Wellness Pet Food is Compliant with WSAVA Pet Food Recommendations

What is WSAVA?

WSAVA, or the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, is comprised of over 200,000 veterinarians across 113 member associations. This association advances the health and welfare of companion animals through building an educated and collaborative global community of veterinary peers.
As one of its activities, WSAVA encourages its veterinarians and pet parents to be mindful of the food they feed their pets, as well have a general understanding of the company that makes their pet food by asking several questions.

The WSAVA Global Nutrition Council provides clear recommendations for selecting pet foods:

1. Employ a qualified nutritionist with PHD in animal nutrition
2. Formulated to AAFCO recommendations
3. Undertaken AAFCO feeding trials
4. Produced in USA
5. Strict quality controls in place
6. All dry recipes complete and balanced to life stage
7. Nutrient analysis available for recipes on website
8. Extensive product research undertaken

Now that you know what the necessary requirements are for a pet food brand to be considered WSAVA compliant, we’ll walk you through how each requirement is evaluated, and how Wellness Pet Food meets those requirements:

1. Do you employ a full-time qualified nutritionist? Who formulates your foods and what are his/her credentials? We have worked very closely with a Ph.D. Animal Nutritionist who either formulates or reviews our diets. He has spent more than 25 years formulating diets for dogs and cats and our relationship with him goes back more than fifteen years. In addition, he has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on dog and cat nutrition in scientific journals including the Journal of Nutrition and the British Journal of Nutrition.
2. Are your recipes formulated to AAFCO recommendations? Our diets are 100% complete and balanced and are formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) based on Nutrient Profiles, unless otherwise stated on the label.
3. Have your diets undertaken AAFCO feeding trials? Wellness® Complete and Balanced recipes are formulated to meet AAFCO Nutrient Profiles and numerous Wellness dry dog, and dry cat recipes have undertaken AAFCO Feeding Trials.
4. Where are your foods produced and manufactured? Our diets are produced at a combination of our own plants and co-manufacturing partners. Our Wellness Pet Operations plants are located in Mishawaka, IN, South St. Paul, MN and Decatur, AR. Our Farm Fresh Kitchen plant is located is South St. Paul, MN. Based on the products, we are happy to share who makes our products and where they are located. Please call or email our dedicated Consumer Care Team for additional details. We are available via phone at (800) 225-0904 or via email at care@wellpet.com M-F | 8-5 ET.
5. Do you have strict quality controls in place? At Wellness, we are committed to the highest standards of pet food safety. Our highest priority is providing you and your animal companions with consistently safe, premium-quality natural food for dogs and cats.
   • Our Quality Assurance program maintains the strictest standards of food safety in the pet food business, one that exceeds Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) standards for pet food. At every stage of every process, Wellness controls quality. We are known for active management of manufacturing. We develop our own unique formulas with premium ingredients through detailed sourcing and nutritional analysis. We conduct comprehensive audits of our procedures.
   • Our Quality Assurance program does not only encompass our manufacturing operation and final product inspections, but starts from the time we select the finest and freshest ingredients, making absolutely sure WellPet products continue to be healthy and safe for your dog or cat. We follow the same strict guidelines for pet food that are applied to food for people. We do so by requiring that each of our suppliers utilize the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) program, adhering to even more stringent food safety criteria than required for pet food.
   • Our manufacturing partners say we are THE hardest to please – this is because, like you, we won’t compromise on your pet’s health. We are “passionately picky” and promise that “Your pet’s wellbeing is at the heart of all we do, that’s why we do whatever it takes to make the healthiest natural products for the pets that depend on us.”
6. Are all dry recipes complete and balanced to life stage? Yes, our diets are 100% complete and balanced and are formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).
7. Are Nutrient Profiles available? Yes, Nutrient Profiles are available for download on our Wellness product pages?
8. What is the caloric value of your food? Our kcal values are per 8.0 oz. cup (dry) or per can (wet). Kcal’s are on the majority of our labels and our product pages. If in doubt, please don’t hesitate to call or email our dedicated Consumer Care Team for additional details. We are available via phone at (800) 225-0904 or via email at care@wellpet.com M-F | 8-5 ET.
9. What kind of research has been conducted? Are the results published in peer-reviewed journals? Before our diets are commercialized we ensure that they meet high standards for digestibility, starch gelatinization, stool performance, palatability and urine pH for cats diets. We have also conducted research focused on protein digestibility, blood glucose response and weight loss. None of the research was conducted with the intent of publishing, yet the intent was and is to ensure that we provide diets that perform to our high standards.