Nutritionist
On staff
Manufacturer record
Nature's Variety, Inc. (dba Instinct Pet Food)
Parent: Agrolimen S · 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
Instinct · Instinct Raw · Instinct Raw Boost / RawBoost · Nature's Variety · Prairie
Recall history
| Date | Class | What | Brands named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-07-24 | II | Possible Salmonella contamination, flagged when an FDA routine surveillance sample of 7 lb Instinct Raw Chicken Bites tested positive. CLASS PROVISIONAL/UNVERIFIED - voluntary nationwide recall, no FDA class stated in the announcement and not indexed in openFDA. | Instinct |
| 2013-02-15 | II | Foreign material - possible pieces of clear plastic | Instinct |
| 2012-07-12 | withdrawal | Off/strange odor and early spoilage | Nature's Variety |
| 2010-03-09 | II | Salmonella | Instinct, Nature's Variety |
| 2010-02-11 | II | Potential Salmonella contamination | Instinct, Nature's Variety |
Recall events in the last 10 years weigh most; older events decay. Repeat events in the 10-year window: 0.
The detail
One of the more WSAVA-compliant makers in the raw category, per the company's own published WSAVA Q&A. (1) Nutritionist: employs a FULL-TIME board-certified veterinary nutritionist, Susan G. Wynn, DVM, DACVIM (Nutrition), Senior Director of Scientific Affairs (previously on the Nutrition Council, joined full-time; confirmed by company + LinkedIn); chief formulator holds a PhD in Food Science -> 'staff'. (2) Formulators hold college/advanced technical degrees, 50+ yrs combined food/pet-food formulation experience, and collaborate with the DACVIM nutritionist -> 'credentialed'. (3) Substantiation = MIX: the flagship Instinct Raw Longevity line is undergoing an AAFCO all-life-stages FEEDING TRIAL (rare in raw), while kibble/canned are formulated to AAFCO Nutrient Profiles (formulation-only). (4) QC = DOCUMENTED: SQF certification at the highest level ('Excellent' Food Safety + Quality; states it is the only NA raw maker to earn it), FSMA-compliant facilities, 3rd-party-lab nutrient confirmation, digestibility/palatability studies, supplier + CO-PACKER audits, raw-ingredient micro testing, metal detection, HPP/Cold-Pressure pathogen reduction with post-HPP validation and a stated Zero-Tolerance finished-product pathogen test, plus an environmental monitoring program. (5) Research = YES: sole US sponsor of the University of Helsinki DogRisk study, funded a UC-Davis DCM grant and a Univ. of Georgia nutrition resident, states in-house research (raw vs processed biochemistry), and lists ~8 peer-reviewed publications it supported (Front. Vet. Sci., PLoS ONE, Vet. Record, Vet. Clin. Pathol., AJVR); note these are sponsored/collaborative rather than exclusively company-first-author. (6) Transparency = ANSWERS-PUBLICLY: publishes the full WSAVA Q&A PDF, provides nutrient analyses and contact info on-pack, and offers to name its co-packers on request. Manufacturing caveat for the score: they own the RAW plant (Lincoln, NE) but outsource dry/canned production AND the HPP step to unnamed third parties.
Foods we've graded from Nature's Variety, Inc. (dba Instinct Pet Food)
Sources
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/agrolimen-purchases-remaining-interest-in-natures-variety-300266325.html
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/l-catterton-sells-natures-variety-to-agrolimen-300266466.html
- https://www.petfoodindustry.com/pet-food-market/article/15462468/agrolimen-acquires-natures-variety
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature%27s_Variety
- https://www.petfoodprocessing.net/articles/15395-instinct-proves-loyalty-to-lincoln-with-new-facility-announcement
- https://ktvz.com/news/2021/10/08/pet-food-maker-plans-huge-new-facility/
- https://instinctpetfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/WSAVA_Dec2021.pdf
- https://instinctpetfood.com/vets/
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanwynndvm/
- https://m.facebook.com/INSTINCT/photos/were-proud-to-announce-that-dr-susan-wynn-an-esteemed-member-of-our-nutrition-co/10156272103878022/
- https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Susan-Wynn-3
- http://wayback.archive-it.org/7993/20170112072613/http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ArchiveRecalls/2015/ucm455923.htm
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/natures-variety-issues-nationwide-voluntary-recall-of-instinct-raw-chicken-formula-because-of-possible-salmonella-health-risk-300118671.html
- https://www.petful.com/brands/natures-variety-recall/
- https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/natures-variety-dog-food/
- https://dogtime.com/reference/147357-instinct-dog-food-recall-2024-when-last-recalled
- https://api.fda.gov/food/enforcement.json?search=recalling_firm:%22Nature%27s+Variety%22&limit=100
- https://www.classaction.org/news/instinct-dog-food-is-not-preservative-free-as-advertised-class-action-alleges
- https://www.law360.com/productliability/articles/2484108
AI-assisted research, pending human review · 2026-07-05