Why our Dog and Cat Food Comes from New Zealand
Dog food recalls. Tainted ingredients. Manufacturing problems.
Social media is full of bad news out of the pet food industry. It can be confusing and overwhelming to distinguish what is (and isn’t) relevant news. Plus, customers worry--rightfully so--about the products they’re feeding their pets.
The best way to combat these scares? Education.
One key area that Isle of Dogs wants to educate customers on is why nourish, our new air-dried dog and cat food, comes from New Zealand.
It all comes down to food safety.
The ingredients that come from New Zealand have to meet that country's rigorous food safety standards. While “made in the USA” has become synonymous with safety and with quality, it’s important to share with customers that New Zealand is just as safe.
In fact, in 2012, New Zealand became the first foreign country that the US’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognized as comparable to the US. According to the FDA, “This leads the way to a new level of regulatory cooperation to enhance food safety while facilitating trade between the two countries.”
Then, two years after that determination, New Zealand took it upon themselves to overhaul their food safety standards to be even more rigorous. Because of this, your customers can rest assured that ingredients coming out of New Zealand are held to the same--or better--food safety standards as ingredients sourced in the US.
Even beyond food safety, another important point to relay to consumers is that the meat sourced from New Zealand is humanely-raised. The beef, lamb, and chicken all come from free-range farms and all farms adhere to the legislation ensuring humane handling of livestock.
When customers come in looking for “made in the USA” pet foods, being armed with info to help them understand that “made in New Zealand” is just as safe can help make the sale and reassure pet owners who are nervous about ingredients that come from outside the States.
