The meals we feed our pets performs an enormous position of their general well being, so that you need to select a model that may help them in dwelling their happiest, healthiest life. If you’re undecided whether or not a pet meals model is respected or not, simply check out the packaging. Just just like the packaging on the meals we eat, pet meals packing gives detailed info on the substances and dietary content material.
To assist make sure you’re selecting the absolute best meals to your pet, we’ve put collectively an inventory of a very powerful issues to search for on pet meals packaging.
It has a brief greatest earlier than date
The best-before date listed on pet meals packaging is one other nice indicator of how contemporary, pure, and wholesome the meals is. Dry kibble is made with preservatives and processed in a means that it may sit open for months on finish with out expiring.
Fresh meals, like Freshpet, however, has a a lot shorter shelf life – it should be used inside seven days of opening. This is as a result of, in contrast to kibble, contemporary meals is far nearer to its pure state which makes it simpler to digest, extra nutritious, and extra scrumptious!
On every Freshpet recipe, you’ll see a tailor-made use-by date which signifies how lengthy after opening it must be used:
- Rolls: 7 days
- Patties: 5 days
- Spring & Sprout and Homestyle Creations Bagged Meals: 5 days
- Freshpet Select, Deli Fresh, and Vital Bagged Meals: 7 days
- Single Serve: 2 days
Meat is the primary ingredient
When trying on the vitamin label on pet meals packaging, substances are listed so as of predominance. This signifies that the ingredient that’s most used within the recipe ought to be listed first and the ingredient that’s least used ought to be listed final.
When trying on the pet meals packaging label, you’ll need to see meat listed as the primary ingredient. Not meat powder, meat meal, or meat by-products however precise meat, equivalent to:
- Beef
- Bison
- Chicken
- Lamb
- Ocean Whitefish
- Salmon
- Turkey
If you see any of those meats listed first on the substances checklist, you understand it’s a secure alternative.
It has refrigeration necessities
High-quality pet meals is made with contemporary substances that aren’t shelf-stable, which signifies that they have to be refrigerated earlier than and after opening. When trying on the pet meals packaging, test to see if there are tips round refrigeration. For instance, Freshpet recommends that recipes are dealt with the identical as any freshly ready meals:
- Keep refrigerated always
- Don’t depart meals sitting in your pet’s bowl for greater than an hour
- Any unused meals could be returned to the fridge and served once more later
The cause for these refrigeration necessities is that as a substitute of being overly processed, all Freshpet recipes are gently steamed at low temperatures to guard the integrity of the substances. Each recipe is then vacuum sealed to lock within the pure goodness earlier than being despatched to the fridge the place contemporary meals belongs.
The pet meals packaging lists substances you’ll be able to acknowledge
If you appeared on the substances checklist by yourself meals and didn’t acknowledge a single one, you most likely wouldn’t purchase it, proper? Your pet’s meals ought to be handled the identical. When trying on the substances checklist, it’s best to have the ability to inform precisely what’s in every recipe. For instance, it ought to embrace issues equivalent to:
- Whole proteins, equivalent to meat, fish, or eggs
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Vitamins
- Minerals
To stay shelf-stable for months on finish, dry kibble must be packed stuffed with hard-to-pronounce preservatives, equivalent to BHA. It additionally swaps meat for meat powder, meat meal, or meat by-products and provides synthetic flavors and coloring.
Doesn’t sound very tasty, does it? This is why seeing substances you’ll be able to acknowledge is one other signal of high-quality pet meals.
The majority of substances ought to be domestically sourced
The additional away substances are sourced, the much less contemporary they’ll be once they’re used. In reality, relying on how far-off they’re coming from, they might even require chemical preservatives to make sure that they make it to their vacation spot with out expiring. If substances aren’t contemporary once they’re used, they gained’t have the ability to present the entire dietary advantages your pet wants.
At Freshpet, we strongly help native farmers whose labor and environmental practices align with ours which is why we give attention to sourcing our substances from farms near our Freshpet Kitchens. Local sourcing additionally helps contribute to the well-being of the communities we work in – and requires much less transportation!
We hope that you simply now have a good suggestion of what are a very powerful issues to search for on pet meals packaging. If you may have additional questions on what’s inside our Freshpet recipes, check out our FAQs, or don’t hesitate to contact us – we’re comfortable to assist!
