races sled dogs, and a lot of his works have to do with stamina and effects of diet on working dogs.

Annamaet is definitely a company that is concerned with ecological sustainability, something I'm always happy to support. They're also concerned with contamination, and one of the few pet food companies that formulate their own vitamin and mineral packs rather than buying pre-made packs. The pre-made stuff usually has ingredients from China, which are more likely to be suspect.

 This company does use a co packer to manufacture their food, they do not have their own production facility. I do not believe their co packer has been involved in any recalls though.

The Food

The first ingredient in Sustain is cod heads, from line-caught fish. The second ingredient is turkey meal, so this is actually a turkey-based food. These are followed by chickpeas, sweet potatoes, both green peas and pea protein isolate, and tapioca. The two pea ingredients mean that peas should really be a bit higher on the ingredient list, but overall this is a good grain-free food. It is not currently lsted on the Dog Food Advisor website, but all of the other Annamaet grain-free dogs foods rate five out of five stars.

The Verdict

At 33% protein and 13% fat, this food is an interesting combination of high protein and relatively low fat. This might be why my girls didn't do very well on it, as highly active working dogs they really need the energy provided by a higher fat food. Still, I think this is an excellent option for a less active dog. I would definitely consider Sustain for an overweight dog, as it offers lower fat without being packed full of carbohydrates.