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Food scores are based on ingredient quality and safety. For more information, view our evaluation criteria.
Sojo’s was founded in 1985 as Sojourner Farms. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the company got its start as a pre-mix for raw diets. In 1996, the company was acquired by Ward Johnson and moved its operations to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Over time, the company began rolling out treats and complete freeze-dried foods as Sojo’s.
In 2016, Sojo’s was once again acquired, this time by WellPet. The Tewksvury, Mass company manufactures Wellness, Old Mother Hubbard, Eagle Pack and Holistic Select pet foods. At the time of writing, Sojo’s is still manufactured in their Minneapolis plant. In December 2021, WellPet LLC changed their name to the Wellness Pet Company, presumably to attract pet owners looking for more natural foods.
Today, Sojo’s offers a range of complete freeze-dried foods, premixes, toppers and treats.
Sojo’s is a low to moderate risk dog food. There are 5 recipes. The protein content averages 26% on a dry matter basis. The carbohydrate average is excessively high at 44%. High carbohydrate diets can increase insulin levels. They also increase the risk of obesity. They can cause unwanted changes to the gut microbiome.
Recipes are minimally processed. This means there is less heating. This preserves nutrients. Sojos uses freeze drying for its meat. The fruits and vegetables are air-dried.
This is why added vitamins and minerals is concerning. Sojo’s ingredients read more like kibble than a raw food. Several recipes don’t name them – they just state vitamins and minerals. This is unfortunate. It leaves one guessing about the quality used. It’s also a concern about how much fortification the food needs. This is an indicator of ingredient quality. Sojo’s does not use natural flavors, which is a bit of a bonus.
The Chicken recipe has peas. This is a high pesticide food. It’s also in the top 5 ingredients so it loses points. Other recipes have high pesticide foods. They’re further down the list so are in lower amounts. This includes celery and apples.
Sojos doesn’t state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their recipes. This is true of most companies. It’s a concern because AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1. Diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation. Since there’s no source of omega-3 fats in the food, one can assume the ratio is probably high.
On the whole, this is one of our lowest scoring freeze-dried foods. The ingredients aren’t much different from a premium kibble. Fortunately, there is less processing.
Sojo’s has not been recalled at the time of publish. However, Sojo’s parent company, Wellpet LLC, has had recalls:
03/17/2017 – WellPet voluntarily recalled some Wellness Canned Toppers for elevated thyroid hormone in their beef products.
02/10/2017 – WellPet voluntarily recalled cans of Wellness cat food for the potential for foreign material.
10/30/2012 – Wellness Small Breed Adult Health dry dog food was recalled for possible moisture problems that could lead to mold.
04/05/2012 – Wellness Complete Health Super 5 Mix Large Breed Puppy food was recalled for potential Salmonella contamination.
01/27/2012 – Wellness canned cat foods and Chicken & Herring foods were recalled for inadequate levels of thiamine.
WellPet LLC has also been involved in several class action suits:
In August 2016, a class action lawsuit was filed against WellPet LLC for allegedly falsely marketing its Wellness brand pet food as “Made in the USA” when the products contained ingredients from foreign countries. This complaint was dismissed in 2017.
In March 2021, WellPet LLC faced a class action suit, claiming that some of its dog foods contain potentially harmful amounts of lead and arsenic. Both the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) have set allowable limits of arsenic as 10 ppb in drinking water and apple juice, and is considering limiting the amount in rice to 100 ppb. When several Wellness products were independently tested, the complaint alleged Wellness CORE Adult Dry Ocean Whitefish, herring Meal and Salmon Meal was found to contain 1,500 ppb of arsenic and 221 ppb of lead, while the Wellness Complete health Adult Dry Whitefish and Sweet Potato was found to contain 1,200 ppb of arsenic and 220 ppb of lead.
In January, 2021, WellPet LLC again faced another class action lawsuit, this time claiming their “grain free” claim was misleading since the foods still contained “significant amounts of gluten.”
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