Why Certified Organic Dog Food?

How does Paw Naturaw define its meat?

Why is the 95% meat rule deceptive marketing?

What is the difference between certified organic and natural?

Why are purely pasture raised organic meats unique?

Why are grass fed certified organic meats nutritionally superior to conventional meats?

Why are AAFCO approved complete and balanced claims important and necessary?

Why isn’t AAFCO approved status alone enough to trust?

When will you produce certified organic, frozen, raw diets for felines?

Should I be concerned about salmonella, e coli, and toxoplasmosis in Paw Naturaw diets?

How does Paw Naturaw define meat?
Unlike pet food industry standards, Paw Naturaw defines muscle meat as separate from the diaphragm, esophagus, tongue, and heart to ensure a truly meaty product. Moreover, Paw Naturaw diets disclose the percentage of organs and bone contained in each diet if used.


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Why is the 95% meat rule deceptive marketing?
It is deceptive marketing for two reasons:

First, the manipulative guise yet legally accepted AAFCO 95% rule allows pet food companies to claim their product contains 95% beef for example. However, according to this rule beef refers to ANY product derived from the animal including brain, blood, bone, spleen, lungs, entrails, and the list of cheap, disproportionately added, by-products continues. Products with 95% meat claims technically may not contain a single gram or percent of human-grade “meat” as defined by dictionaries, supermarkets, or common understandings.

Second, the 95% rule allows manufacturers to add water “sufficient for processing” up to 30% of the total package weight and exclude this amount from their calculation of “meat”. Furthermore, adding water is entirely unnecessary in processing raw diets, but it is cheap.

Therefore, diets claiming to contain 95% meat may likely contain closer to 66.5% “meat”.

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What is the difference between certified organic and natural?
“Organic” is a labeling term regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) of which strictly prohibits the use of most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, sewage sludge fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, growth hormones, irradiation, antibiotics, and artificial ingredients. Products may be labeled as “100% organic” when all ingredients are 100% organic, “organic” when products contain at least 95% organic ingredients, or “made with organic (specific ingredients list)” when product contains at least 70% organic ingredients. In contrast, “natural” has zero federal regulatory oversight, and therefore is essentially a meaningless marketing term. Any fresh meat may be considered “natural” irrespective to the use of antibiotics and growth hormones.

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Why are purely pasture raised organic meats unique?
Organic regulations only require farmers to provide animals with “access” to pastures. This condition creates a loophole for big agribusiness to establish organic feedlots where organic animals live in confinement similar to non organic livestock but eat organic feed, sometimes grass but often hay or grain. Paw Naturaw aligns itself with family farmers that follow the prohibitive rules organic offers yet choose to raise their animals on pastures for the entirety of their lives.

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Why are grass fed organic meats nutritionally superior to conventional meats?
First, grass is to bison and cattle as raw meat is to dog and cat companions; both foods are biologically appropriate to the respective species. According to The Union of Concerned Scientists, a non profit organization, by raising cattle and bison purely on pastures instead of in crowded feed lots their meat develops a natural balance of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, contains higher levels of cancer fighting conjugated linoleic acids (CLA), demonstrates higher levels of energy and vitamin E, and may end up leaner than conventional meat.

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Why are AAFCO approved complete and balanced claims important and necessary?
These levels are guides to prevent nutritional deficiencies from occurring, yet many diets still do not qualify. Paw Naturaw diets are Complete and Balanced for All Life Stages well beyond AAFCO’s bare minimum requirements.

AAFCO guidelines are updated based upon a compilation of scientific studies published in the National Research Council’s Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. In addition to reporting “Minimal Requirements” this comprehensive review of scientific literature publishes two higher nutrient level categories, “Adequate Intake” and “Recommended Allowance”. New AAFCO guidelines from the most recently released publication in 2006 will not likely be released before 2008.

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Why isn’t AAFCO approved status alone enough to trust?
In a perfect world, AAFCO approved status guarantees a product meets your animal companion’s minimum nutrient needs. In reality, AAFCO claims fall into the honor system. No approval process exists to test acceptability of ingredients or to check the accuracy of nutrient claims. Furthermore, no enforcement body exists to punish companies knowingly using moldy or diseased products or misleading consumers with nutrient claims. Hypothetically, a morally defunct pet food company may legitimately utilize a three week old, tumor laden, animal carcass found rotting in a pool of pesticides, turn it into a bag of fat sprayed, crunchy, dry profit, and market the food as natural, premium, or gourmet.

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When will you produce cat companion, organic, frozen, raw diets?
Paw Naturaw hopes to usher out its organic, frozen, raw line for feline companions in the summer of 2007.

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Should I be concerned about salmonella, e coli, and toxoplasmosis in Paw Naturaw diets?
No. Paw Naturaw owns its USDA voluntary inspected manufacturing facility designed solely for producing organic, frozen, raw diets. Moreover, Paw Naturaw operates with a Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (PR/HACCP) system to effectively control potential contamination. Paw Naturaw thaws frozen supplies of beef, bison, and chicken at 32 degrees Fahrenheit for 36 hours before processing. Diets are processed in 100 to 200 pound batches in the production area under temperatures of 52 degrees Fahrenheit. Product remains between 32 degrees and 40 degrees Fahrenheit throughout processing and never for any longer than 45 minutes.

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