Not trying to diss Butternut Box, but there are inaccurate statements...

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... here:
Coping with Allergies - Butternut Box

GRAINS are not "Common allergens for dogs...", nor are gluten & dairy, nor are [poultry] eggs. // The most-common cluster of food allergens for dogs are proteins, i-e, meats - & that can be any, from rabbit to beef, chicken to goat, whatever an individual dog can't tolerate well.

Also, SALT is not an "allergen", it's a mineral, & like humans, dogs require a certain amount of sodium to remain healthy - plus, altho every Butternut Box meal might contain zero ADDED salt, it won't be, & it can't, be "salt-free".
Too many things used as ingredients in the food contain salt, in whatever form, already. It might be sodium chloride ['table salt'], potassium chloride, or other salts, but it's already in there, & it's virtually impossible to remove... which is just as well, since most living things require some salts for normal function & even continued life.

As just one instance, blood is salty - & every BB box is a meat-based meal. Like Shylock, we cannot get our pound of flesh without the blood within it.

Please don't think i'm critical of them - those are just FYI details. I think BB is a wonderful company, & their products sound healthy, clean, & very appetizing, indeed!

I read 6 or 8 pages of their website, & heartily applaud the quality of their ingredients, the reuseable / recyclable packaging, their support of homeless & shelter pets, & their carbon-free delivery - that's all fantastic, & i would gladly buy from them if i were a UK resident.
I just wanted to point out that 'hypoallergenic' is a tough criterion to meet, & since MEAT is the most-common dietary allergen for dogs, U're unlikely to solve yer dog's allergy issue if U don't already know what s/he reacts to, & ask BB to design an individual diet that excludes their trigger foods [which they can, & i'm sure they will, gladly].

U can't just order something on the premise that "...it's hypoallergenic, & my dog will be itch-free from now on!" I wish U could, but it's not that simple, unless U know what s/he can't eat.

- terry

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& why, pray tell, would they pay any attn whatever to me? :blink:

I'm not a nutritionist of any kind, human or k9; i don't even LIVE in the U-K, their home country - so i won't be buying their products.
I have zero potential influence on them, as a consumer, & i'm not a dietary expert - I simply pointed out some inaccuracies on their info page, which anyone, surely, is capable of seeing; i'm not a genius, either.

"Hypoallergenic" is typically just a sales pitch, no different than "natural" as opposed to organic - the latter has a legal definition, & a written standard. "Salt-free" is very different from "no salt added", & calling salt an allergen is clearly something a copy-editor overlooked. // I think they have an excellent product, but YOU - collectively, the dog-owners of the UK - are the ones who will be buying it, or not buying it, & feeding it to yer dogs.
Informing the members of the forum seems to be a much better use of my time, & a heckuva lot more efficient, than sending comments to a company that *might* send me an auto-reply e-mail in return.

I can't see them rushing to edit the copy on their website, on my say-so. :shrug:
- terry

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I'm at work [the live-in weekend shift] & sent a message via their on-site comment form. :shrug:
I'll let U know if there's a reply (other than an auto-acknowledgement).

- t

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I am pasting a copy of the message that i sent -

QUOTE,
"I was exploring the website, as Dog Forum.co.uk is
offering a discount - the food sounds fantastic, the
carbon-neutral deliveries & recycle / re-use packaging are
*great!*

I'm in the U-S, so not a prospective customer, but I wanted to let you know that I found a few inaccuracies on the "allergens" page.

GRAINS are not particularly "Common allergens" for dogs, nor are gluten, dairy, or [poultry] eggs. // The most-common cluster of food allergens for dogs are proteins, i-e, meats - whatever meat an individual dog can't tolerate well.

Also, SALT is not an "allergen"; it's a mineral, & like humans, dogs need some sodium to remain healthy - plus, altho every Butternut Box meal might contain zero ADDED salt, it won't be, & it can't, be "salt-free".
Too many things used as ingredients in the food contain some salt, in whatever form - it might be sodium chloride ['table salt'], potassium chloride, or other salts, but it's already there, & virtually impossible to remove... which is just as well, since most living things require some salts for normal function, & even continued life.

For instance, blood is salty - & every BB box is a meat-based meal. Like Shylock, we can't get our pound of flesh without the blood in it.

Please don't think I dislike the company premise, the products, or the sustainable packaging & transport - the things I listed are small details, but for the sake of accuracy, I wanted to let you know.
I think BB sounds like a wonderful company, & your products sound healthy, clean, & very appetizing, indeed!

I heartily applaud the quality of ingredients, the reuseable / recyclable packaging, support of homeless & shelter pets, & carbon-free delivery - that's all fantastic, & I'd gladly buy from you, if I were a UK resident.
But 'hypoallergenic' is a tough criterion to meet, & since MEAT is the most-common dietary allergen for dogs as a species, owners are unlikely to solve their dog's allergy issue if they don't already know what s/he reacts to, & ask for an individual diet that excludes their trigger foods [which I'm sure you can, & will, gladly (EDIT: "make")].

I'm a trainer, not a nutritionist, but I spent 5 years in college as a pre-vet undergrad, & feeding animals a diet that helps them to thrive, not 'survive', is an excellent goal. The AAFCO food-trials in the USA are a very minimum-standard, sadly. It only assures the buyer that most pets won't show symptoms of malnutrition or dietary deficiency, comparable to a human diet that doesn't cause scurvy or pellagra.
- terry

Terry Pride, certified Vet's Assistant
member Truly Dog-Friendly
"Dogs R dogs, wolves R wolves, & primates R us." - ™2004

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This is a copy of the reply i received from Butternut Box's customer-support -

QUOTE,
"Hi Terry,
Thank you so much for getting in touch, I hope you are having a lovely weekend!

We cannot thank you enough for all of the thought behind your feedback, we really do appreciate it! I completely agree that our wording may need a little tweaking - our first concern was making sure that our ingredients were always clear to our new customers, so I will be sure to forward your message to our co-founders and our BB tech team to see what we can do to improve our communication in future.

It's such a shame we're not able to send our boxes out to you in the United States, I'm so sorry for any disappointment this causes. However, we're hoping to send our meals all over the globe once we grow a little bigger as a business, so hopefully we can welcome you to the Butternut Box family soon.

We're always here to help if there's anything at all we can do for you in the meantime, so please don't hesitate to drop us a line anytime if you need us!

Take care,
Kirsten & the BB team "
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so in sum, "the wording" may be "tweaked" at some point in the future. Also at some point in the future, they hope to go global. // I wonder if their website's "wording" will be "tweaked" BEFORE they go global, or if they'll put if off till after their worldwide expansion?... Hmmm?

- terry

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