Improving the Quality of Our Freeze Dried Products

By Michael Holly, Chief Operating Officer, Primal Pet Foods

 

At Primal Pet Foods, food safety and product quality have always been our top priority. Our team is committed to finding the most innovative and effective ways to keep our raw food safe while delivering the nutrition that dogs and cats need to thrive. 

 

We recently updated our food safety process to ensure we continue delivering the safest raw nutrition for pets. While this important step helped to strengthen our safety protocols, it also led to unintended changes in the texture or appearance of our freeze dried products. Some batches have been harder or a different color than before. While there may be some variation in texture or appearance, the product is safe to feed your pet. We follow strict food safety protocols, and the wellbeing of dogs and cats will always be our top priority.

 

We understand that this is not the product experience that you or your pets might expect from Primal. We’ve heard your concerns and have taken them seriously. Here’s an update on what we’re doing to improve the product quality and experience for you and your pet:

 

Why Did We Update Our Food Safety Process?

Earlier this year, the FDA required manufacturers of raw dog and cat foods to reanalyze their food safety plans to include avian influenza as a known or reasonably foreseeable hazard. In response, and in line with the FDA’s strong encouragement, we made the decision to add a new preventive control to our manufacturing process.

 

With a science-forward approach, we have transitioned to Vacuum & Pressure Processing (VPP) as the food safety step for all our freeze dried products. This innovative technology significantly reduces harmful bacteria and inactivates viruses such as avian influenza, while preserving nutritional integrity.

 

What We’ve Learned

When we first adopted the VPP process, our testing confirmed that it maintained both the nutrition and digestibility of our freeze dried food. What we didn’t anticipate was that this change in our food safety process could also affect product texture or appearance. As we received feedback, we quickly increased testing and developed detailed specifications for product density. Our team has been gathering extensive data, establishing improved benchmarks, and creating measurable standards for texture that allow us to monitor product consistency more closely than ever before.

 

How We’re Improving Product Quality

As we have been gathering more data on product texture, we expect that the freeze dried food we produce moving forward will be more consistent, while continuing to meet our high standards for safety and nutrition. In addition to tightening our product specifications, we’ve made several improvements to strengthen our quality controls to help drive more consistency with every batch of food we produce:

·       Stronger testing: Every batch of freeze dried food undergoes enhanced testing and is measured for density (hardness) to ensure it meets our strict standards for texture and appearance, and any product that falls outside of those standards is not released for sale.

·        Refined processes: Our team has actively adjusted equipment settings, refined key processing parameters and will continue to make refinements to improve both product texture and appearance. 

·        Innovating with equipment. Our team has been using a new pilot freeze dryer to optimize cycle times, further improving texture and consistency.

·        Future-focused: Our team is also evaluating additional innovations that can further enhance both food safety and the overall experience for pets and their parents.

 

Where We Stand Today

We are encouraged by the results we have seen in our latest production runs, but the improvements aren’t as easy as turning on a switch. We have made gradual adjustments and step changes over the last few months, and recent batches are trending closer to our ideal specifications. That said, we know there is still work to be done. It will take time for improvements to show up consistently across all products in the market, and some variation may continue as we standardize specifications across proteins and product formats.

 

Thank You For Sticking with Primal

We deeply appreciate your patience and partnership as we have worked through this. Your feedback has been invaluable in helping us improve, and your continued support inspires us to keep raising the bar and ensuring that dogs and cats have the very best food in their bowl.

 

With recipes crafted with organic produce, real whole food ingredients, and no synthetic vitamins or minerals, our Primal diets are formulated to help pets thrive. We hope we can delight you and your pet with our products, so your pet can keep enjoying the healthy, happy life they deserve.

 

If you have any questions about these updates or the progress we’ve been making, please contact our Consumer Support team at support@primalpetfoods.com.