Champion Petfoods
We are an award-winning pet food maker that has been crafting cat and dog foods since 1985. Today we serve nearly 100 countries, providing the highest quality nutrition to pets worldwide and earning the trust of Pet Lovers.
Our two brands are ORIJEN® and ACANA®. Learn more about our ORIJEN or ACANA dog and cat foods.
We have long been recognized for making some of the most nutritious food you can feed your pet, with a focus on using fresh, high-quality ingredients, from trusted suppliers, and using exceptional food safety and quality standards. ORIJEN and ACANA are carefully crafted with high meat, poultry and fish inclusions according to our philosophy of making foods that best meet the nutritional needs of your beloved cat or dog.
Heavy Metals
Consumers represented by the same group of plaintiffs’ lawyers brought numerous class action lawsuits alleging that the heavy metals in Champion’s ORIJEN and ACANA dog food was deceptive or misleading. Champion does not add heavy metals into its food as an ingredient, or otherwise. Heavy metals are naturally found in the environment and the ingredients in Champion’s pet food. Every court that has considered this issue has found that the naturally-occurring heavy metals in Champion’s pet food are present at a low, safe levels that are not dangerous or toxic to pets.Champion, the manufacturers of ORIJEN and ACANA, has tested its dog and cat foods for heavy metals at independent laboratories, using the Official Methods of Analysis by Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC). The results show that the presence of naturally-occurring heavy metals are well below the National Research Council’s maximum tolerable limits, which are the limits that the FDA uses for guidance and are the most widely used scientific guidance available to veterinary toxicology and nutrition experts for determining what are considered to be safe levels of heavy metals in dog food.
“Biologically Appropriate” Pet Food
At least eight federal courts have dismissed, or affirmed the dismissal of, lawsuits arguing that the term “biologically appropriate” was deceptive or misleading. These courts found that the term implies the food is suitable for dogs and cats to eat.The term ‘biologically appropriate’ refers to pet food that mirrors the natural diets which cats and dogs have evolved to consume, aligned with their digestive anatomy. Studies have shown that the fundamental physiology of modern dogs and cats has experienced minimal change through domestication. Despite present day domestication, our beloved pets evolved from hunters, which is evident in their digestive mechanisms. Dogs and cats have short gastro-intestinal tracts. This indicates that the digestive tract is designed for breaking down protein and fat from meat, rather than plants or grains.
Therefore, in the context of dogs and cats, “biologically appropriate” food would typically consist of fresh or raw meat, offering high protein, moderate fat, and low carbohydrate content. It's worth noting that substantial amounts of grains and carbohydrates are not considered biologically appropriate for your pets, which is why our food is low in carbohydrates, unlike many other ‘premium’ pet food brands.