Buyer Beware: Don't Buy Cheap & Nasty Chicken Jerky on eBay

Great bargains should not be at the expense of your dog's health

After two of our beloved rescue dogs died of lymphoma, both at relatively young ages (four and eight years, respectively) we knew we had to do something drastically different this time around with Axel, our American Bulldog cross (another rescue). The frustrating thing about both situations with our cancer-stricken dogs, no veterinarian or online scientific journal could give a clear answer to what caused their cancer of the lymph nodes. We knew that something had to change and we had to start with the most important step- improving their diet. Diet is such a huge factor contributing to a dog's health and well-being and is an obvious place of focus for every dog owner who want the best possible health for their fur family. Would you feed your children junk food everyday? Well, that was us all those years as ignorant pet parents, exacerbated by poor and outright bad advice from our local veterinarians. 

Australian Packed is NOT Australian Made

As dog lovers, we do not just care about our own dogs but all dogs. Hence, we're pretty riled up about discovering that there are unscrupulous Australian-based sellers of dehydrated dog treats that sell mass-produced products from China and withholding this information from the customer. In fact, in the example we are about to discuss, many sellers try to fool you into thinking they are Australian made. A seller on eBay Australia, Natural Pet Australia, is currently selling one kilogram of chicken breast jerky for $39.95 posted. Sounds like a great bargain, right? Except you're not buying the product you think you are getting. This product is Australian by inference of their company name only. The chicken breast jerky they sell is not an actual Australian-made product. We will detail the evidence we pieced together so I implore you to read on so you are not fooled by these tactics. 

It Simply Doesn't Add Up!

When we did the maths, it is quite frankly impossible for a seller to offer Australian-sourced and made dehydrated chicken jerky for such a low price. We'll be conservative in our calculations here to not give the perp any room for arguments. Considering that it takes 4 kilograms of fresh chicken breast to make one kilogram of dried jerky, how can they possibly sell dehydrated Australian chicken breast for $39.95AUD? It does not make sense and we will prove it to you with evidence.

Let's say it only costs Natural Pet Australia $12.00 to send a one kilogram parcel by post (highly doubt it but this is for argument's sake). That leaves the seller $27.95. Let's also say they only pay 10% in eBay fees (hah! 15-20% is average), that leaves them with $23.95. Let's assume the seller only pays $7.50 per kilo for raw chicken breast (highly unlikely), then the cost of the four kilos of raw chicken required to make one kilo of jerky is $30, leaving the seller at negative $6.05! We're not even taking into consideration cost of operations like electricity and labour and the GST of 10% a seller owes to the government.

In short, if these were truly Australian-sourced chicken breast and turned into dried jerky for Australian consumers, the seller would be losing at least $10-15 per kilo sold! And we know business is not about breaking even but to make a profit. And we all know businesses won't be around for long running at a loss, but Natural Pet Australia has already sold thousands of kilos of chicken jerky and continues to do so.

The bottom line

Natural Pet Australia can afford to sell a kilogram of jerky at $39.95 shipped because they sourced the finished jerky from China, which sells for as little as $11AUD per kilo.

That per kilo rate of dried jerky from China can go even lower if the seller buys in massive quantities. Again to be conservative, if you recalculate profit using $11 per kilo rate instead of Australian chicken at $30 per kilo, then with this business model, the seller actually makes a net profit of around $20 per kilo sold! All they do is re-package it as "Australian Packed" and call it "Ethically sourced" which they are clearly not.

Re-packaging dog treats from overseas cannot make it 'ethically sourced'

When chemicals are added for the sole purpose of prolonging the selling window for the manufacturer, then that is not ethically sourced and it is unethical to claim so knowing fully well they can probably get away with it due to poor laws in Australia regulating advertising of pet treats. 

That's why Natural Pet Australia can only, and slyly so, use the Australian Packed logo on their advertisement. That simply means the goods were bought in bulk from overseas and packaged into smaller retail packs. These facts were not explained at all to the consumer. In fact, they have messaging that contradicts how they source their chicken jerky with the use of marketing terms such as small batch, ethically sourced, no nasties, and limited ingredients. They also claim to be offering 100% chicken jerky, which is an outright lie. Have a look at their packaging below.

Single Ingredient vs Overseas Preserved Jerky

Chicken breast jerky and other dehydrated dog treats that are sourced, made and sold in Australia only needs one ingredient. If it is Chicken Jerky you are buying, you should only get chicken and nothing else. Dog-friendly spices and herbs can be added for extra flavour, but they definitely do not need salt, sweeteners and other chemicals to safely reach your front door and keep for a decent amount of time (usually six to twelve months max in a cool, dry pantry). These are the only types of chicken jerky that can claim to be made of 100% chicken. If salt and other preservatives are added, then they should and must list these ingredients so consumers are better informed about the treats they purchase. 

Below is a screenshot of the product claims and ingredients listed by China-based manufacturers of chicken jerky that the likes of Natural Pet Australia sells. 

This Chinese supplier claims to use no additives and no preservatives in their chicken jerky yet has sorbitol, glycerin, salt and potassium sorbate listed as ingredients, which are all additives to sweeten and preserve the meat! They need to add sweeteners to make up for the over-dried meat that is left behind after a drying process meant for products reaching the farthest corners of the globe. They need to add preservatives so they can make thousands of tonnes a year with no product wastage as they can be stored for indefinite periods of time in their warehouses.      

Would you feed your dog junk food everyday?

That's what you are essentially doing feeding your dog treats made in China. The preparation and treatment of the meat results in a product with minimal nutritional value, harder to digest and packed with chemicals dogs simply do not need. With data on causes of cancer in dogs being minimal, do you really want to take any chances with giving them chemicals that exist only to benefit the seller? I know my family won't after the heartache of losing two dogs to lymphoma.

Buy only Australian Made or Make it Yourself!

Premium Aussie made dog treats sell for a premium price. If you are forced to buy instead of making dog treats yourself at home, we have two tips for you: 1) They are really worth the higher price versus nasty cheapies on eBay, and 2) You can still save so much by being smarter about how you shop. Don't fall for fancy packaging, creative names like Moo Chew for nothing more than a dried beef trachea. Go back to basics- single ingredient, simple packaging and source locally if you can. If you're up to learning a simple but useful skill, buy yourself a dehydrator for use at home so you can dry meats sourced from the same places you buy meats to feed your human family. Dehydrators are not just a worthwhile investment for a pet parent but for the whole family- there are thousands of treats you can make for everyone.

It Boils Down to One Basic Principle

Buy real food, not leather goods. You'll sleep better knowing you're doing your best for your dog. By the way, we at Bark Doctor don't sell dehydrated treats so you know we're not trying to profit here from demonising China made dog treats. We're confident we've shown you in an educated way that our opinions are based on evidence. Hopefully, you've learned how to avoid dishonest sellers and cut through the clutter of their fancy messaging and get down to the simple basics.  When it comes to bargain hunting for dog treats, it boils down to this basic principle: if it's too good to be true, it probably is.