Petfood producer The Honest Kitchen has just completed their in-home, Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Feeding Trials, they announced in a press release dated May 11. The purpose of the trials was to provide substantial evidence that the petfood they produce provides “nutritional adequacy and overall health” in dogs.
Feeding trials were conducted by a third-party veterinarian group and tested the company’s Whole Grain Dehydrated, Grain Free Dehydrated and Grain Free Whole Food Clusters food for dogs. They spanned over a period of six months and included eight healthy dogs in each trial, amounting to 24 in total.
Whilst acknowledging that meeting the guidelines required for an AAFCO feeding trial is important, The Honest Kitchen took it a step further by “exceeding” the requirements. Using a side-by-side comparison with the requirements of a standard AAFCO trial, the company demonstrated that they had not only met the requirements of the trial being a six-month period, but they had 86 markers compared with the typical 4 blood parameters; and took stool quality samples on top of weekly body weights.
Results reflected that the petfood given to dogs resulted in a healthy pet. Dogs had normal healthy blood work, ideal stool quality scores, and maintained ideal body and muscle condition scores, on top of other factors. Additionally, the echocardiograms which were conducted on dogs feed Grain Free recipes – and isn’t a requirement of an AAFCO trial – showed there was no significant difference in the dogs’ cardiac measurements.
Notably, the AAFCO doesn’t approve pet foods, and the trials conducted by The Honest Kitchen are substantiated to provide complete and balanced nutrition as according to procedures for feeding trials outlined by AAFCO. All of the company’s dog and cat food recipes are formulated to meet nutritional requirements established by the AAFCO, including those not tested in the trials.
The company has credited themselves as being responsible for the idea of “human-grade” petfood, incorporating higher quality ingredients and better safety standards.
For more information on The Honest Kitchen visit their website, HERE.
