The Most Essential Issues To Look For on Pet Meals Packaging

The meals we feed our pets performs a giant function of their total
well being, so that you need to select a model that may assist them in residing their
happiest, healthiest life. For those who’re unsure whether or not a pet meals model is
respected or not, simply check out the packaging. Similar to the packaging on
the meals we eat, pet meals packing offers detailed data on the
components and dietary content material.

To assist make sure you’re selecting the absolute best meals in your
pet, we’ve put collectively a listing of an important issues to search for on pet
meals packaging.

It has a brief finest
earlier than date

One of the best-before date listed on pet meals packaging is one other nice indicator of how recent, pure, and wholesome the meals is. Dry kibble is made with preservatives and processed in a approach that it might probably sit open for months on finish with out expiring. 

Recent meals, like Freshpet, then again, has a a lot shorter shelf life – it should be used inside seven days of opening. It is because, not like kibble, recent meals is way 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
  Choose, Deli Recent, and Important Bagged Meals: 7 days
• Single Serve: 2 days

Meat is the primary
ingredient

When trying on the diet label on pet meals packaging,
components are listed so as of predominance. Which means that the ingredient
that’s most used within the recipe ought to be listed first and the ingredient that
is 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, corresponding to:

• Beef
• Bison
• Rooster
• Lamb
• Ocean Whitefish
• Salmon
• Turkey

For those who see any of those meats listed first on the components
listing, you already know it’s a protected alternative.

It has refrigeration
necessities

Excessive-quality pet meals is made with recent components which are
not shelf-stable, which implies that they have to be refrigerated earlier than and
after opening. When trying on the pet meals packaging, test to see if there
are pointers round refrigeration. For instance, Freshpet recommends that
recipes are dealt with the identical as any freshly ready meals:

• Maintain refrigerated always
• Don’t depart meals sitting in your pet’s bowl for
  greater than an hour
• Any unused meals may be returned to the fridge
  and served once more later

The explanation for these refrigeration necessities is that as an alternative
of being overly processed, all Freshpet recipes are gently steamed at low
temperatures to guard the integrity of the components. Every recipe is then
vacuum sealed to lock within the pure goodness earlier than being despatched to the fridge
the place recent meals belongs.

The pet meals packaging
lists components you’ll be able to acknowledge

For those who regarded on the components listing by yourself meals and
didn’t acknowledge a single one, you in all probability wouldn’t purchase it, proper? Your pet’s
meals ought to be handled the identical. When trying on the components listing, you
ought to have the ability to inform precisely what’s in every recipe. For instance, it ought to
embody issues corresponding to:

• Entire proteins, corresponding to meat, fish, or eggs
• Fruits
• Greens
• Nutritional vitamins
• Minerals

To stay shelf-stable for months on finish, dry kibble must be
packed filled with hard-to-pronounce preservatives, corresponding 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? For this reason seeing
components you’ll be able to acknowledge is one other signal of high-quality pet meals.

The vast majority of
components ought to be domestically sourced

The additional away components are sourced, the much less recent they’ll
be after they’re used. The truth is, relying on how distant they’re coming from,
they could even require chemical preservatives to make sure that they make it to
their vacation spot with out expiring. If components aren’t recent after they’re
used, they gained’t have the ability to present all the dietary advantages your pet
wants.

At Freshpet, we strongly assist native farmers whose labor and
environmental practices align with ours which is why we give attention to sourcing our
components from farms near our Freshpet Kitchens. Native 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 an important issues to search for on pet meals packaging. If in case you have additional questions on what’s inside our Freshpet recipes, check out our FAQs, or don’t hesitate to contact us – we’re completely happy to assist!