The Farmer’s Dog pet food firm filed a complaint with the BBB National Capabilities’ National Marketing Division (NAD) concerning marketing of Freshpet pet food.

“Farmer’s Dog argued that three video commercials encompass varied statements and photos that essentially imply that Freshpet’s dogs food is human grade.”

“In a social media advertisement, a dogs proprietor states ‘We delight in contemporary, exact food as necessary as that you just’d also judge of at home, so pointless to thunder, we desire the connected for Benji. That’s why we give him Freshpet Fresh from the Kitchen Home Cooked Rooster Recipe’ and Freshpet dogs food is ‘made with the connected level of quality I desire in my dangle food.’”

“NAD sure that these claims declare a message that Freshpet dogs food is human grade and suggested Freshpet close the claims as they give the impact of being within the Benji video.”

Freshpet agreed to abide by the National Marketing Divisions (NAD) concepts.

There are loads of existing regulations that are repeatedly uncared for by FDA and Notify Feed Officers that resulted in The Farmer’s Dog escalating the deceptive marketing claim to NAD.

Per the FDA web yelp material, “Allotment 201(m) of the FD&C Act defines ‘labeling’ as all labels and various written, printed, or graphic topic upon any article or any of its containers or wrappers, or accompanying such articles alongside side promotional brochures, promotional pamphlets, testimonials, product files sheets, books, and loads others., (21 U.S.C. 321(m)).”

This implies that concerning to claims made in marketing, a pet food must meet the connected correct requirements of the exact pet food tag.

The Federal Food Drug and Beauty Act defines a mislabeled food as:

“A food will probably be deemed to be misbranded-
(a) If (1) its labeling is erroneous or deceptive in any particular”

Particular to human grade pet food, regulations are very sure. In advise to impress a claim of human grade pet food (on the tag or in marketing and marketing), a producer is required:

“In advise to substantiate that a ‘human grade’ pet food claim is truthful and no longer deceptive on merchandise manufactured in an FDA Human Food Facility discipline to 21 CFR Allotment 117, the agency must protect and affect on hand upon quiz, documentation enough to hiss that:
a. All individual formula provided to the producer that are additional utilized within the private of human grade pet food, are staunch to delight in.
b. Every ingredient and the resulting product are stored, handled, processed, and transported in a manner that is fixed and compliant with 21 CFR phase 117 and the rest product is assumed of ready-to-delight in;
c. The manufacturing facility is licensed to originate human food by all acceptable/required authorities”

All pet food manufacturers are required to register with FDA, with full disclosure of their facilities being a certified pet food facility or a certified human food facility. That pertinent files modified into at FDA’s fingertips…however the agency did nothing to shut the deceptive marketing.

As properly, every pet food regulatory authority is properly attentive to the strict requirements for a pet food in making a human grade claim (on the tag or in marketing and marketing). Nonetheless every other time, no longer one pet food regulatory authority did anything to shut pet food shoppers from being misled.

The AAFCO web yelp material states: “All claims made for the product must be truthful and must no longer be deceptive to the particular person. As an illustration, if there is easiest a puny quantity of an ingredient, then the title of the ingredient must always still no longer be within the supreme form on the tag. One more instance is that the graphics (images) on the tag must describe what’s actually within the product. An image of apples on a equipment without any apples within the product would be deceptive.”

Yet the pet food regulatory participants of AAFCO (Notify Feed Officers and FDA) have finished nothing to provide protection to pet food shoppers from pet foods with images of roasted hen or grilled steak on the tag when the product contains no roasted hen or grilled steak.

Merely about a examples of many:

Thru AAFCO, FDA and Notify Feed Officers write authorized guidelines beneath the pretense of shielding shoppers. Nonetheless they repeatedly fail to position in power these regulations…which straight misleads shoppers (and advantages alternate).

Our attributable to the National Marketing Division of the Better Enterprise Bureau. No longer lower than somebody took action to provide protection to pet food shoppers.

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Point out
Author Purchaser Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Affiliation for Fact in Pet Food

Accumulate Wholesome Pet Meals in Your Build Click on Right here

The 2026 List
Our depended on ‘checklist’ of pet foods. Click on Right here to learn extra.

The 2025/26 Address List
Susan’s List of depended on pet treat manufacturers. Click on Right here to learn extra.

Affiliation for Fact in Pet Food is a stakeholder organization representing pet food shoppers at AAFCO and with FDA. Your membership helps representatives back meetings and say particular person concerns with regulatory authorities. Click on Right here to learn extra.