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Feed grade pet foods could use 100% human grade ingredients or they could use 100% feed grade ingredients or they could use a combination of both. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell by looking at the label. Considering that each US State and the FDA allows pet foods to use illegal, risky ingredients (diseased and non-slaughtered animals) – every pet food consumer should ask their pet food these questions…
Please note you are asking about the pet food, not the manufacturing facility. Some pet foods will respond ‘Yes, our pet foods are manufactured in a USDA facility’ or ‘Yes, our pet foods are manufactured at a USDA inspected facility’. This is not what you asked. You want to know specifically if the pet food was manufactured under USDA inspection (your question is about the food, not the plant).
The difference between human grade pet food and feed grade pet food can be dramatic or no difference at all. Here is an understanding of the two, to know what you are feeding your pet.
Most feed grade pet foods use feed grade supplements. Yes, there are human grade vitamins and minerals and there are feed grade vitamins and minerals. Feed grade supplements would be a lesser quality than human grade, they are not held to the same standards as human grade.
This means that every ingredient – including every supplement – are human edible…you could eat the pet food. All pet foods that do not meet the full definition of human grade are feed grade.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees 21 CFR 110 and is following a similar protocol for determining if pet foods can use the term “human-grade” on their labels.
Now that clear guidelines are available, the FDA may soon begin to take notice of these sorts of infractions, but pet parents must decide for themselves whether the distinction between human-grade dog foods and those made from human-grade ingredients is important to them.
The standards used to regulate human food production are more meticulous than those applied to pet food production. If a manufacturer’s goal is to stay just on the legal side of applicable regulations, foods that are edible for people will be made with higher-quality ingredients and have a lower risk of contamination than will those that are made for pets.
A claim that something is “human-grade” or “human-quality” implies that the article being referred to is “edible” for people in legally defined terms…. For a product to be human edible, all ingredients in the product must be human edible and the product must be manufactured, packed and held in accordance with federal regulations in 21 CFR 110, Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packing, or Holding Human Food. If these conditions exist, then human-grade claims may be made.
Despite these clarifications, you might find dog food manufacturers who say that their products are made from “human-grade ingredients.” This implies that while some or all of their ingredients may have started out as being fit for human consumption, somewhere along the manufacturing, packing, and holding process, 21 CFR 110 standards were not adhered to, and the final product can’t be labeled as “human-grade dog food.”
Top 5 Reasons to Feed Human-Grade Pet Food by Dr. Karen Becker
In a world of commercial pet food industry-specific jargon that is often incomprehensible to the average dog owner, the term “human grade,” which is popping up on more and more pet food labels, would seem to be self-explanatory.
So, what is human grade dog food? In reality, while the term is in increasing use on labels and in marketing materials, “human grade dog food” has no legal definition. The regulated – legal – terms that are used to discriminate between foods that are processed, marketed, and sold for human consumption and those that are intended for consumption by pets and other non-human animals are “edible” (humans can eat) and “inedible” (animals can eat). Let’s clear these waters so you understand the difference between the legal terms and the potential for wiggle room provided by the use of the more casual phrase “human grade.” It’s important to know the difference
Still, when you see the words “human grade” on a dog food package, these words do have important meaning and should be given careful consideration – not least because, as one might expect, it turns out that these foods have something special to offer.
Foods that are edible are handled, processed, transported and stored under a set of regulations that are specifically designed to keep products both nutritious and safe. In contrast, inedible foods enter a separate supply stream that is demonstrably more relaxed in its requirements for preserving nutrient value and preventing microbial contamination during handling and transport.
For obvious reasons, the terms edible and inedible, while technically correct, do not sit well with most pet owners. Enter the term “human-grade.” Although the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) does not yet have a formal definition for this phrase, they have accepted its use in the pet food industry and allow it to be included on pet food labels provided the following standards are met:
“The term “human grade” represents the product to be human edible. For a product to be human edible, all ingredients in the product must be human edible and the product must be manufactured, packed and held in accordance with federal regulations in 21 CFR 110, Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packing, or Holding Human Food.”