Nutritionist
On staff
Manufacturer record
Freshpet, Inc.
2 plants
Quality control
Documented
Publishes research
Yes
Transparency
Answers-publicly
Owns its plants
Yes
Credibility score
20 / 20
Credibility scored on the 20-point WSAVA tier, High confidence. An unverified field scores at half credit, never zero. How this feeds the grade →
Brands they own
Freshpet · Fresh From the Kitchen · Vital · Nature's Fresh · Select · Spring & Sprout · Homestyle Creations · Dog Joy · Dognation
Recall history
| Date | Class | What | Brands named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-06-17 | withdrawal | Potential Salmonella contamination. Lot had been designated for destruction by Freshpet but a small portion was inadvertently shipped. | Freshpet, Select, Fresh From the Kitchen |
| 2021-06-13 | withdrawal | Potential Salmonella contamination. Lot had been designated for destruction by Freshpet's own program but was inadvertently shipped. | Freshpet, Select |
| 2019-06-17 | II | Temperature abuse: products not held at appropriate temperature due to a mechanical malfunction during transportation | Freshpet, Dog Joy |
Recall events in the last 10 years weigh most; older events decay. Repeat events in the 10-year window: 2.
The detail
Freshpet is one of the few 'fresh'/refrigerated brands that materially meets the WSAVA manufacturer criteria (unlike most boutique fresh brands). Its public veterinary portal (freshpet.com/vet, formerly freshpetvet.com) names a full-time board-certified veterinary nutritionist, Dr. Lisa Weeth, DVM, DACVIM (Nutrition) (Head of Veterinary Research & Communications), plus Dr. Gerardo Perez-Camargo, DVM, PhD (SVP R&D, ex-Nestle Purina, holds nutrition publications and patents) and several PhD R&D scientists (Amanda Dainton PhD; Eden Ephraim PhD; JP Caldas PhD; Larissa Koulicoff BVetMed, PhD). qualified_nutritionist = staff on the strength of the DACVIM (Nutrition) board-certified nutritionist employed full-time. who_formulates = credentialed (multidisciplinary in-house team incl. the board-certified nutritionist + PhD food scientists). substantiation_policy = mix: the vet portal states verbatim that Freshpet 'has done both AAFCO growth and adult maintenance feeding trials, as well as digestibility studies' AND that 'diets are formulated following AAFCO feeding guidelines and nutritional profiles are confirmed by independent laboratory analyses' (i.e. it uses feeding trials AND formulation, not feeding-trials-only). publishes_research = yes: company-sponsored studies incl. a skin-microbiome study (fresh food increased bacterial diversity vs dry), a hydration/water-consumption study, and a protein-bioavailability study; R&D staff (Perez-Camargo, Ephraim) publish. qc = documented: Freshpet publicly describes a food-safety/HACCP program with routine finished-product pathogen (Salmonella) testing and independent-lab nutrient confirmation; notably both 2021 and 2022 Salmonella recalls involved lots the firm's OWN testing had already flagged for destruction that were then inadvertently shipped, evidencing functioning finished-product testing (the failure was shipping control, not detection). transparency = answers-publicly (named credentialed team, public WSAVA/AAFCO Q&A, digestibility/feeding-trial disclosures). CAVEAT: WSAVA field values are substantially self-reported via Freshpet's own professional portal (the appropriate WSAVA-answering channel) and are not independently audited; the board-certified nutritionist and published research are externally corroborable, which is why confidence is High. US scope.
Sources
- https://www.petfoodprocessing.net/articles/15792-freshpet-expands-manufacturing-campus-in-pennsylvania
- https://dallasinnovates.com/pet-food-pioneer-freshpet-will-break-ground-on-kitchen-3-0-in-ennis/
- https://www.lehighvalley.org/news/food-and-beverage/freshpet-announces-plans-for-new-manufacturing-operations-in-lehigh-valley/
- https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/frpt/sec-filings
- https://www.freshpet.com/vet/our-nutrition-experts
- https://www.freshpet.com/vet/research-and-education
- https://www.freshpet.com/blog/understanding-wsava-dog-food-guidelines-and-aafco-standards
- https://www.freshpet.com/blog/the-science-of-freshpet
- https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/freshpet-voluntarily-recalls-one-lot-freshpetr-select-small-dog-bite-size-beef-egg-recipe-dog-food
- https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/freshpet-voluntarily-recalls-one-lot-freshpet-select-fresh-kitchen-home-cooked-chicken-recipe-45
- https://api.fda.gov/food/enforcement.json?search=product_description:freshpet
- https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/viva-raw-issues-voluntary-recall-two-lots-dog-and-cat-foods-due-salmonella-and-listeria
- https://bbbprograms.org/media/newsroom/decisions/freshpet
- https://www.petfoodindustry.com/pet-food-marketing-and-branding/news/15819834/nad-rules-on-freshpet-human-grade-advertising-claims
- https://zlk.com/cases/freshpet-inc-class-action-lawsuit-frpt
- https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/03/26/3263095/3080/en/FRPT-Investor-Alert-Freshpet-Inc-Potential-Securities-Fraud-Lawsuit-Investors-With-Losses-May-Seek-to-Lead-the-Class-Action-After-NAD-Ruling-Levi-Korsinsky.html
AI-assisted research, pending human review · 2026-07-05