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Vital Essentials Dog Foods are made at their own facilities in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Vital Essentials brand was launched in 2009. The family-owned parent company, Carnivore Meat Company, was established in 2012.
In January 2022 Carnivore Meat Company announced the acquisition of a fourth facility in Green Bay, Wisconsin. with an additional 24,000 sq ft of space. The building provides increased storage space and will have 12 freeze dryers, increasing production capacity by 50%, starting in July 2022.
Vital Essentials makes single protein raw frozen and freeze dried foods, treats and snacks for dogs and cats. All the products are made in-house, and the company controls the whole process, from sourcing to packaging and storage. Products contain no added hormones, antibiotics, fillers, flavorings, artificial preservative, colors, synthetic vitamins, minerals, or rendered by-products, and they’re all Certified Gluten Free® and grain free.
Carnivore Meat Company is the only pet food manufacturer in the world with the EU Certified and GFSI-FSSC 22000 (ISO) Certified. The company developed its strict food safety program with Kansas State University and has received “Superior” ratings from FDA audits.
The company states they are “… proud to source U.S.A. farm-raised, pasture-fed, free-run, and wild-caught ingredients” but it’s not clear if every animal protein ingredient meets these descriptions.
The average score of each Vital Essentials line is listed below. Click on any line to view the individual foods and scores.
With a score of 10, Vital Essentials Raw Frozen is considered a low risk dog food. There are no points deducted for processing, ingredient quality or safety. The foods are very low in carbohydrate, and high in protein. Fat percentage is significantly lower than protein, which is desirable in a raw food.
All 5 recipes contain animal proteins only. Any carbohydrates in these foods come from what’s in the meat animals themselves.
With a score of 9.95/10, Vital Essentials Freeze Dried Grain Free is considered a low risk dog food.There are no points deducted for light processing, ingredient quality or safety, except in the case of the Turkey recipe which loses a point for having carbohydrates of 15% as calculated.
These foods are low in carbohydrate, averaging about 8%. The foods contain no added grains, produce or starchy ingredients, so any carbs in the food come from the meat itself.
With a score of 10, Vital Essentials Fusion is considered a low risk dog food. There are no points deducted for processing, ingredient quality or safety. These 2 recipes have minimal carbohydrate, and are high in protein at 13% as fed. The fat percentage is significantly lower than protein, which is desirable in a raw food. These foods have 10% (mainly organic) produce for added nutrients. There are some chelated minerals added (and it’s worth noting that chelated minerals are considered more absorbable than non-chelated) but the amount is below the threshold that would raise ingredient quality concerns.
Vital Essentials had two voluntary recalls in 2018. The first was in February, and involved 73 cases of its Freeze Dried Beef Nibblets Entrée due to possible salmonella contamination. The second was in April, involving two freeze dried dog foods due to possible salmonella contamination. The foods were the Freeze Dried Beef Toppers and the Frozen Beef Chub Entrée.
There have been no known lawsuits filed.
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