- What are the key factors pet owners should consider when choosing a raw pet food brand?
- How can pet owners determine the quality and safety of raw pet food products?
- Are there specific ingredients or nutritional components that pet owners should look for or avoid in raw pet food?
- How do different raw pet food brands compare in terms of sourcing and ingredient transparency?
- What should pet owners know about the storage and handling of raw pet food to ensure it remains safe and nutritious?
- Can you share some common misconceptions about raw pet food diets and how to address them?
- What advice do you have for pet owners transitioning their pets to a raw food diet for the first time?
When it comes to feeding our pets, quality and safety are of utmost importance—especially with the growing popularity of raw diets. To help pet owners make informed decisions, we spoke with Isis Limor, the founder and managing director of PaleoPet Pure Raw Food for pets, a leading brand in the raw pet food industry. Isis shares her expertise on what to look for in raw pet food, how to ensure its safety, and common misconceptions about raw diets.
What are the key factors pet owners should consider when choosing a raw pet food brand?
Quality should really be top of mind when feeding raw food. The reason for this is that when you feed food raw you do not have the sterilisation benefits that heating offers; and so it is important that the ingredients used are what are termed ‘human food grade’. What this means is that the food product has been processed in an environment that has Food Safety in place, is dressed and fit for human consumption and intended for the human food chain. While even ingredients of this quality will still carry some bacteria, they will be far fewer than those found in lesser grade meat products.
Quality also pertains to the quality of the formulation; many raw food brands use calculated nutritional values (rather than chemical analysis) or simply add a pre-mixed vitamin and mineral pack that ‘covers all bases’ as defined by AAFCO or NRC or FEDIAF (various regulatory bodies throughout the world for pet food). This can lead to over supplementation with some things and so a food which adds specific vitamins or minerals that may be slightly lacking is preferable. These should be listed in the ingredients. The more vitamins and minerals you see in the ingredients, the more supplementation has been added – not the nutrient declaration, but the list of ingredients. If you don’t see any, then there is chance the food is not ‘complete’. If you don’t see much in terms of nutritional declarations, the same applies.
A good quality raw formulation derives 99% of the required nutrition from food with minimal supplementation,
How can pet owners determine the quality and safety of raw pet food products?
There are some things to look for when shopping for any pet food, be it raw or otherwise that will give a good indication of quality and safety. Firstly, any pet food sold commercially in South Africa must be registered and approved by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD). Approved products carry a “V-number” on their label. The DALRRD would have approved the label and as such, some things are mandatory declarations. These include the list of ingredients, the registered “V-Number”, the manufacturer and contact details and in the case of a complete pet food, there would also be nutritional declarations which, at a minimum, would state the moisture, protein, fat, calcium and phosphorus, although it is preferable to see more than that on a complete pet food label. The more transparent a label is in terms of the information it offers, likely the higher the quality of the pet food. Obscure ingredients simply listed as “chicken’ or ‘beef’, could mean any part of the animal; intestines, heads and other low nutritional value ingredients. Brands which specify their ingredients i.e. Chicken Liver or Chicken Heart are far preferable, as there is likely more control over what is used and the food should offer better, more precise nutrition.
Brands which are stocked in mainstream grocery retail (all pet food brands) like Pick n Pay or Woolworths insist that their suppliers have Audited Food Safety systems in place in order to ensure the food is ’safe’ from a number of perspectives. Many boutique or chain pet food stores do not insist on the same Food Safety standards and there are very few raw pet food companies that have audited Food Safety programmes. Food Safety ensures a number of things: product quality, production line monitoring, policies and critical control points that prevent things like foreign objects from making their way into food. Food Safety also means that from a raw food perspective, bacteria is monitored to ensure that the food and the environment it is processed in, are within the tolerances for food production.
Are there specific ingredients or nutritional components that pet owners should look for or avoid in raw pet food?
A well-formulated raw food should have a calcium-to-phosphorous ratio of no more than 2:1. This should be declared on the label. Ingredients specificity is preferred to vague ingredient descriptions (as per above). Raw pet food which has Omega 3 added means that the balance of Omegas 6 & 9 to Omega 3 will be better and this aids is reducing inflammation (along with a bunch of other benefits).
The addition of Kelp is a traditional staple of a good raw food diet. It is best to avoid ingredients like heads, intestines and other true offal waste; these ingredients offer little in the way of nutrition and are prone to being bacteria or parasite-laden, but they are not often declared – in these instances, you will often see more nondescript terms.
How do different raw pet food brands compare in terms of sourcing and ingredient transparency?
In my opinion, the market (both raw producer and consumer) is somewhat naive when it comes to the regulatory requirements that apply to pet food. You will often see products with labels which are missing information that should be there. If a pet food is COMPLETE or BALANCED, then it will state that on the packaging – if that is what has been approved. If it is not a complete pet food, but rather a COMPLEMENTARY one (which is not designed to be fed in isolation, but in addition to a complete pet food), then it should state that on the packaging (DALRRD requires this), but you will often see small brand or raw pet foods which do neither. The assumption then must be that the food is COMPLEMENTARY and not COMPLETE.
Unfortunately, our regulatory bodies do not enforce the regulations as much as they should. Hopefully, this changes, and we will start to see better regulation, specifically in the raw segment, which should mean that consumers are given more and/or correct information on packaging. We also see a lot of claims made by cooked and raw pet food producers which are simply untrue or cannot be substantiated. Again this is a failing from a regulatory perspective. The claims range from being the most natural to being organic with no substantiation.
From a sourcing perspective, this varies greatly, some raw companies use regulated suppliers, some do not. If the producer has Food Safety in place that is audited annually then they would need to use regulated suppliers. If this is not a requirement, then they can literally procure from anywhere. DALRRD does not want to know the source of the ingredients. The best raw foods source Free Range poultry (that is certified – again you may see claims of ‘organic’, but it is highly unlikely to be certified as such); poultry is a meat product that when factory farmed is loaded with antibiotics and the finished product often has brine injected into it to increase the meat volume. This truly compromises the benefits of feeding a raw diet.
What should pet owners know about the storage and handling of raw pet food to ensure it remains safe and nutritious?
Food should always be defrosted in the fridge and only be taken out to serve. It can be left once served to warm up a little, but any remaining product should go straight back into the fridge. Bacteria proliferates above 5˚C so food should never go above this temperature. If one stores it this way and the food is of good quality, it can usually be stored for 2-3 days before it needs to be finished. Lower-quality raw foods should be fed and finished on the same day. A good quality raw food should not have much smell, smelly food is an indication that the quality may not be great.
Pet owners should wash their hands before and after handling any meat products (one can also transfer bacteria to the food) and wash dog bowls in hot soapy water. Things like bleach are not necessary, but hot soapy water will remove any biofilm from the pet’s bowl, A stainless steel bowl is often preferred for this reason. Plastic can scratch and bacteria can build up in the crevices; some plastics also leach chemicals into food or water.
Zoonotic transmission of bacteria is highly unlikely unless a pet owner makes contact with the feces of an animal which might be shedding bacteria. A pet owner will not pick up bacteria from a pet who has eaten raw food by being licked (for e.g.). Bacteria can be transferred from food to humans through contact and that is why hand washing is important.
Food should ideally be used within 6 months of manufacturing (depending on how it is packaged) when stored frozen.
Can you share some common misconceptions about raw pet food diets and how to address them?
Some people think that because they feed a raw food diet, this means they need to deworm more often or wash their dog’s bowls in bleach (which can have negative consequences if not washed off properly); mostly, these are overreactions. A good quality raw pet food should present no more of a hygiene hazard than any regular meat in your kitchen and should be handled the same way as other meat products.
A raw food producer who is informed has processes to ensure that parasites are not a risk, this involves freezing ingredients for specific amounts of time at specific temperatures. Most parasite oocytes are killed by freezing for 72 hours at -20˚C. The only exception is pork, which can carry tapeworm and that oocyte requires freezing at a lower temperature for a longer period. For this reason we don’t advocate for feeding pork. So if you don’t feed pork and your pet doesn’t hunt or scavenge, then you need not deworm any more regularly than one normally would.
Some people also think feeding their pets raw meat is dangerous. A lot of this has been promulgated by sectors which are either against or uninformed about raw food. Cats and dogs have very short digestive tracts and extremely acidic stomachs, which means they are well adapted to digest meat and also to kill bacteria within the digestive tract. The short tract also means that food is digested quickly (compared to a rabbit for example) and so it needs to be nutrient dense in order for the nutrition to be effective. Most commercial pet foods are overloaded with synthetic supplementation simply because so little is actually absorbed.
Handling is one of the most important aspects of feeding a raw diet safely – other than that, there is very little difference in how you would treat feeding raw food to any other food – but there are far more benefits than one would see with any other type of food.
What advice do you have for pet owners transitioning their pets to a raw food diet for the first time?
Start simple and use a high quality product, then they are unlikely to have a negative experience with raw food.Starting simply means finding a product that has clear ingredients and is preferably a single protein, feed that for a few days before you introduce a new protein.
If you are starting a young puppy or kitten, then feeding a high-quality raw pet food is essential. Young animals do not have the same capacity for bacteria that older animals do. it is also important when feeding young pets that the bulk of their food is complete and offers all the nutrients they will need to grow and be healthy.
Senior animals sometimes need a slightly different raw diet that has a little more fibre and a little less protein. Pet owners should look for brands that have different types of formulations that might address different needs.
Cat foods should be specifically formulated for cats, you cannot feed a cat dog food, but you can feed a dog cat food 🙂 Cat nutrition is more delicate and precise and so pet owners should look for products that are COMPLETE (and say so) and that are aimed specifically at cats. Some raw food brands market their products for both, but the product may only be registered for one (usually dog).
Choosing the right raw pet food brand is about more than just picking what’s available—it’s about understanding the details that impact your pet’s health. As Isis Limor highlighted, prioritising transparency, quality, and proper handling practices can make all the difference. By following these guidelines, you can confidently transition your pet to a raw diet that meets their nutritional needs and supports their well-being.
About PaleoPet Pure Raw Pet Food
Managing Director and Dounder of PaleoPet Pure Raw Food
Isis Limor is the managing director and founder of PaleoPet Pure Raw Food for Pets. With nearly two decades of experience in raw pet feeding, she follows the BARF method and is deeply committed to formulating nutritionally rich meals using whole foods, minimizing supplementation to less than 1%. Originally trained as a designer, Isis holds a degree in Graphic Design and worked as a Creative Director in branding and FMCG before shifting her focus to pet nutrition. Though self-taught in the field, she has a foundational certification in raw pet food formulation and a strong understanding of food’s nutrient capacity.
