Lucy Postins, founder of The Honest Kitchen petfood company, was recently featured in an article for not only sampling each ingredient that goes into the food, but also sampling the final product.
Postins says she tests each of the petfood recipes for food for flavor, aroma and color. All her recipes are made in a a human food facility, rather than a petfood plant, and the ingredients are sourced from the human food chain, allowing the company to achieve a "human grade" rating from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The dog food she produces includes ingredients like free-range chicken, ranch-raised beef, sweet potatoes, eggs, bananas and dandelion greens. The ingredients are blended together, then the recipe is mixed with water by the consumer.
According to Postins: "There are a lot of people who think their pets are inferior and don't deserve quality food. But so many people are becoming educated on conventional petfood ingredients and production that they want to make a move away from that.
"By actually tasting the food ourselves I think it's a sound way of walking our own talk and helping to assure people we actually mean what we say about product integrity and quality. Some of my friends think it's an odd thing to do, but most of them have pets they love as much as - or in some cases maybe even more than - their own children so can see where I'm coming from.
"A recent 2013 survey showed 74 percent of customers saw an improvement in the well-being and energy levels of their pets from eating the products. And 70 percent saw an improvement in their pet's skin and coat while 60 percent noticed an improvement in their pets' weight. The proof really is in the pudding and our foods are good enough to eat."