Safety
Dedicated To Making Safe Pet Food
We are privileged to be seen as one of the leading natural* pet food companies globally. For almost 100 years we have been crafting pet nutrition and we firmly believe that it is our duty to pet owners and their animals to uphold only the best manufacturing practices, robust food safety processes and quality assurance programs so that we can produce one of the healthiest and safest pet food in the world for dogs and cats. For Wellness, making the superior natural* pet food is a combination of selecting only the finest quality ingredients and combining them with the highest level of care and commitment within our company owned manufacturing facilities.
Our Manufacturing Commitment and Certifications:
We have developed substantial internal quality assurance programs in addition to adhering to independent, third-party certifications, compliances, and regulations. With manufacturing plants across both the USA & Netherlands and examples of our dedication to quality assurance include the following processes:
Food Safety Management System & Food Defense and Security Programs
Here at Wellness, we operate a complete food safety management system that eliminates or controls food safety hazards to ensure that food is safe at the time of consumption. In addition to the stringent external 3rd party food safety auditing processes, We have implemented our own food safety auditing process, to ensure we have the appropriate protocols and programs in place to reduce the risk of “intentional” acts on the food chain. We feel as an American food company that it is our obligation to our human customers and to dog and cats to do our part in protecting our country’s food chain. Examples that we have implemented include:
- Identify all potential food safety hazards that may be reasonably expected to occur in the pet food business’ operations.
- Identify solutions for either removing or controlling these hazards.
- Include daily records that demonstrate regular measurement and observation for each of the controls.
- Provide procedures for corrective action that prevent products being released for sale and rectify the issue when a hazard is found to not be under control.
- Provide for the regular review of the program by the pet food business to ensure its adequacy.
British Retail Consortium (BRC) Certification
BRC certification is a food safety standard that demonstrates a food company’s commitment to industry best practices. To obtain and maintain certification, companies undergo third-party audits against the standard’s requirements performed by an accredited certification body (CB). Becoming GFSI-certified has several benefits. It helps to implement a consistent, measurable program for mitigating risks, and may also help to secure contracts with key customers. And, since many customers are confident in the competence of the BRC CBs to conduct thorough audits, it may prevent your company from experiencing “audit fatigue.” Being certified in a GFSI scheme can also aid in compliance with the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
Wellness Pet Company’s Plants receive continual superior ratings for the last four years with Mishawaka, South Saint Paul and Decatur manufacturing facilities in the USA and our Veendam facility in the Netherlands.
HACCP
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) was developed by the World Health Organisation for NASA and today is identified as one of the best approaches to food safety by using techniques that help identify and prevent food safety concerns from ingredients right through the production process, storage and distribution to sale and service of the final consumer. The preventive approach of HACCP based procedures not only improves food safety management but also underpins other quality management systems and, most importantly, ensures that the pet food fed to a dog or cat will not harm the animal or their owner.
Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP)
Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) are the practices required by the USA FDA under authority of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). The regulations were recently strengthened under the Food Safety Modernization Act and provide a framework for a “risk based” approach to pet food manufacturing which includes requirements such as record keeping, personnel qualifications, sanitation, cleanliness, equipment verification, process validation, and complaint handling to ensure that a food or drug product is safe for consumption and does not pose any risk to the consumer or public.
Wellness Pet Company’s Plants receive continual superior ratings for the last four years with Mishawaka, South Saint Paul and Decatur manufacturing facilities in the USA and our Veendam facility in the Netherlands.
FDA Registered and Audited
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates pet food in the USA to ensure that the finished products are safe for pets to eat, are produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances, and are truthfully labeled. The FDA also ensures that the ingredients used in pet food are safe and have an appropriate function in the pet food and many of these regulations are based on a model provided by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). In the USA, the FDA can also hold brands accountable to safety by personally auditing manufacturing sites, by randomly testing products off the shelves at pet stores and by their operation of a Reportable Food Registry that requires pet food companies to report all incidents of product adulteration with clear next steps required for any issue based on the seriousness of the adulteration.
USDA APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) Approved
To ensure that products made in the United States, do not pose any potential health issue to other countries’ (or North America’s) animals, the USDA APHIS has established regulations and registration for facilities handling ingredients used in the pet food industry. Wellness Pet’s US manufacturing facilities are inspected by USDA APHIS, enabling our dog and cat food and treats to represent healthy offerings available from the USA to the international community.
VETERINARIAN RECOMMENDED
Wellness’ complete and balanced products for cats and dogs meet the criteria that veterinarians look for in a pet food brand resulting in 4 out of 5 vets recommending Wellness.
- Wellness formulates and produces diets adhering to the highest food safety standards.
- Wellness employs expert formulators and animal nutritionists who ensure that the diets are backed by scientific research and formulated to meet the specific nutritional needs of dogs and cats.
- Wellness conducts AAFCO feeding trials and invests in additional research to ensure that pets thrive when eating Wellness.
- Nutrient profiles for all Wellness complete and balanced diets are available to the public, which allows pet parents and veterinarians to make informed decisions when selecting a product.