While many food manufacturers have a science-first approach when formulating foods, Farmina is one of the first to prioritize whole food ingredients as well. While nutritional building blocks of protein, vitamins, and other nutrients can be derived from many unlikely sources, Mud Bay prefers brands that use whole foods that have a long record of helping dogs and cats thrive nutritionally whenever possible. While hydrolyzed proteins and other lab-altered foods can be revolutionary for dogs and cats with severe food allergies, we believe that healthy dogs and cats are most likely to thrive eating whole food ingredients in carefully made recipes.
Manufacturers
Another benefit of using a different approach to researching Farmina foods is testing these foods outside of laboratory conditions. Traditional feeding trials rely on precisely weighed food measurements and exclude any foods like treats. Dogs and cats who participate in Farmina research stay with their families and don’t live in a controlled environment. That means it’s more likely that your dog or cat will receive similar nutritional benefits as dogs or cats in the Farmina-partnered research studies.
Muddies in all our stores prioritize using up-to-date scientifically based information to choose the best possible food for your dog or cat. Farmina has a similar philosophy when you call their Farmina helpline for nutritional support. Farmina employs experts they call Pet Health Coaches to help you find the right food for your pet, just like Muddies do in our stores. Farmina will also make a follow-up call to see how your dog or cat is doing after they’ve switched foods. This emphasis on providing free, science-based nutritional information is just one more way Mud Bay and Farmina philosophically align.
Farmina’s International Formulation Team includes one licensed veterinarian with a doctorate and master’s in animal nutrition, as well as six people with master’s degrees in animal feed technology. There are also five additional veterinarians and three people with B.A.’s in food technology. Farmina also employs another 100 full-time veterinarians as managers and field support for the manufacturer. This investment in hiring highly educated professionals is just one more way Farmina invests in science-based formulation.
Farmina works with university researchers to find animals who have already been diagnosed with a condition the food can help, and then pay for the food and testing necessary for veterinarians to research how pets respond to changes in diets. These pets stay in their homes and participate in double-blind studies, which is considered the gold standard for research. The researchers also publish the results of all of their studies, regardless of their outcome.