Another interview in a series of articles detailing various pet food manufacturers. Meet Nature’s Logic Pet Food.
Each pet food manufacturer will be responding to the same initial questions. This is not an endorsement of any pet food. Myself or TruthaboutPetFood.com does not receive payment for these interviews. They are posted strictly as information, not advertisement.
Nature’s Logic Pet Food is manufactured in Mt. Pleasant, Texas (dry food), Emporia, Kansas (can food), Lincoln, Nebraska (raw food) and is available nationwide. Ingredients are sourced from US, New Zealand, Italy, France, and Norway.
Responses below were provided by Scott Freeman of Nature’s Logic…
What types of pet food do you produce?
Nature’s Logic produces a complete line of natural pet foods for dogs and cats. These include Raw Frozen in three protein choices, Canned in six different proteins for dogs and three for cats, as well as Dry Kibble in five protein options for dogs and three for cats. In addition the company makes an All Food Fortifier for use in home-made or other non-Nature’s Logic diets, a North Atlantic Sardine Oil supplement, and Ponderosa Pine cat litter. We plan to create a line of horse feeds in the future.
Tell pet parents why they should consider your pet food? What makes your pet foods different? Better?
Nature’s Logic has created the first and only full-line kibble, canned, and raw frozen pet food in the world with no chemically-synthesized ingredients. Our foods provide pets with essential and complete nutrition using only whole foods and 100% natural ingredients. All other commercial dry, canned, and even some raw foods add as many as 20 to 26 chemically- synthesized vitamins, minerals and amino acids. We never add man-made nutrients so pets are not exposed to the potential toxicities associated with these chemical substances.
What makes your manufacturing process different? Better?
Our processes for making Nature’s Logic foods are similar to those of other high quality pet food manufacturers, with three key exceptions:
First, for our dry kibble we do not use the commercial, hydrolyzed-liver flavoring so common in the industry. It is a hidden source of MSG and soy, since the main ingredient in most “Natural Liver Flavors” is not liver, but soy flour. Instead, we make our own flavoring from real, dried liver and spray-dried plasma to make our food very palatable. We also add a proprietary blend of enzymes and probiotics to create one of the most digestible dry foods on the market.
Second, for our canned and raw foods we have created our own, premium super-food concentrate. This blend of dried fruits, vegetables, animal plasma, and other natural ingredients create a very nutrient dense food, with all the essential nutrients pets need. We do not rely on cheap, synthetic supplements to meet AAFCO nutrient requirements, but instead do it with whole food, as Nature intended.
Finally, with our raw food we do not use high-pressure sterilization. This process is designed to kill pathogens, like salmonella and e-coli, but it also destroys all the food’s beneficial bacteria. As long as we are able, we will provide a truly raw diet.
Why do you make the style of pet food you do? Example – why kibble or why raw dehydrated?
Nature’s Logic believes a natural diet made from whole foods is the best for pets. We are a strong advocate of raw food and recommend it first. But not all pet parents are ready to feed raw. So we’ve made canned and dry foods that are as close to raw as possible, made from whole foods and 100% natural ingredients, nothing man-made.
Please provide some of your reasoning for particular ingredients used in your pet foods; example – why chicken versus chicken meal?
In Nature’s Logic dry formulas, we use “meals.” Meal is just a dried form of protein. It starts out as the same muscle meat, including skin and bone, which other foods list as “chicken” on their label. The difference is that for meals, the water has been removed. This is why foods made from meals have higher protein by weight than those made with fresh meats.
Ingredients are listed by weight on pet food labels, before processing. When these ingredients are dried to make kibble, the water is removed and the amount of meat drops considerably as a portion of the total food. We believe that is a marketing trick used by many companies and we don’t do it. If “chicken meal” is the first ingredient listed, that food will contain a lot more chicken than one that has “fresh chicken” as the first ingredient. Often many dry pet foods that list fresh meat as one of the first ingredients will also use meal in the formula to increase the protein.
How do you select vendors – suppliers of ingredients?
Nature’s Logic selects vendors that can supply ingredients from the USA and other countries with good food safety practices, such as New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and Europe. We also require that our vendors can guarantee that the ingredients do not come from China, and that they are tested to be GMO-free and contain no chemical preservative, herbicides, or insecticides.
What are your routine tests done on ingredients and on the finished product? Do you test ingredients for heavy metals? Fluoride? Any other contaminants? Are these results available to the public?
Our ingredients and finished foods are tested to ensure there are no harmful bacteria, as well as for guarantees of protein, fat, fiber and moisture. They are also tested for potential rancidity, aflatoxins, and vomitoxins. We have also have done random testing for fluoride because a number of consumers have asked about this. Chemically-synthesized minerals added to nearly every other food is a key source of heavy metals, but we don’t use man-made nutrients. We have made test results available upon request.
Does your manufacturing facility have any specific certifications? If so, can you explain why these certifications benefit the pet parent consumer?
All our plants are registered with the USDA and FDA. They are all AIB Certified and several are EU Certified.
Are your foods manufactured at your own facility or do you use a co-packer?
We use co-packers.
(a) Do you choose ingredient suppliers or does the co-packer?
We source and purchase all of our ingredients.
(b) What measures do you take to assure your co-packer is following your recipe specifications?
We test every batch to our specifications. We also keep daily records of our ingredients to ensure our co-packer is using those we purchased, and only those.
(c) Do you have a company representative at the co-packer or do you do drop in inspections?
We are present for most but not every production run. We have five locations that produce our foods for us and it is impossible to be there for every production run.
Has your company done feeding trials of each product before it was released on the market? Official or unofficial feeding trials? If so, how long were the trials, how many animals participated?
Nature’s Logic has completed the AAFCO All Life Stage feeding trials for our dry dog and cat foods. For each we followed the AAFCO protocol, including a 26-week test with guidelines of certain feeding parameters and clinical observations and measurements. We do make results available upon request, including final blood hematology and chemistry.
How does your company go above and beyond? With safety protocol, quality of ingredients, manufacturing processes, and so on.
Most pet food recalls that have occurred over the past ten years have been due to either pathogenic bacteria contamination, like salmonella or e. coli, or due to synthetic additives, such as melamine (synthetic protein) or a man-made vitamin or mineral. We avoid these and other potential problems by using meats, poultry, fruits, and vegetables that come from human-edible processing facilities. Plus, all nutrients in our formulas are derived from whole foods and 100% natural ingredients. We could reach the recommended nutrient levels less expensively by adding man-made vitamins and minerals, but we believe the safest nutrients for pets come from food, not chemistry. These two things alone mean our foods don’t have the dangerous elements most likely to cause a recall and potential sickness and death in pets. Here are four more examples of how we put the health and safety of pets above high-profits:
• High Protein / Low Carbohydrate – The most natural diet for dogs and cats is one high in animal protein and low in carbohydrates. Our diets contain protein levels from 30-36%.
• High-Quality Animal Protein – The proteins in our foods are derived from beef, duck, venison, chicken, fish, and rabbit. We use clean muscle meat with no internal organs, feathers, feet, heads, etc. The meats and poultry we use come straight from the human processing plants.
• Carnivore-appropriate Starch – Millet is the starch in our kibble. This grain contains less natural sugar than other starches frequently used in pet foods. Further, millet is much more likely to occur naturally in a wild dog or cat’s diet than chick peas or potato, so will be more familiar to their digestive systems.
• Complete and Balanced for All Life Stages – Variations in formulas marketed for different life stages all meet the minimum requirements for one of just two AAFCO categories: Growth & Reproduction or Maintenance. The protein requirements are lower for “Maintenance” formulas are lower (18% for dogs and 26% for cats), and so cheaper to make. But we focus on providing the best possible nutrition for pets, no matter what their age. All of our diets are high in protein, exceed even the minimum requirements for Growth & Reproduction.
Do you use any genetically modified ingredients? If yes, what ingredients are GM and why do you use them? If no, why do you avoid GM and what extremes do you go through to assure your foods are GM free?
We are GMO-free. We believe there are too many unknowns with genetically-modified ingredients and their potential long-term effects. Nature is our guide to producing the highest-quality and safest pet food and GMO ingredients are not natural.
Here is Our Commitment from the Nature’s Logic website:
There was purpose, meaning and intent in naming our product Nature’s Logic®. It is your guarantee from us, the manufacturer, that the products bearing this name are indeed products born out of the logic of nature. They are a reflection of the safe and wholesome foods nature supplies. Nature and all she teaches us has been our guide. Science can discover how to least cost formulate a pet food with cheap ingredients and chemically synthesized supplementation, but at what cost to our pets? Nature is no cheat. Nature’s Logic has cut no corners or taken any short cuts. Our pets need and deserve what is right; not what is merely convenient to us.
Any other information you’d like to share?
We value input from our customers and always look forward to hearing from all pet parents. They help us know what is most important to them and how we can continue to make the best natural pet foods for their dogs and cats. All pet parents are welcome to tell us their thoughts on our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/NaturesLogic. We appreciate the feedback!
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author, Buyer Beware
Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Mary Ashman
February 10, 2015 at 3:21 pm
I tried Nature’s Logic dry dog food as an alternate source that was less costly. I had been using Acana grain free. What I have found is the dogs are extremely gassy and we are on the 3rd bag. They also poop much much more than they ever did on Acana. I don’t think I will use the food again once the last bag is gone.
Brent Ahrens
March 28, 2015 at 1:22 pm
Have you tried a different formula of the Nature’s Logic? I sell a lot off Nature’s Logic and dogs do very well on it. From the symptoms you are describing it sounds like it might not be the right protein source for them. If you haven’t tried the beef or the duck/salmon I would recommend one of those before you give up on Nature’s Logic. Good luck!
Opie Catt
April 8, 2018 at 11:15 pm
Who co-packs for Nature’s Logic?
Steve Johannes
August 14, 2015 at 8:08 pm
Scott Freeman of Nature’s Logic has written about gassyness, and recommends cutting back on the food, by up to 1/3 of feeding chart amounts, and mixing with water, if gastrointestinal upset lingers after transition. There is a lot of nutrition packed into this food, and many dogs don’t need as much of it. The water mainly helps fill the void in the belly. This has worked for a number of my customers (though not all).
Also note that the feeding charts for many of these high quality foods call for much lower daily amounts than cheaper foods, bringing the monthly costs down.
Eniko McDonald
March 19, 2015 at 11:09 pm
I switched to Nature’s Logic from Acana. I have 6 dogs that love the new food and pick out the kible from amongst the Acana kibble. 🙂
I appreciate the quality ingredients and care put into making Nature’s Logic.
Regards,
Eniko
Aunnika
February 22, 2016 at 3:59 pm
I just had one of the most informative and intelligent discussions on protein Intolerance with a Natures Logic representative this weekend I would like to share-
My Pedigree Ragdoll kitten started to have chicken Intolerance (many dogs have this too)
Theory – they use Chicken and Beef Ovum for growth of most Vaccinations. The body may identify as something to get rid of when eating that similar protein.
I found that interesting, as his Intolerance started when vaccines did and so did my previous Ragdoll.
So I will also attempt chicken protein later on.
Another problem I’m finding is with the Carrageenan in canned foods and Intolerance.
Natures Logic also offers raw frozen food. We already started our kittten on Natures Instinct Brand rabbit raw and he and the other cats love it. They are healthier, our chubby dsh is losing fat and their fur is lusterous.
OK…enjoy the knowledge. I’m trying Natures Logic!