Nutritionist
Unknown
Manufacturer record
Alphia, Inc.
Parent: PAI Partners · Co-packer (makes food for other brands) · 9 plants
Quality control
Documented
Publishes research
Unknown
Transparency
Opaque
Owns its plants
Yes
Credibility score
13 / 20
Credibility scored on the 20-point WSAVA tier, Medium confidence. An unverified field scores at half credit, never zero. How this feeds the grade →
Also co-packs for
- Blue Buffalo
- Natural Balance
- Diamond Pet Foods
- Harmony Farms
- Canine Caviar
- Nature's Variety / Instinct
- Nulo
- Brothers Complete
- Wellness
- Mulligan Stew
- Timberwolf / Rotations / Drs. Foster & Smith
Recall history
| Date | Class | What | Brands named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-04-26 | I | Melamine / cyanuric-acid contamination via unauthorized inclusion of adulterated rice protein concentrate | Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, Diamond Pet Foods, Harmony Farms, Canine Caviar |
Recall events in the last 10 years weigh most; older events decay. Repeat events in the 10-year window: 0.
The detail
Alphia is a pure contract/custom (co-)manufacturer of super-premium DRY kibble and treats, not a consumer brand. It sells to brand owners and retailers, so consumer-facing WSAVA disclosure does not apply the way it does to a brand. R&D: it maintains an R&D/formulation team (e.g., ~7 R&D staff at the Ogden plant) and offers formulation services, but no board-certified (ACVN/ECVCN) or PhD animal-nutritionist is publicly disclosed, and for co-packed product the CLIENT brand usually owns the formula and substantiation, hence who_formulates/substantiation = unknown. QC = documented: Alphia states all facilities are SQF (Safe Quality Food) Level III / Edition-9 certified and GFSI-recognized, run FSMA Preventive Controls for Animal Food plans, maintain separate QA and food-safety staff, and use hold-and-release testing on finished product (raw-intake through finished-pack). Transparency = opaque: Alphia deliberately operates as a 'secret partner' / 'yes-man' co-packer (~35+ / '40+' top super- and ultra-premium brands, most undisclosed), so its client roster and per-brand formulation details are not public. Subsidiaries: LANI (ingredient milling) and Veracity (warehousing/logistics) are owned but are not consumer pet-food brands, so brands_owned is empty.
Sources
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/introducing-alphia-the-leading-custom-manufacturer-of-super-premium-pet-food-in-the-united-states-301071659.html
- https://www.petfoodprocessing.net/articles/13891-cj-foods-american-nutrition-form-new-company-alphia
- https://www.petfoodindustry.com/pet-food-market/article/15466874/cj-foods-american-nutrition-now-named-alphia
- https://www.alphia.com/press-article/pai-partners-to-acquire-alphia-from-j-h-whitney/
- https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230824184129/en/PAI-Partners-to-Acquire-Alphia-from-J.H.-Whitney
- https://www.paipartners.com/mediaitem/pai-partners-to-acquire-alphia/
- https://www.petfoodprocessing.net/articles/12751-cj-foods-the-yes-man-of-pet-food
- https://www.alphia.com/contact/
- https://www.petfoodprocessing.net/articles/18446-slideshow-alphia-shepherds-pet-food-treat-industry-through-growth
- https://www.alphia.com/company/
- https://sheltieforums.com/threads/dog-food-brands-with-shared-manufacturing-facilities.27734/
- https://www.dvm360.com/view/unmasking-toxic-culprits-pet-food-recalls
- https://www.alphia.com/food-safety-quality/
- https://www.alphia.com/pet-food-safety-quality/
- https://www.alphia.com/capabilities/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2007_pet_food_recalls
- https://truthaboutpetfood.com/pet-food-treat-recall-history-a-z/
- https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/safety-health/recalls-withdrawals
AI-assisted research, pending human review · 2026-07-05