Category: Certification

Why It’s Important to Be Human Grade Certified

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Human Grade - Certification

In recent years, “human-grade” pet food has exploded in popularity. This designation refers to pet food that is made from ingredients that meet the standards for human consumption and processed in facilities that follow regulations for human food production.

Many pet foods claim to be human grade, but not all are Human Grade Certified. Here are 10 reasons why that matters.

1. Transparency and Trust

When a pet food product is Human Grade Certified, it shows that the manufacturer is willing to undergo scrutiny and adhere to rigorous standards. This openness fosters a greater level of trust between pet food makers and consumers. Seeing the Human Grade Certification seal on a product assures pet owners that the maker is committed to transparency and accountability in their production process.

2. Enhanced Nutritional Quality

Human Grade Certified pet food is often associated with higher nutritional quality compared to traditional pet food. Ingredients fit for human consumption are generally fresher, less processed, and free from many fillers, additives, and by-products common in conventional pet food. This means pets can get more of the nutrients they need for a healthy life, including proteins, vitamins, and minerals, in forms that their bodies can easily absorb and utilize.

3. Safety and Purity

The standards for human food production are stringent, focusing on cleanliness, handling, and processing. These standards are intended to reduce the risk of contamination by pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli, which are sometimes concerns in the pet food industry.

By conforming to Human Grade Certified standards, manufacturers can offer pet owners peace of mind about what they are feeding their furry family members.

4. Healthier Outcomes for Pets

Feeding pets with human-grade food can lead to healthier outcomes. Pets fed with high-quality, minimally processed foods can have healthier weights, better digestion, more energy, and shinier coats. Moreover, reducing lower-quality ingredients may decrease the risk of allergies, sensitivities, and certain chronic health issues over time.

5. Ethical Considerations

Choosing human-grade pet food can also reflect a more ethical approach to pet nutrition. It suggests a commitment to not compromising the quality of what we feed our pets, similar to the care we take to select our own food. This philosophy supports the welfare of pets by ensuring they are not exposed to inferior or potentially harmful ingredients.

6. Environmental Impact

Human-grade pet food often sources ingredients more responsibly, focusing on sustainability and reducing environmental impact. By utilizing higher-quality, locally sourced ingredients and adhering to more rigorous production standards, these manufacturers can contribute to less waste and lower carbon footprints.

This consideration is increasingly important to pet owners who are conscious of their environmental impact and seek to support brands that prioritize eco-friendly practices.

7. Support for Special Dietary Needs

Pets with specific health issues or dietary restrictions can benefit significantly from human-grade food options. These foods often offer single-source proteins, grain-free options, and other specialized formulations that can help manage health conditions such as food sensitivities, obesity, diabetes, and kidney issues.

8. Psychological Benefits for Pet Owners

Feeding pets human-grade food can also offer feel-good benefits for pet owners. Knowing they are providing the highest quality food can strengthen the emotional bond between pet and owner, fostering a sense of care and responsibility.

This aspect of pet care can enhance the owner’s well-being, as caring for a pet in such a conscientious manner can be incredibly rewarding and affirming.

9. Innovation and Variety

Human-grade pet food brands often lead the way in innovation, offering a variety of formulations, textures, and flavors that go beyond traditional pet food offerings. This variety can be crucial for picky eaters or pets with specific preferences, ensuring they receive the necessary nutrition without compromise.

The continuous innovation in human-grade pet food also means that pets can enjoy a more diverse diet.

10. Economic Impacts

While the cost of human-grade pet food is generally higher than conventional pet food, the investment can potentially lead to lower veterinary bills over the pet’s lifetime. Pets fed a high-quality diet may be less likely to develop diet-related health issues, which can result in significant savings on medical care.

Human Grade Pet Food Certifications — There are several reasons why Human Grade certified pet feed is worth looking for.

Elevating Pet Health with Human Grade Certification

While human-grade pet food might come at a higher price point, its benefits in terms of nutritional quality, safety, transparency, health outcomes, and ethical considerations make it a compelling choice for pet owners dedicated to providing the best for their pets.

As the pet food industry continues to evolve, the demand for human-grade options is likely to grow, reflecting a broader trend towards more holistic and conscientious pet care practices.

The information provided in this article, including recommendations and insights regarding Human Grade Certified pet food, is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It is important for pet owners to understand that each pet is unique, with specific dietary needs and health considerations. Before making any changes to your pet’s diet or if you have concerns about your pet’s nutritional requirements, we strongly advise consulting with a licensed veterinarian or a pet nutrition expert.

How do you know your pet food is actually human grade?

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Human Grade - Certification

Lately, some pet food manufacturers have been touting their products as human grade, but how do you know that the food you feed your pet is actually human grade? What exactly does “human grade” even mean?

You may have a general notion that human grade food is better for your dog or cat since it’s fit for humans as well. But did you know that pet food manufacturers can claim their foods and treats are “human grade” without any third-party verification?

Another problem with “human grade” labeling is how loosely the term is used. There is no universal legal definition for “human grade” — it can mean different things in different contexts.

If you’re looking to truly understand what your pet is eating, we’ll explain why you should look for the Human Grade Certification Seal in this article.

What does it mean if a pet food claims it’s “Human Grade”?

The problem with pet food manufacturers labeling their products as “human grade” is that there is no universally agreed-upon definition for that term. Anyone can print “human grade” on their packaging without any third party checking to see what that means.

Human grade could mean the ingredients individually are human grade, that it was manufactured in a facility that makes food for humans, or that a human might be able to eat it. Therefore, it is entirely possible that a product can be deceptively labeled “human grade”, and that it was made in a facility meant for animal foods or contains feed grade ingredients.

The Human Grade Certification program was founded to establish a clear definition of human grade.
Human Grade Pet Food Certifications

The Human Grade Certification Seal provides the comfort that you’re getting what you expect when seeing a human grade label.

How to tell if your pet food is actually human grade

When it comes to human grade pet food, the industry is like the Wild West. There is no standardized definition, and anyone can claim their product is human grade.

While most pet food makers have integrity, some companies may use the human grade label simply for marketing purposes without any real internal standards for what it means. For these reasons, it’s hard to believe any product is human grade just because it has those words on the label.

If your pet food says “human grade” on the packaging, ask yourself the following questions:

Does the packaging actually explain what that means?
Was any third-party involved in verifying the “human grade” claim?
Who decided to label the product “human grade” and why?
Are the ingredients clearly labeled?
How was the food processed, and in what types of facilities?

Answering these questions on your own isn’t feasible. That is why the Human Grade Certification program was started.

Human Grade Certifications Gold Seal — The Human Grade Certified Seal means a pet food maker certifies that their pet food would be fit for human consumption.

What does the Human Grade Certified Seal mean?

If you see a product with the Human Grade Certified seal on it, it means the pet food maker has certified the following 3 points:

Each and every ingredient is edible by humans.
The pet food or treat was made in a factory or kitchen that meets standards for producing food meant for human consumption.
The Human Grade Certified seal goes a step further: The seal also means the manufacturer certifies that their product has no added artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. These additives can be harmful to your pet’s health and don’t contribute vital nutrients.

Human Grade Pet Food

There is a lot of confusion in the pet food market about what “human grade” means or should mean and whether human grade food is actually more nutritious for pets.

Much is unknown about the optimal diet for pets. The best diet also depends on your pet’s preferences and individual health traits. Pet owners are becoming more sensitive about what they feed their pets, and many want to avoid highly processed foods made from subpar ingredients.

The official Human Grade Certified Seal empowers pet owners to know what their pet is eating and helps make educated decisions about the health of their animals. Consumers who decide to pay the premium for human grade pet foods should feel confident they are getting what they pay for.

Pet owners who buy human grade pet products with the Human Grade Certified Seal can feel more confident that what they buy actually meets their expectations.

What does Human Grade Pet Food Mean?

Posted on August 24, 2021 by Human Grade - Certification

Pet owners want the best for their animal friends and are rightly concerned about the ingredients in pet foods and how they are sourced. Pet owners have become more aware of what and how healthy the food is they feed their animals. To address this trend, pet food makers have taken to labeling their premium products as “human grade.” But what exactly does it mean for pet food to be human grade?

The answer is not as straightforward and may surprise you. This article will delve into what human grade means and the difference between a pet food labeled human grade versus one with a Human Grade Certification Seal.

What is Feed Grade pet food?

Before getting into Human Grade, we should explain what non-human grade pet food is. Most pet food is “feed grade,” which is an FDA standard. Feed grade food is deemed acceptable for pets but not for consumption by humans.

Feed grade food can contain by-products, chemicals, fillers, and animal parts you would not find in human food. Historically, feed grade pet food also contained the dreaded “4Ds”: parts from dying, diseased, disabled, or deceased animals.

In short, regular feed grade pet food — which most pet food on the market is — can contain some unpleasant ingredients that no reasonable person would ever want to put in their diet. It is also manufactured in plants not subject to the same rules and oversight as human food facilities.

What is Human Grade?

“Human grade” is a term that pet food makers have used to indicate that their products are made with the same standards applicable to food for humans. However, there is currently no universal legal definition for what “human grade” actually means. The term “human grade” is also not currently defined in official pet feed regulations.

A product labeled “human grade” implies that the food was made in accordance with the same standards for products made for human consumption. The U.S. Department of Agriculture refers to products fit for people as “edible.”

A product might claim “human grade” because the ingredients were sourced from a USDA meat plant. However, that labeling would potentially be misleading. The meat that leaves a USDA meatpacking plant can be inedible if it doesn’t meet standards for human consumption. It also says nothing about the facility that produced the final product.

To truly claim a pet food is made according to human food standards is a high bar. It means that every ingredient and the food production facility meets federal and state regulatory standards for human food. You should also be wary of products that claim to use “human grade ingredients” because that says nothing about the manufacturing process.

What is the AAFCO Standard for Human Grade?

AAFCO stands for the Association of American Feed Control Officials. They are a non-profit organization and voluntary membership association of local, state, and federal agencies. They are highly influential in the pet food industry and propose and set standards for pet foods in the United States.

For some time, AAFCO has been tinkering with a definition of “human grade” that could finally provide a standardized description. However, they have not yet committed to a final definition, and no official human grade standard has been enacted on a federal or state level. There has also been some controversy among pet food advocates in how AAFCO distinguishes human grade pet food from normal feed grade pet food.

What is the Human Grade Certification Seal?

The Human Grade Certification program was developed to clear up the confusion about what human grade means. If you see the Human Grade Certified seal on a product, it means the manufacturer has attested that every ingredient in the product is edible by humans. The product was processed in a facility that meets standards for human food production.

The Human Grade Certified seal also means the product has no added artificial flavorings, colors, or preservatives. A Human Grade Certification is not awarded unless every single requirement is met.

The Human Grade Certification Seal is a convenient way for pet food owners to find the foods they want for their pets on crowded pet food shelves.
Human Grade Pet Food Certifications

Can People Eat Human Grade Pet Food?

Humans should never eat human grade pet food. You may be wondering why since the pet food was made following human food standards. The reason is that pet food has a different nutritional profile than human food, and animals also have very different digestive systems.

A food designed for a pet is not intended for a human. Conversely, not all human foods are good for your pets. For example, foods like chocolate and nuts can be toxic to household pets, but they’re perfectly edible for most humans. Animals can also eat raw foods that humans have a hard time digesting. For these reasons, you should never consume foods intended for pets, even if they meet human grade standards.

How is Human-Grade Certification Different from Natural and Organic Grading?

Posted on February 22, 2021 by Human Grade - Certification

Pet lovers are much more willing to pay top dollar for quality pet food. The longevity of our pets may depend on the food we offer them. Because there are so many pet food options, decisions on the purchase are made more critically and informed. But, the dizzying array of pet foods and labeling can leave the average pet owner feeling overwhelmed. Pet food with a human-grade certification can satisfy even the most discerning pet owners and pets alike.

Pet Food Decisions

To help you make the appropriate food decisions for your pet, animal foods are certified for quality and content. Because we all want the best for our pets, becoming familiar with the main types of pet food grading can help us choose the best food options for our animals.

To help you, we’ll be using the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) definitions to clarify each pet food grading and certification. The AAFCO is an association of federal and state agencies that regulate the manufacturing and distribution of animal feed — which includes pet foods. The AAFCO provides definitions for regulatory laws and establishes regulations to ensure that animal feed is nutritionally adequate and safe.

Organic Certification

According to the AAFCO, organic pet food meets the processing standard of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA’s National Organic Program states that organic products are “produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.”

Organic products undergo stringent audits and investigations. As of yet, the are no organic regulations that pertain specifically to pet food. Currently, pet food certified as organic must meet the USDA National Organic Program definition as it pertains to organic human food regulations. To qualify as “certified organic,” pet food must be made of at least 95% organic ingredients.

Natural Certification

In the past, the term “natural” had ambiguous meanings and didn’t have a solid definition. These days, natural is a definite certification. According to AAFCO definition of natural is:

“A feed or feed ingredient derived solely from plant, animal or mined sources, either in its unprocessed state or having been subject to physical processing, heat processing, rendering, purification, extraction, hydrolysis, enzymolysis or fermentation, but not having been produced by or subject to a chemically synthetic process and not containing any additives or processing aids that are chemically synthetic except in amounts as might occur in good manufacturing practices.”

Beware of misleading “certified natural” labels. Many pet foods can be “natural,” but all-natural and 100% natural certifications are very specific. For a pet food product to be 100% natural, it must with every aspect of the AAFCO definition. Products that advertise an item as 100% can’t also have “added vitamins and minerals.”

Human-Grade Certification

The term “human-grade” isn’t currently defined by AAFCO, efforts are being made to establish a guideline to certify pet producers with. A human-grade certification would require unique and specific standards because there are no human-grade guidelines to compare animal feed with. The USDA, however, does define what items are “edible.” For an animal feed to meet human-grade certification, it would have to be fit for human consumption, thus meet the USDA definitions for edible food products.

Human-grade certification ensures that the food made for your pet was made as it would be for humans. Obtaining a human-grade certification for a pet food product would mean passing the same processing, manufacturing, and inspection hurdles that human food does. The USDA guidelines are so stringent and that very few pet food products would be able to make this claim at this time.

Silver and Gold Certification

As the desire for healthier pet food grows, so does the need to develop new certifications for higher grades of pet food. Silver certification is a new designation that combines the edible human-grade definition with other existing pet food regulations for pet safety. Free of artificial flavorings, colors, or preservatives, silver certification contains no rendered meat or by-products.

Gold certification, another new designation, meets all of the silver certification elements and is also minimally processed at a facility that meets the standard for human food production. Not only is it edible for humans, but gold certification is also made with human food processing standards in mind.

Human-grade certification differs from natural and organic grading by focusing on the ingredients and food production that is fit for human consumption, offering your pets grade A food. - Human Grade Pet Food Certifications — Human-grade certification differs from natural and organic grading by focusing on the ingredients and food production that is fit for human consumption, offering your pets grade A food.

Certification Considerations

You may think that your furry friend can consume the same foods you do. After all, what’s good for you should be suitable for man’s best friend, right? Well, the answer isn’t black and white. In general, all pet foods come from animals and plants that humans would consume. For example, humans and animals both eat chicken. The parts of the chicken fed to humans would be the breast and thighs. The organs and back, however, are what may end up in pet food. In theory, the same chicken parts could be consumed by humans, but we typically prefer the more traditional chicken parts! The plants we consume are also the same plants that end up in pet food.

Nutrients are also not a factor when it comes to the term human-grade, natural, or organic. AAFCO uses the same standards for nutrients, regardless of whether the pet food is your typical run-of-the-mill pet food or if it’s the higher-priced organic variety. When it comes to nutrients, human-grade or organic pet food may not be all that different from regular pet food. What is different is how the food was grown, processed, and packaged. Organic dog food, for example, may not have genetically engineered plant ingredients. And human-grade cat food receives the same factory processing as human food does. In the end, the nutritional value may be the same, but pet owners may find other aspects more beneficial than others. It’s up to the preference of the pet owners and the guidance of a veterinarian.

The Truth About Pet Food

What’s important is that pets aren’t routinely fed the same foods that we eat — like table food. Just because a food product is fit for human consumption doesn’t mean that it’s safe for a pet to eat. Chocolate, for example, is a delicious treat for humans. For dogs, however, it can be toxic. Researchers and manufacturers formulate pet foods to have the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins, and nutrients for the animal it’s made for. Although dogs may enjoy — and perhaps beg for — the same food we have at the dinner table, the food we eat for ourselves may not be what’s best for them in the long run.

An animal’s digestive and nutritional needs are very different from our own, and finding the right formulation requires attention to detail and knowledge of animal health. It’s best to leave it to the professionals! Whether you choose traditional, human-grade, or organic pet food, know that the ingredients and nutrients may not be all that different. The decision always comes down to what’s best for you and safe for your pet.