Primal Pet Foods Statement on Avian Influenza

Primal Pet Foods follows a comprehensive food safety and quality assurance program in our manufacturing facilities that includes Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) to ensure product safety and consistency. Our team has identified multiple preventative controls throughout the production process and developed a robust environmental monitoring program. Additionally, our state-of-the-art freeze-drying facility in Abilene, Texas, is SQF (Safe Quality Foods) certified, which is an internationally recognized program for food safety and quality management. 

We have a strict supplier approval program in place where each ingredient supplier undergoes a rigorous vetting process. This includes providing us with Letters of Safety Guarantee, country of origin documents, valid third-party audit certifications and/or internal risk assessment measures, approved specifications, which include required testing and detailed food safety questionnaires.  

Our suppliers maintain strict measures to ensure that the raw ingredients they supply to Primal meet our high standards for quality and nutrition. They have been following guidance about avian influenza from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and local agricultural officials and have increased their vigilance to keep avian influenza away from their animals, property, and people. For example, at the farm where we source our goat milk, the goats do not have access to uncovered water sources and the feed and grain are covered to deter birds. Additionally, the farm is partnering with local veterinarians to closely monitor the health of the herd. 

Our experienced Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA) and Procurement teams have been working closely with our beef and poultry suppliers to ensure all safety protocols are consistently followed. For example, a USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) veterinarian is always present to visually inspect cattle at our suppliers for signs of disease prior to processing and our poultry supplier tests for avian influenza before processing the turkeys or chickens. The USDA remains confident that the meat supply is safe.  Additionally, our goat milk supplier has been actively testing every batch/lot of our raw milk for several months in partnership with the state department of agriculture. 

Upon receipt of raw materials at our manufacturing facilities in California and Texas, our team thoroughly inspects the ingredients to ensure that processing and storage parameters are carefully maintained throughout the production process to safeguard product safety and quality.  

We use high-pressure processing (HPP) to ensure our raw frozen products are safe for your pets to consume. HPP is a non-thermal technology that has been proven to inactivate microorganisms, including viruses, with minimal influence on the integrity of the nutrients in foods. Based on literature published on the effect of HPP, viruses should be inactivated under our specific processing conditions. This is supported by current research*, which indicates that HPP is effective at mitigating avian influenza when applied at appropriate parameters, including pressure levels, duration, water activity, etc. 

Buckow, R., Bingham, J., Daglas, S., Lowther, S., Amos-Ritchie, R., & Middleton, D. (2017). High pressure inactivation of selected avian viral pathogens in chicken meat homogenate. Food Control, 73, 215–222.  

Isbarn, S., Buckow, R., Himmelreich, A., Lehmacher, A., & Heinz, V. (2007). Inactivation of avian influenza virus by heat and high hydrostatic pressure. Journal of Food Protection, 70(3), 667–673.  

Govaris, A., & Pexara, A. (2021). Inactivation of Foodborne Viruses by High-Pressure Processing (HPP). Foods, 10(2), 215.