Why We Don’t Use ‘Feed Grade’ ingredients

Every ingredient in Bubba’s Bowl food is human-grade. This means that each ingredient meets or exceeds the standards set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for human-consumable food. This is a standard that we set for our dog family since before we started selling dog food. 

Most commercially available dog food adheres to a standard called feed-grade. Feed-grade food is legal for consumption by pets and livestock, but does not meet the higher safety and sanitation standards required for human consumption. For example, feed-grade foods can include what are commonly known as 4D meat products - animals that are dying, diseased, disabled or deceased before slaughter. They can also include animal blood, ground bone, fillers and by-products. Most commercially available kibble and canned dog food consists primarily of feed-grade ingredients.

When we first started making food for our dogs, we set our standards high - we didn’t feed anything to our dogs that we wouldn’t eat ourselves. We bought all of our proteins, vegetables, fruits and nutrients from vendors who sold to supermarkets and restaurants. It was more expensive, but it ensured that our dog family’s food adhered to the same high standards that were required of human food. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: While our food consists entirely of human-grade ingredients, we are not licensed to produce human food.