Acana
Genetics need to be considered and the fact that millions of healthy dogs around the world eat grainfree diets their entire lives; it makes it a complicated matter to correlate it as a potential cause of heart
disease. The extent of this issue is not clear, and the cases involved have not been confirmed to be
linked to diet. A true association has not been proven yet. Many researchers are actively studying this
issue so that it can be solved as quickly as possible. We recommend contacting your veterinarian with
any concerns about your pet’s health.
Blue Buffalo
At Blue Buffalo, we work every day to ensure that our food is safe and healthy. Blue Buffalo is proud to
offer a variety of formulations across its portfolio, both grain and grain-free. In fact, the majority of Blue
Buffalo dog food sales to pet parents contain grain. We will continue to offer a variety of formulations to
meet the needs of dogs and cats across all life stages, breeds and activity levels.
Our team is working hard to better understand DCM and to collaborate with experts across the industry
to determine what, if any, role diet plays in DCM. Even though the number of DCM cases remains small,
we know that pet parents consider a variety of factors when choosing the best food for your furry family
member. That’s why we are proud to offer a broad range of diets to meet a variety of nutritional needs
for your dogs and cats, and to support you in choosing a healthy and holistic food for your pet.
For more information about Blue Buffalo and the variety of diets that we offer, please visit
bluebuffalo.com. If you still have any concerns or would like a recommendation on a grain-containing
alternative, contact us at: (800) 919-2833.
Diamond Pet Foods Brands:
-4Health
-Nature’s Domain
-Taste of the Wild
Like the FDA and pet owners like you, we are concerned about the reported cases of dilated
cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs that are not genetically predisposed to the condition. The FDA
announced on June 27 that they have received 515 reported cases of DCM in dogs as they continue to
study potential connections between DCM and all types of diets, including diets without grain (grainfree). Fifty-three dogs were fed a Taste of the Wild food.
To date, the FDA still has not found any science-based causes to link grain-free diets — including Taste
of the Wild — to DCM. As they note, it is a complex issue with numerous factors to consider, such as
breeds that have a genetic predisposition for developing DCM. We continue to monitor this issue closely
and support ongoing research efforts.
Since the FDA’s initial DCM report was released in 2018, more than 14 million bags of Taste of the Wild
dog food were produced and sold in the United States. While 53 is a small number of incidences in
comparison to the number of dogs eating Taste of the Wild, we do not want to minimize what the

 affected dogs and their pet parents have experienced. Our top priority is, and always will be, to provide
pets with quality, safe food that meets all federal and state regulatory guidelines.
We encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns. In the meantime, because our pets
mean a lot to us and no definitive cause has yet been identified, there is high confusion and concern,
resulting in incorrect information in the media and social media. We, like the FDA, are focusing on
science-based findings and information, and we encourage you to do so as well.
Earthborn Holistic
We have reviewed the FDA’s recent report regarding grain-free pet foods and a potential link to DCM
(dilated cardiomyopathy). This report does not provide any scientific findings linking nutrition and DCM.
Rather, FDA is simply attempting to gain more information as part of its evaluation process.
Congenital heart disease has been recognized in 0.56% to 0.85% of dogs for many years (Detweiler and
Patterson, 1965). The report only touches upon the genetic or congenital prevalence of the disease,
hinting that the disease may have a nutritional component without suggesting a nutritional solution.
It has been recognized that taurine, an amino acid, may be helpful for dogs with full onset of DCM. Since
their introduction, we’ve fortified our grain-free recipes with taurine, amino acids and L-Carnitine as
prudent nutritional considerations.
Midwestern Pet Foods’ utmost priority is to provide safe, high quality nutrition. Our recipes are created
by a board certified animal nutritionist (PhD), use only FDA permitted ingredients and make nutritional
claims permissible by the FDA. Additionally, our recipes closely follow FDA sanctioned nutrient profiles
published by AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials). We take the nutrition and health
of pets very seriously. We will continue to do everything possible to ensure that our products are safe
and nutritious.
Working in close cooperation with our board-certified nutritionist and the Pet Food Institute, we
continue to make use of the latest scientific and nutrition advances for the benefit of pet parents and
pets who put their trust in our products. To learn more, please click here!
Fromm
Based on the FDA alert and the summary of the ongoing studies there seems to be a focus on taurine
and the potential link between diet and DCM.
Recently, media outlets have published headlines indicating a link between grain-free diets and DCM.
This has caused many consumers to express concern about the safety of grain-free diets in general.
While the headlines focus on grain-free and heart disease, the studies are specifically researching how
dogs metabolize taurine and the impact of taurine on heart health.
It is important to note that Fromm has supplemented grain-free and grain-inclusive diets with taurine
for several years. While we carefully watch for further FDA notifications and monitor the results of the
various studies, we want our retailers and consumers to feel confident knowing Fromm, has and will
continue to supplement recipes with taurine.

 Pet parents can feed Fromm with confidence, knowing we are a family-owned-and-operated company
that is dedicated to the health and well-being of pets and has been since we started producing pet food
in 1949.
Mars Petcare Brands:
-California Natural (discontinued)
-Nutro
Merrick
The FDA has been investigating a potential link between diet and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). As a
result of the most recent update, we learned that several pet parents who feed their dog a Merrick diet
have reported a case to the FDA. The FDA cannot attest to whether these case reports are linked to diet,
but we are working with them to learn more. As of today, the nature of a possible connection between
food and DCM in dogs has not been determined.
We love our pets and are dedicated to making the safest and highest-quality food for them. All our
protein-rich diets, including those that are grain-free, are formulated to be complete and balanced and
meet or exceed the nutritional guidelines set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials
(AAFCO). We fully support the FDA’s efforts to research any potential links between diet and dilated
cardiomyopathy (DCM) and are committed to working with the FDA and veterinarians to better
understand this complex topic.
If you have any questions about your dog’s diet, we encourage you to talk with your veterinarian. Our
Pet Parent Relations team is also available at 800-664-7387 or via email to answer any questions you
might have. For additional information about this topic, please visit our DCM page.
Nature’s Variety
Since 2002, Nature’s Variety has fed hundreds of thousands of pets with safe, healthy and high quality
recipes. We are pet food experts committed to quality and safety. Our R&D team members have
advanced degrees, including board-certified veterinary nutritionist, a Ph.D. in food science and other
experts who are part of our research and development team. Together, our experts guide how we
formulate, source, manufacture and test our products to ensure the safety, nutritional value and
digestibility of every recipe we sell. All of our recipes undergo vigorous formulation, manufacturing and
testing processes to help ensure their safety, efficacy and compliance with all AAFCO nutrient
requirements. All of our recipes are tested multiple times annually at a 3rd party worldrenowned laboratory. In response to the FDA’s investigation last year, we started to analyze all of our
foods for total dietary fiber, total starch, cysteine, methionine and taurine in addition to the normal
protein, fat, moisture and crude fiber analyses. We also completed digestibility studies on our diets with
positive results.
Nature’s Variety has always placed a high priority on being open and transparent. Should you have
questions, our Nature’s Variety customer service team is available at 1-888-519-7387, via live chat
or email. While there is uncertainty about the cause of DCM, we will do our best to help by
communicating the latest research on this condition. We will keep you informed of any additional

 information on this topic as it becomes available to us. Should you have additional questions, we
encourage you to talk directly with your veterinarian.

NutriSource
At Tuffy’s Pet Foods, we take great pride in offering pet parents trusted brands they can feed their pets
with great confidence. Our NutriSource products, along with all of our super-premium brands, have
been providing pets and families the absolute best in solutions based nutrition in both healthy grain and
grain-free diets for the past sixteen years. This is as true today as at any time in our family-owned
company’s history. In addition to your pet’s overall health, transparency is of the utmost importance to
us. On June 27, 2019, the United States Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) put a multitude of
brands, along with NutriSource, in the position of defending ourselves in a confusing situation about
grain-free dog diets and their potential link to canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Canine DCM is a
serious heart condition identified decades ago. Sadly, the underlying cause of this condition is not fully
understood. However, certain breeds, especially large and giant breed dogs, are genetically predisposed
and may develop the condition in their lifetime. In July of 2018, the FDA announced it was studying
canine DCM and a possible link to grain-free dog foods. 524 case reports of DCM were sent to the FDA
between January 1, 2014 and April 30, 2019. By comparison, there are an estimated 77 million dogs in
the United States today. The latest FDA update on this concerning issue continues to state, “Based on
the data collected and analyzed thus far, the agency believes that the potential association between diet
and DCM in dogs is a complex issue that may involve multiple factors.”
Orijen
A nutritious and well-balanced diet will help to keep your dog healthy and happy. Domestic dogs
descended from the grey wolf and share 97% of their DNA. While today’s dogs may not hunt in the wild
for their dinner like their ancestors, biologically speaking they are still carnivores. Their teeth are
designed to grasp and shred meat, their digestive systems are shorter than other mammals to easily
digest animal proteins, and their saliva lacks the presence of amylase, a digestive enzyme that breaks
down starches.
Millions of dogs are thriving on grain-free dog food every day. The FDA’s investigation focuses on certain
ingredients that figure more prominently in some pet food products labeled as grain-free. The FDA is
focusing on certain ingredients, including legumes like peas or lentils, other legume seeds, or potatoes,
in its investigation, but has not identified any established causative scientific link between certain
ingredients and incidents of DCM.
With that in mind, dog food should contain a diet that is rich in meat, including organs, and cartilage or
bone, that mirror a dog’s natural diet in the wild – eliminating the need for long lists of synthetic
ingredients. While meat should be the primary ingredient, the best food will also include a variety of
eggs, healthy fruits, botanicals, vegetables, minerals, and added vitamins for a balanced diet.
The J.M. Smucker Company Brands:
-Natural Balance
-Rachael Ray Nutrish

 This is an important topic to us because we are pet parents ourselves and care about the happiness and
healthiness of animals. To clarify, the FDA did not issue a public warning list of dog food brands to avoid.
In their latest announcement (June 2019), they communicated to pet owners that their research was
ongoing and that no conclusive cause for the increase in DCM cases had been identified. As part of this
communication, the FDA listed brands with specific products that were consumed by one or more of the
dogs in the cases reported to them. The FDA did not confirm a correlation between the increase in DCM
cases and the consumption of these specific products, nor did they encourage pet owners to avoid the
products listed. That is the same guidance they are providing pet parents today.
As you can imagine, a lot of care goes into crafting our diets to meet the nutritional needs of pets. Our
employees, including veterinarians and animal nutritionists with extensive expertise, are passionate
about maintaining our commitment to deliver safe, high-quality products for pet parents and their pets.
As part of this commitment, we will continue to actively work with the pet food industry to better
understand this increase in heart disease occurrences among dogs. It is our number one goal to make
sure the dogs that enjoy our food are happy and healthy.
Zignature
Our company was founded by pet parents who have a passion and commitment to pet health. Our
meticulously designed diets have been formulated by a thought-leading team of veterinarians, PhD
animal nutritionists and veterinary research scientists to deliver the safest pet products on the market
that exceed the industry’s AAFCO guide for balanced and thorough nutrition.
While the vast majority of our customers thrive with our high quality, grain-free pet formula, we are
taking the FDA’s recent announcement very seriously.
As such, we have created a dedicated customer care line (888-897-7207 6:30am – 3:00pm PST ) so we
can understand more to further ensure the safety of all pets. As the FDA said in it’s release, it still does
not have enough information to fully understand these cardiac issues.
Any pet owners or veterinarians who have information on this matter are strongly encouraged to
contact our dedicated customer care line backed by our team of veterinary experts and
nutritionists. Ensuring the health of all our pet customers continues to be our top priority.