What's in your blends?Updated 8 days ago

Every ingredient is selected for its contribution to the nutrient profile, including digestibility and nutrient absorption for the intended species. Every ingredient is human-grade, meaning that every ingredient comes from the same suppliers used by restaurants and grocery stores.

You'll never see meals, by-products, glutens, synthetic amino acids, colors, sugars, or other fillers listed in our ingredients. Instead, you'll find fresh, whole foods that are naturally rich in nutrients.

In addition to the essential nutrients listed in the nutrient profiles, fresh whole foods contain a variety of other nutrients that help to promote a healthier immune system and digestive tract. These nutrients include antioxidants, which help to delay or prevent cell damage as pets age; glucosinolates, which contain anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties; proanthocyanidins that inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria in the digestive tract; glycoglycerolipids that help protect the lining of the digestive tract and reduce inflammation; and flavonoids, which also have antiviral properties. These names of these substances are not routinely used in everyday language, but they are powerful contributors to a healthier system and are found in the fresh, whole foods that are in every My Perfect Pet blend!

My Perfect Pet purchases only from packers who are under continual USDA inspection for human food manufacturing. All our foods are sourced in the USA, except for lamb, which may come from New Zealand or Australia, and coconut oil from the Philippines. We locally source to the extent possible and trace every ingredient back to its source.

At My Perfect Pet, we care about the compassionate treatment of all animals and are working to ensure that our turkey, chicken, and beef ingredients are sourced from welfare-certified farms and ranches and that select blend recipes earn a certification recognized by the ASPCA®’s Shop With Your Heart® program to have all products certified by 2027.

Proteins

The #1 ingredient in every blend is boneless skinless muscle meat - like chicken and turkey breast & thigh, beef round, lamb shoulder, pork loin, and wild salmon filet. Our blends vary from 86%-99% protein FROM MUSCLE meat. There's no need to add artificial meat flavor to our blends. We use real meat, not just meat flavor.

All proteins are boneless and skinless. Never any pre-ground or mechanically deboned meat – our cuts are the same ones you recognize in your grocery store or on your menu. One of our company perks is employee purchase of meats and other ingredients at cost, because our team knows the quality of our ingredients is at least as good as what they can buy in the store.

Muscle meat is naturally rich in all essential amino acids, including Taurine, so you’ll never see synthetic Taurine or any other synthetic amino acid on our ingredients list. Values for Taurine and all essential amino acids are included in the nutrient profiles on our website, so dog and cat owners can rest assured their pets are getting all the nutrients they need.

Produce

All vegetables are as fresh and delicious as any you’d find in a farmers' market or vegetable stand. All are inspected and certified by the USDA for human consumption. We locally source to the extent possible. (Cranberries aren’t grown in our area, but Ocean Spray Cranberry is just down the road, so we have no problem getting fresh cranberries!)

Raw vegetables are rich in nutrients, as well as live enzymes and powerful antioxidants. While not listed in AAFCO nutrient profiles as essential nutrients, enzymes and antioxidants play an important role in aiding digestion and helping to build a healthy immune system.

Fine grinding helps to break the vegetables down to be more digestible and makes it easier for the pet’s system to absorb the nutrients.

Every vegetable contributes to the nutrient profile, as well as adding enzymes, antioxidants, and other substances that contribute to a healthier immune system. While whole potatoes often get a bad rap in pet food, a properly baked and flash-cooled potato is rich in many essential nutrients. Flash cooling makes the starch resistant, meaning that while still highly digestible, it breaks down more slowly in the digestive tract, avoiding the glucose spike associated with processed potatoes or potato by-products. Even the Glycemic Research Institute endorses the use of freshly baked and cooled whole potatoes when blended with high-quality meats.

You will never see scrap potatoes, potato powders, or potato starches in our blends. Every whole potato is hand-inspected to ensure there is no hint of green or sprouts, washed, baked, and flash-cooled. Our potato suppliers tell us we are pickier than any restaurant, as we will reject an entire pallet if we see any potatoes that have even a hint of green. We remind them that we accept nothing but the best. Learn more about why we use potatoes.

Whole Grains

Whole-grain brown rice is rich in many essential nutrients as well as antioxidants. You will never see brewer’s rice, rice hulls, or rice starches in our blends. Our whole-grain rice is soaked, then rinsed, then baked until tender, then flash-cooled to make the starch more resistant. While still highly digestible, resistant starch breaks down more slowly in the digestive tract, avoiding the glucose spike associated with processed grains or grain by-products. Even the Glycemic Research Institute endorses the use of cooked whole-grain brown rice when blended with high-quality meats. Learn more about why we use whole-grain brown rice.

Supplements

Studies show the absorption, bioavailability, and tolerability of nutrients from fresh, whole, natural foods to be higher than synthetic supplements, and so, to the extent possible, we use natural, fresh, whole foods that are easily digested by dogs and cats, and add natural vitamin and mineral supplements only as needed to meet the nutrient profiles. All supplements are human-grade and individually sourced and selected to be the most digestible and easily absorbed by dogs and cats.

The absorption of certain minerals is significantly higher when compounded or chelated (compared to natural sources such as clay, etc.), so mineral supplements may be compounded to be more easily digested and absorbed. You can learn more about the supplements we use here.