Where Do Our Dog and Cat Food Ingredients Come From?

If you ever wanted to know who decides what goes into a bag of Purina pet food, just ask Dave.

As Materials Manager, Dave makes sure we have the right quality ingredients at the right time. “A lot of the ingredients come from the same places that you and I get our food from,” explains Dave. “Grain from Georgia. Wheat and corn straight from the Midwest, America’s breadbasket. Meat from facilities certified by the U.S.D.A.”

Thinking back over his 39 years with Purina, Dave is reminded of his daughter’s King Charles Spaniel. “Ever since she decided to take Dear Old Dad’s advice [and feed Purina dog food], we watched that dog’s health just get better and better.”

“It’s a badge of honor. Our vendors are proud to know they’ve passed the requirements of Purina.”

Purina works with vendors from various geographic regions, but many of the growers we work with are just down the road from our plants. Dave knows first-hand how difficult it is to be chosen as one of our vendors.

“Only a select few vendors, from wheat growers to supplement manufacturers, are able to pass the standards our company sets,” he explains. Some potential ingredients take weeks or months to be approved.

“Having been a pet owner, it’s easy to relate to other pet owners,” says Dave. “When I think back to when I was a kid, scooping up food for a dog I thought the world of. It doesn’t matter how much that pet cost. To the owner, it’s the most valuable pet in the whole wide world.”

You can see where our most commonly used ingredients come from here.