So I've been doing some research into different pet foods over the last year or so. Why? Well, curiosity for one thing. I worked at a pet store while applying to vet school (which involves a lot of waiting) and so had to start researching brands so I could give informed advice to customers. I didn't peddle the most expensive brands every time (which is what they wanted me to do), BUT seeing all the different brands made me want to know more about them. After reading Dog Food Logic, I decided to go sleuthing for more than what's on the label.

One of the biggest concerns about pet food is where it's made and who's responsible for making it. Ingredients from china, etc, have proven problematic. We all want to know our pup's food is safe, and so being able to trace where the food was made is important. Additionally, whether or not the company makes their own food is important to some.

So, I'd like to use this thread as a personal research project. I'm going to try and contact as many pet food companies as possible to determine who makes their food and where it's made.

I will not be using this little project to promote one brand over another, or throw a particular brand under the bus. Co-packing (using private label companies to manufacture their food) does not mean the food is bad, but it does mean they don't control all the facilities used to make their food. They may inspect them for quality/safety, however.


First up on my list is Wellness. It's one of the more expensive brands out there, has pretty good reviews and a very thorough website. But do they make their own products? And if not, who does, and where are they located?

I e-mailed the company and asked. Here is the response!

"Dear Lucy,

Thank you for taking the time to write about Wellness Complete Health Wet Dog Food. I have listed below where our Wellness recipes are manufactured. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Wellness Dry Dog
WellPet Operations: Mishawaka, IN
Hagen Pet Food: Waverly, NY
CJ Foods: Bern, KS & Pawnee City, KS
Bio Biscuit: St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada (TruFoods)
Mountain Country Foods: Spanish Fork, UT (CORE Air Dried)

Wellness Can Dog
American Nutrition: Ogden, UT
Simmons Pet Food: Pennsauken, NJ, Emporia, KS & Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Thai Union: Thailand (Petite Entrees)
IPB: Thailand (Petite Entrees, TruFood Tasty Pairings & CORE Chunky Centers)

Wellness Dry Cat
WellPet Operations: Mishawaka, IN
CJ Foods: Bern, KS & Pawnee City, KS
Bio Biscuit: St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada (TruFoods)
Mountain Country Foods: Spanish Fork, UT (CORE Air Dried)

Wellness Can & Pouches Cat
American Nutrition: Ogden, UT
Simmons Pet Food: Pennsauken, NJ, Emporia, KS & Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Thai Union: Thailand (Signature Selects)
IPB: Thailand (Divine Duos & TruFood Tasty Pairings)

WellBars
Bio Biscuit: St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada

Wellness Kittles
CJ Foods: Bern, KS

CORE Superfoods
Performance Pet: Mitchell, SD

TruFoods CocoChia
Bio Biscuit: St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada

TruFoods Protein Bites
Performance Pet: Mitchell, SD

WellBites
Mountain Country Foods: Spanish Fork, UT

Pure Rewards
Mountain Country Foods: Spanish Fork, UT

Petite Treats
Bio Biscuit: St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada

Pure Delights
Mountain Country Foods: Spanish Fork, UT"


As you can see, most of their foods are made by companies for private label use. Some of their products are made in-house, but note that they don't list which varieties of foods are made where (example, wellness core dry chicken vs fish). Their transparency was refreshing! Note also that the vast majority of their products are made in the USA or Canada.

Here's where we can have some fun! If you guys want to contact companies and participate, you can add to the thread I will be doing this myself as well, but if  you have a favorite brand, go ahead and send them an e-mail! Be sure to ask if they manufacture all their own foods, or if they utilize co-packing.

So Lucy, interesting thread, I like the hard work you're putting into this. So is your field of study going to focus on feeding and nutrition? Seems to take a back seat for most vets, this will be nice for your future clients to have honest information from their vet.

I know Al has a thread around here somewhere that lists the major companies and what foods they make, might be useful to you. There is a website called Truth Behind pet foods, that has made an exhaustive list of foods manufactured here in the US or Canada, their new war is on the vitamin packs that are in pet foods. Seems like the majority of all come from China, and right now Acana is one of the few that is completely doing away with vitamin packs, and doing the vitamins by using simple foods. I do belong to another forum, not husky related, but if you want to pm me I will give you the site, I tend to lurk far more than anything, but they did a lot of leg work already on this type of info that you may find useful.

and I hope I was ok mentioning that?????

Renee, you are fine.

I appreciate the endeavor you are on right now, Lucy, but I hope that you keep in mind that many dog food companies (not all) are frequently changing hands and also their manufacturers and suppliers. So whatever list you come up with could be completely irrelevant in as little as a year or two. We have had other such lists posted in the past which I am sure some of the information within them is now irrelevant due to buyouts, different manufacturer or different ingredients or different ingredient sources. Just wanted to put that out there but not discourage you or your endeavor. Like the world of technology, even the realm of pet foods is constantly changing.

MiyasMomma wrote:

So Lucy, interesting thread, I like the hard work you're putting into this. So is your field of study going to focus on feeding and nutrition? Seems to take a back seat for most vets, this will be nice for your future clients to have honest information from their vet.

I know Al has a thread around here somewhere that lists the major companies and what foods they make, might be useful to you. There is a website called Truth Behind pet foods, that has made an exhaustive list of foods manufactured here in the US or Canada, their new war is on the vitamin packs that are in pet foods. Seems like the majority of all come from China, and right now Acana is one of the few that is completely doing away with vitamin packs, and doing the vitamins by using simple foods. I do belong to another forum, not husky related, but if you want to pm me I will give you the site, I tend to lurk far more than anything, but they did a lot of leg work already on this type of info that you may find useful.

and I hope I was ok mentioning that?????

Nutrition is definitely an interest of mine; it's a fascinating subject for sure. To be honest, I'm not sure if that's where I want to specialize or not. We have a saying in vet school; you may think you know what you want to do, but that may change! I know professors who started out in private practice and ended up being in really obscure specialties. Other people started out where they wanted and stayed. I like private practice, but I'm keeping an open mind. Avian and exotic animal medicine is what I'm keenest on right now, but I don't know that I'll ever be able to not work with other species.

As for honest information, that's definitely changing. Vet school curriculum is almost universally including nutrition coursework now, and unlike past generations, we are not being taught to chase away clients who do homemade, raw, etc. Thing is, if they don't go to you for advice, they'll go to someone else, and that second person may or may not know what they're doing. I'd rather a client come to me than consult some random person, even if their philosophy is different from mine.


As far as the information changing, I'm well aware I'll try to keep it as up-to-date as possible.

You can find the thread that @miyasmomma mentioned here

It should be obvious that I gave up that exercise quickly since I found that trying to find any real information was frustrating to the hilt - and I do not handle frustration well!!!

I wish you the best of luck with your project.

Hey folks, I haven't abandoned this! Been busy with exams and my computer appears to have some kind of adware? Anyways, got a response from acana/orijen and will post it when I can. Still waiting on a response from Hill's.