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BIXBI was founded as a supplement company and appears to be in Boulder, Colorado (there is only a PO Box listed on the website). The company’s first offering was supplements, while pet foods are a recent addition. The company claims all of their ingredients are sourced in the USA, although it’s doubtful the individual vitamins and minerals are manufactured in the US as most come from China and India.
It’s not clear from the website whether BIXBI manufactures their own food or whether it is made by a contract manufacturer.
BIXBI has a wide range of foods. The Rawbble freeze-dried line is certainly their highest scoring food and is a decent choice. The Liberty canned line is considered moderate risk, while all of the remaining dry foods would be considered high risk, with the Rawbble line scoring a bit higher than the lower cost Liberty dry dog foods.
The BIXBI dry dog foods are all somewhat similar, with fresh meat as the number one ingredient, followed by more than one known high pesticide/herbicide food in the top 5 ingredients, which greatly reduces the ingredient safety scores. On the ingredient quality side, the dry foods tend to contain several added amino acids, which can indicate poor quality or incomplete protein sources, such as those found in peas or lentils. There are also numerous added vitamins and minerals, which also indicate lower quality ingredients.
The safest choice would be the Rawbble Freeze-Dried line, although there are plenty of freeze-dried foods that don’t rely on added vitamins and minerals and are a whole-food source of nutrition. Similarly, the canned line is somewhat high in carbohydrate and low in protein compared to better canned competitors.
The average score of each BIXBI food line is listed below. Click on any line to view the individual foods and scores.
BIXBI’s Liberty Grain-Free dry dog food line is considered a high risk food. It averages 27% protein and 33% carbohydrate, as calculated on a dry matter basis. This is a decent amount of protein, but it’s a bit higher in carbohydrate than we would like to see. The ingredient quality score of these foods is fairly low due to the higher carbohydrate content and excessive added vitamins, minerals and amino acids, which reflect lower quality proteins and ingredients. Ingredient safety also scores low, thanks to known high herbicide crops in the top 5 ingredients such as oats, sorghum, lentils and/or peas. It is notable that there are no known GMO ingredients in these foods.
The Liberty Ancient Grains line is BIXBI’s lowest scoring line. It’s considered a high risk food. The Ancient Grains line averages 25% protein and 35% carbohydrate as calculated, which is moderately high. With that said, there is more protein than many foods in this category, although with the numerous added amino acids, the protein quality is potentially questionable. Ingredient quality points are also lost for excessive added vitamins and minerals. Ingredient safety is scored as high risk, thanks to known high herbicide foods making a frequent appearance in the top 5 ingredients, as well as natural flavor. Like other BIXBI foods, Liberty Ancient Grains does not appear to contain known GMO ingredients.
BIXBI’s Liberty canned dog food line is considered a moderate risk food. The food averages 40% protein and 15% carbohydrate as calculated, which is a reasonable amount for a canned food at this price point. With that said, it’s disappointing to see so many added vitamins and minerals in a canned food when whole food nutrition is more achievable. Ingredient safety is scored as high to moderate risk, thanks to known high herbicide foods making a frequent appearance in the top 5 ingredients, as well as natural flavor. Like other BIXBI foods, Liberty canned dog food does not appear to contain known GMO ingredients.
Although it is marketed as a higher quality line, BIXBI’s Rawbble dry dog food line is considered a high risk food, like their other dry foods. The food averages 28% protein and 30% carbohydrate as calculated on a dry matter basis.This is more protein and less carbohydrate than their other foods and an average amount for a dry food at this price point. Like other BIXBI dry foods however, there are a large amount of added amino acids, vitamins and minerals, which can indicate lower ingredient quality. However, there are fewer added amino acids, which could indicate more meat protein. Ingredient safety is scored as high to moderate risk, thanks to known high herbicide foods making a frequent appearance in the top 5 ingredients, as well as natural flavor. Like other BIXBI foods, Rawbble dog food does not appear to contain known GMO ingredients. However, glam ingredients are added to this food below salt, which occurs at a negligible amount. Perhaps this is to justify the heftier price tag of this food.
BIXBI’s Rawbble Freeze-Dried dog food line is considered a low risk food and certainly BIXBI’s highest scoring line. The food averages 50% protein and 0.6% carbohydrate as calculated on a dry matter basis. This is a surprisingly high amount of protein, given BIXBI’s other food lineups. This is also a low carbohydrate food, which is desirable. However it is worth noting that there are more than a couple of added vitamins and minerals – just not enough to reduce the ingredient quality score. For the price, it may be possible to find a freeze-dried food that uses whole food nutrition and doesn’t rely on a vitamin premix. It’s also worth noting that some of the Rawbble Freeze-Dried foods contain coconut oil, which caused gut inflammation in some studies.
02/27/2013 – BIXBI dog treats were recalled with a round of other treats distributed by Kasel Associated Industries for Salmonella contamination. After products were tested positive, quite a few products were voluntarily recalled after the FDA inspected Kasel’s manufacturing facility in September 2012 and found most of the product samples tested positive for Salmonella contamination. The investigators also noticed live insects and evidence of rodent activity in the manufacturing facility. The FDA inspected the plant again in February 2013 and slapped Kasel with a “Prehearing Order to Cease Distribution and Give Notice” letter, which is required by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) prior to a mandatory recall.
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