All of BARK Food kibbles follow WSAVA guidelines and meet AAFCO’s nutrient profile standards for their stated uses.
What to look for in a brand:
1. Do they employ a nutritionist?
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- BARK employs a full time veterinarian and a consultant PhD Animal Nutritionist with double board-certification contractually employed by BARK.
2. Who formulates the diet?
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- Our PhD Animal Nutritionist holds multiple board certifications and has 40 years of experience. They are a double board-certified companion animal nutritionist and a food scientist.
3. What is the quality control process for ingredients and finished products?
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- Our diets meet AAFCO profiles based on analysis using a nutrient database.
All of our quality procedures are conducted according to the manufacturing practices outlined by FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act).
Quality Control includes ingredient validation, toxicology testing, bacteriology testing for salmonella, shelf-life modeling, and packaging screening for seal integrity and metal detection.
- Our diets meet AAFCO profiles based on analysis using a nutrient database.
4. What kind of product research or nutrition studies have been conducted? (studies are not required but indicate a commitment to health and wellness)
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- We do not have, nor do we sponsor, any published peer-reviewed studies yet.
We do conduct internal monadic consumption studies for our kibble (assessing acceptance, GI tolerance, and stool quality) as well as palatability studies.
- We do not have, nor do we sponsor, any published peer-reviewed studies yet.
What to look for on a label:
- Nutritional adequacy statement
- Our diets are complete and balanced, with all required nutrients for long-term feeding.
Our foods all carry an AAFCO statement to indicate whether they are appropriate for maintenance/adult feeding, or for growth feeding, based on AAFCO nutrient profiles (not feeding trials).
2. How many calories per gram (or cup) of food?
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- We keep that information front-and-center on our labels, and are happy to provide any further detailed nutrient analysis / nutritional information upon request.
3. Does the company provide immediate contact information such as phone number and email address?
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- Of course, we're available every day for questions of any kind. Here’s our contact information:
- (833) 313-6325
- Average essential ingredient analysis for our kibbles are available online and on request
- Of course, we're available every day for questions of any kind. Here’s our contact information:
4. Who makes the food?
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- We currently use a third-party manufacturer, who carries FSSC Certification and whose facilities have been personally inspected by our nutritionist formulator and our quality & food safety specialist. We also require our kibble manufacturer to adhere to strict quality and safety guidelines. These guidelines are defined by our quality & food safety specialist who has over 30 years of pet food industry experience. Our facility is GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) approved and audited.
For more information about AAFCO and WSAVA, please check out these BARKPosts.