How saddened I feel as passionate vet who has seen Solo Vegetal come to the 'rescue' of so many of your dogs; now have it's light dimmed by the fact that it contains buckwheat as one of its ingredients.

Just 2 days after standing on the main stage at Vegan Campout in front of the biggest crowd of hundreds of you where I literally shouted about how wonderful Solo Vegetal food was; did a contamination issue arise in Years fresh dog food that implicated buckwheat as the possible cause of dry eye in dogs eating that brand of fresh food. (See this post I wrote just 2 days after returning from such an enlightening weekend with inspiring speakers)

I am going to be as open and honest with you about this to allow you to ultimately make the right decision for your dog if I give you all of the facts, as Solo Vegetal dry food has buckwheat as one of its ingredients.

Solo Vegetal was formulated originally by vets for dogs with skin and digestive issues so every care was taken in its formulation. The buckwheat used in Solo Vegetal dry food  is not fresh pre-soaked as added to Years fresh foods 7 months ago; but would be buckwheat powder added to a product that is extruded into dry food (heated at a very high temperature).

We do commend Years for all of their research into this and we too want to be open about everything. We have contacted our trusted suppliers Nextmune UK and received this very thorough reply within a few hours - 

"The current position is that a contaminated batch of buckwheat has been identified as a potential contributing factor in the Years investigation, with the underlying cause still being investigated. 

At this stage, we shouldn’t draw any general conclusions about the safety of buckwheat found in other foods like Solo Vegetal. 

At this time, we have no reason to suspect that Solo Vegetal poses a similar risk. Solo Vegetal has been available for around 10 years and has been fed to thousands of dogs in the UK and across Europe, and we have never received any reports of dry eye or anything resembling the cases currently being investigated with Years.

That long history of use is reassuring, although given the concerns that have now been raised, I agree that we should investigate this properly and obtain further information from the manufacturer.

I’ve looked into the Years situation in more detail, and I think it is important to clarify that it has not currently been shown that buckwheat causes dry eye in dogs.

Importantly, Years has stated that its investigation has identified possible contamination in its supplier's buckwheat product, with laboratory testing currently underway. Therefore, there is currently no evidence that buckwheat itself is responsible or that this represents a general risk associated with foods containing buckwheat

I have also looked at the published literature around buckwheat and KCS. At present, I cannot find evidence showing that normal dietary buckwheat causes KCS in dogs.

Buckwheat does contain a naturally occurring compound called fagopyrin, but the recognised toxicity associated with excessive fagopyrin exposure is photosensitisation rather than suppression or destruction of the lacrimal glands.

There is an interesting potential alternative explanation which illustrates why we shouldn't assume that buckwheat itself is responsible.

Buckwheat crops can potentially be contaminated by plants such as Datura stramonium. Datura contains tropane alkaloids including atropine and scopolamine, and atropine is known to reduce tear production in dogs.

Therefore, contamination of a particular buckwheat supply is one biologically plausible avenue for investigators to consider. There is currently no evidence, however, that this is what has happened with Years, so I don't want to speculate beyond that.

On that basis, I don't think there is currently a scientific justification for stopping sales of Solo Vegetal simply because buckwheat appears in the formulation.

Solo Vegetal is a completely different product, produced by a different manufacturer using a different ingredient supply chain, with a long history of use without a similar safety signal.

That said, I agree that we should take the concern seriously rather than simply dismiss it.

I will contact the manufacturer and ask them to confirm:

• The percentage of buckwheat contained within Solo Vegetal.
• The form of buckwheat used.
• Its source/supplier and quality-control procedures.
• Whether the raw material is screened for botanical contaminants or tropane alkaloids such as atropine and scopolamine.
• Whether they have received any reports of KCS or abnormal tear production in dogs fed Solo Vegetal across other markets.

Once we have that information, we should be in a much better position to make further decisions"

Please see published evidence to support this - 

We feel so grateful to Nextmune for this reply and we will keep updating this Blog post as we hear more about the actual percentage of buckwheat in Solo Vegetal dry food and the form used. We quite understand if you still feel concerned while we wait for these answers. 

I will be guided by our suppliers, by the science and most importantly by YOU.

If you felt that you no longer want to feed your dog with Solo Vegetal with its current recipe, I quite understand and I will act on your choices that you make for your dog, while keeping you updated with the science and the facts about Solo Vegetal.

Thankfully we have some exciting alternatives for your allergic/plant-based dog! Please just email me at  info@justbekind.co.uk to change your Subscription to any of these complete and delicious options: 

Our other exciting complete dry foods includes our ever popular imports from Germany such as  Green Crunch from VegDog,  MicroBell from Marsapet, and  Greta from Vegan4Dogs, as well as Hownd dry food made in the UK and also in 10kg bags.

We are also beyond excited to launch the UK's very first cold-pressed superfood  BioBuddy  which is nutrient rich and freshly cold-pressed to retain all of its nutrients....and it is made with biofermentation protein - a first for innovation and progress!