In an upswing trend are sales of pet foods with human grade ingredients. It’s safe to say that this will last for quite some time—maybe forever—as many pet owners are on the lookout for the best and healthiest pet food in the market.
Premium and ultra-premium pet food products usually claim that they have human-grade ingredients. If this is true, the quality of these ingredients and the food safety standards of the facility the pet food is cooked in is definitely ensured.
What Exactly is Human Grade?
Until last year, there was no legal definition of what human grade is. It’s been thought though that “human grade” pet food “means the finished product is legally suitable and approved as nourishment for humans.”¹ This has prompted the Association of American Feed Control Officers (AAFCO) to come up with a legal definition of what is human grade last year.
“Human Grade (handling specification): Every ingredient and the resulting product are stored, handled, processed and transported in a manner that is consistent and compliant with regulations for current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs) for human edible foods as specified in 21 CFR 117.”²
Simply put, “human grade” refers to a finished product that is deemed legally suitable, safe, and FDA-approved for consumption by a human.³
What Does Your Product Have?
Customizing your brand is what Addiction Foods Private Label does. If you want to have “human grade” ingredients, we have access to over 200 raw materials, even if it means going through a rigorous selection of the appropriate ingredients to qualify that they are all “human grade.”
If you want to develop your own recipe, you’ll have a specialized team of food technologists and nutritionists that will ensure your pet food recipes are nutritionally right. That means you get professional advice on what’s the best nutritional solution to suit your brand.
In line with the definition of AAFCO of what “human grade” is, Addiction Foods’ manufacturing facility in New Zealand follows a strict Code of Conduct that requires our plant to adhere to the highest standards for food safety. We strictly follow the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) program of New Zealand’s food and safety authorities.
All our outputs pass through metal detection and microbiological testing, ensuring that all the foods we produce are free from any contaminants. What you get are final products that always meet the high standards of not only New Zealand but probably the world as well.
Looking for a partner to help you explore new markets?
Discover what Addiction Foods Private Label can do for you and your own brand!
—————————————————————————
[1] https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/05/07/human-quality-pet-food.aspx
[2] https://www.petfoodindustry.com/articles/5699-aafco-to-set-pet-food-human-grade-claim-standards
[3] https://fidoseofreality.com/human-grade-vs-feed-grade-pet-foods/
