Our philosophy is simple. If it’s essential for people to include whole foods in their diets, it’s essential for your dog as well. That’s why we make our food from many of the same ingredients you enjoy on your table.
Why Frozen?
When you use only the freshest, natural, human grade quality ingredients in your dog food your left with one final question about your product. What next? Do you turn it into a dry dog food and cook it at such high heat that the nutrients get burned out? Or do you pack it with so many artificial preservatives that it doesn’t even need refrigeration? We decided the only way to keep the good stuff in and the bad stuff out was to fresh freeze it. Unopened it keeps in your freezer for 12 months and your fridge for about 10 days.
Why isn’t my current food good enough for my pet?
There is a growing belief that the majority of commercial pet food provides little more than the minimal sustenance needed to keep a pet alive. This starts to make sense once you realize what can legally be added to pet food. The use of non-nutritional substitutes (feathers, animal by-products), roadkill, diseased or prematurely dead animals, and horribly, euthanized cats and dogs are all potential and legal ingredients.
What does human-grade really mean?
Our first line of products provides human grade ingredients in balanced nutritional recipes. Let’s explain what that means.
We have chosen not to use any ingredient that can’t go into food consumed by humans. We also follow the same list of food exclusions that Wild Oats uses for every food product sold in their stores. Although we are not inspected for human consumption, we prepare our foods with that same standard of quality. In fact our food is produced in the same kitchens where food for people is made. In addition our foods are not processed in any way besides what your mom would do in her kitchen. Carrots are diced, beef is sliced, oats are boiled. No additives, artificial color, or even preservatives of any kind are added. We believe we are providing the best dog food in the market. Frankly, we believe that most food in the supermarket is less healthy than PeopleFüd.
This food is more expensive than what I currently buy. Why?
The price of real meat, vegetables and grains costs us a little more, and it will cost you a little more. But we are making the best food your pets have ever had. A better diet, combined with regular exercise, will provide your dog a better quality, longer life.
PeopleFüd Frequently Asked Questions
Is PeopleFüd Human Grade?
Yes it is. We buy only human grade ingredients, the same ones you could buy for your family. It is worth noting that there are human grade ingredients that are not normally used in the human food supply, such as rendered meat, so we do not use them. Our meats are cuts you could get at the supermarket, and would look great on the grill. The grains are whole grains; the vegetables are whole fresh vegetables.
Why is it frozen?
Because we don’t use preservatives. We buy fresh ingredients and turn them into PeopleFüd without doing anything to extend the shelf life.
Is PeopleFüd all natural?
PeopleFüd uses 100% all natural ingredients. It’s another reason we have to freeze it as we use no preservatives. Keep in mind the term “natural” doesn’t really have a legal definition with any of the food regulatory groups. We use it to mean fresh, unprocessed foods.
Are you organic?
Not at this time, although many of our ingredients are. We are working to increase our percentage of organic ingredients all the time and hope to have some complete organic recipes this year.
Is PeopleFüd food raw?
No, our food is gently cooked at the lowest temperature by law so that we don’t destroy the nutrients, but make the food safe for your pet. We do not have a raw diet at this time, but it is also in the works. We decided to start with gently cooked recipes and will release a raw recipe later this year.
Are all of the ingredients human grade?
All the ingredients we use are purchased for human consumption. We are approved by the Colorado Department of Agriculture and prepare our food in our health department inspected facility. We could get a USDA label if we wanted and sell our stew to humans, but we are partial to pets.
Do all PeopleFüd ingredients come from the United States?
Whenever possible we try to buy locally produced products. Most our ingredients come from the United States, more than 90%, and none of our ingredients come from Asia.
You have a health department approved facility?
Our kitchens are in Denver, Colorado, where we share space with other local producers of food for humans. As we believe food for pets should not have different (or lower) qualifications on ingredients or preparation than human food, we follow standards at or above those needed to create human foods.
How do I work PeopleFüd into my pet’s diet?
Feed our food as your dogs complete diet, or as a supplement to a very good kibble, cup for cup for what you had been feeding them. Keep in mind our food is easier for your dog to digest and process, so you may end up feeding a bit less of our food than the kibble you had been using. As a supplement we recommend you use at least 1/4 cup a day. And remember to introduce our food to your dogs diet slowly over a few days time.
Can I mix PeopleFüd foods with my dog’s dry food?
Yes, just reduce the dry food since you are adding PeopleFüd.
What is the difference between PeopleFüd and other canned wet foods?
We are frozen with no preservatives or high heat. Canning requires one or both, and in our opinion reduces the overall quality of the food. Our first two ingredients are always human grade meat. We also believe our definition of human grade is stricter than most of our competitors.
How long can I leave PeopleFüd in my fridge once I have opened the package?
Use an opened container within 10 days, and keep it refrigerated.
What’s the big deal with meat as the first two or more ingredients?
Cats are carnivorous and dogs are high meat omnivores. However many pet foods have substituted grains and legumes as primary protein sources. The amino acids, trace elements, protein and digestibility of meat is important to your pet’s diet. There is nothing wrong with vegetables and whole grains (we use them!), but we believe protein from real meat (there is a product called denatured meat in many pet foods, we never use it) is necessary for a healthy diet.
The moisture or amount of water seems high, why is this?
PeopleFüd moisture is comparable to most wet pet foods. Meat, such as beef and chicken will have more than 70% moisture. When you are serving fresh real ingredients, moisture is part of the synergistic quality of whole foods.
Why does dry food seem to have more protein than wet foods when I look at the label?
There is something called “dry matter conversion” that requires math, and math is hard. So if you compare wet and dry foods you need to get out a calculator. The different moisture levels make protein, fat, and fiber difficult to compare. We know we have excellent balance in our foods. If you would like to take the time to truly understand pet food analysis (we really like educated consumers, because educated consumer like us) here is the basic way to convert foods to a dry matter basis:
A conversion is necessary. Are you ready?
If a dry food is 10% moisture then it is 90% dry matter.
If the declared protein content is 20%, then the math is 20 x (100/90) which gives us the protein on a dry matter basis of 22%.
Compare this to a canned or pouch food which declares a protein content of 5%. This food contains 80% moisture (or only 20% dry matter) so the math is 5 x (100/20) or 25% protein on a dry matter basis.
Why are there organ meats in your recipes?
Organ meats are an excellent source of protein, trace minerals, amino acids and other vitamins and nutrients.
What types of grains are used?
That depends on the recipe since we don’t have grains in our No Gluten recipes. But we use whole grains in our original recipe, but never husks or pulp or meal. Whole grains or foods made from them contain all the essential parts and naturally occurring nutrients of the entire grain. The outer skin of the seed is the B vitamin-, antioxidant- and fiber-rich bran; the germ (or embryo) holds the protein, minerals and healthy fats; and the endosperm (the main part of the grain between the bran and the germ) has the proteins, carbohydrates and smaller quantities of vitamins and minerals. The bran and germ contain 25 percent of the protein in whole grains and many nutrients. When highly processed, these valuable nutrients and proteins are lost (not to mention healthful fiber). Ours are not processed, just lightly cooked.
Will there be an issue with keeping my pets weight under control?
Its real food, so feed accordingly. There is something called digestibility in pet food production which means how much your pet absorbs the nutrients of the food you feed them. Our food, made with fresh whole foods and real meat will provide your pet with excellent nutritional value and digestibility. This means they may need to eat less of our food, but you’re the best judge of that.
Is PeopleFüd food good for finicky eaters or older dogs?
From our experience, we love when someone says they have a picky eater. We like to scoop up a spoonful of PeopleFüd and see if anyone is interested. If the owner doesn’t get to it first, their pet usually does.