Most of the pet parents I talk with daily think “made in the USA” is the only way to go. The fact is, some of today’s top quality pet foods are manufactured offshore, and/or their ingredients are sourced offshore.
People often associate “Product of Thailand” with “Made in China.” The canned dog and cat food for the company I work for is made in a Chicken of the Sea plant in Thailand, as are some other top of the line pet foods. There are others that are made in a Starkist plant there.
America isn’t the only country with strict standards. I was talking to an executive from another company, whose canned products are made in the Starkist factory, and she said that Thailand adopted European Union standards for safety and purity, some of which are stricter than ours.
But, sourcing influences many pet parents’ product selection, so a lot of pet food manufacturers are addressing those concerns by revealing the sources for their ingredients. A recent article in the trade publication Pet Food Industry (petfoodindustry.com) highlights that.
Many new products were introduced at Super Zoo, the industry’s premiere trade show, in late July, and the article pointed out how some companies reveal sourcing in their product name. For example, one company introduced “Nantucket Feast,” “Colorado Roast,” and “Texas BBQ.”
Other brands tout such ingredients as Yorkshire pork, Alaskan wild salmon, New Zealand mackerel and lamb, and Pacific cod. My own company introduced a new line of six limited ingredient diets (LID) with novel proteins such as squid and krill.
In the upper left hand corner of the bags is a section of the world map showing where the main protein is sourced. Our product brochure opens up like a map and the back side is, indeed, a map of the world that shows where we get our nutrients and supplements from.
You can expect such transparency from more and more pet food companies because the public is demanding it. But I’m still waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to change position regarding a couple of
