Dear Ruth I was really disappointed to read this review and we take our responsibilities as a farm and a supplier of wildlife food very seriously and aim to source well and in good faith. I contacted Jacobi Jayne to address these issues and here’s their reply which I hope will give you confidence in what they are providing.
From the supplier below:
'There is a lot of comment on the internet. Much of it is wrong, poorly researched and often self-serving, and seems to originate from just one or two questionable sources. The alarmist and sometimes aggressive nature of some of it is harmful to the dwindling hedgehog population by confusing people with unjustified scare stories.
Regarding our hedgehog food 'I Love Hedgehogs', here is a summary of the knowledge behind our recipe. All of the hedgehog hospitals and experts we regularly speak with confirm that this knowledge is accurate, up-to-date and sound.
1. Hedgehogs in the wild feed on a wide variety of foods which ensures their diet is balanced. 'I Love Hedgehogs' contains a broad mix of ingredients which complements natural foods while still maintaining balance.
2. To further maintain balance in a hedgehog's diet, we consider it important that any supplementary food is only offered in small quantities. It should be just one part of the diet found each night by a scavenging hedgehog.
3. It is known that hedgehogs, especially young, can suffer from metabolic bone disease (MBD). In humans and other mammals MBD can be caused by a lack of calcium in relation to phosphorus in the diet, so it is wise to consider this a risk for hedgehogs too (although it is possibly caused by something other than diet, such as parasites, inbreeding, malnutrition, lack of vitamin D or even high consumption of overly processed cat and dog foods - we wish to commission further research on this and will be pleased to hear from interested parties).
4. There is no evidence to show MBD is a widespread problem in hedgehogs. Nonetheless, to be completely safe we ensure 'I Love Hedeghogs' has an overall ratio of calcium to phosphorus no higher than 1:2 and this is independently verified. This means there is enough phosphorous to be healthy but not enough to be harmful.
5. Note that for MBD to be caused by diet, a hedgehog would likely have to consume large quantities of a single phosphorous-rich food like mealworms or peanuts over a period or many months. Because 'I Love Hedgehogs' is a palatable blend of ingredients, it is eaten as a complete food; hedgehogs never gorge on a single ingredient. And even if they did, the quantity of each ingredient is never too much for it to matter.
6. Incidentally, although I Love Hedgehogs does not contain mealworms (we prefer to use calci worms which have a better calcium/phosphorous ratio), there are internet scare stories about mealworms that are mostly nonsense. Mealworms are beetle larvae, one of the main food categories hedgehogs seek in the wild. The only word of caution we’d give is to consider them a treat – just like many of the foods hedgehogs find naturally - and feed a few at a time.
We are a business dedicated solely to the welfare of wildlife and have been for over thirty years. As part of our work we are always seeking latest research that makes our products even better.'
