MDF sources all of it’s meat from Federally inspected facilities (CFIA) so yes MDF uses human grade meat – the same processors supply meat to grocery, hospitality, institutions and restaurants across Canada. These facilities provide us with the safest source of meat products from a bacterial population perspective and also provide a consistent quality and constant supply of the same meat inputs on a day to day basis.

This debate has many aspects that many people don't realize. In fact many of these claims don't tell the whole story…

Hormones are not used in poultry production. In beef production the hormones used are very limited because of cost and are derivatives of those found in the likes of broccoli. In fact there is more of the hormone derivative in a kilo of broccoli than used in the production of a beef animal. Where this issue was of significance is in the increased production of milk because the hormone used was determined to be harmful and has since been discontinued. That said we do try to source from non-hormone production where possible but access to the quantities required at time of production may mean we need to use sources that we cannot confirm zero hormone use.

Antibiotic use is prevalent in both the poultry and beef production processes. We have to rely on accepted regulation in place to limit exposure to these substances. Marketing of such products needs to be met with scrutiny though because the level of inspection from source is an issue. The use of 'antibiotic free' has been interchanged with 'free of antibiotics' and they are not the same. 'Antibiotic free' means zero antibiotic use which does not exist in poultry production because hatching eggs are injected with antibiotics to aid in chick survival rates. While they are being raised antibiotic use is on the decline for both regulatory and cost reasons. 'Biologic sealing' of barn areas has also meant that their need is being reduced significantly. Industry is moving that direction and will continue. 

'Free of antibiotics' is now being used by many to described their product. This indicates this process exactly, and includes the regulatory rule that says no antibiotics are used for fixed period prior to shipping for processing, to allow dissipation of the of those substances effectively making them 'free of antibiotics'. These regulatory rules apply to both poultry and beef production.

Again given our consumption rates and only using products from federally inspected facilities we can only process products from these regulatory environments. Truly antibiotic free animals are not segregated in these plants and anyone claiming this as a source is probably not using a federally inspected facility for supply.

Many of the larger federally inspected facilities have contract agreements with the primary producers which determine the feed, and hormone and antibiotic use permitted.

No – all of the meat is Canadian.

There are no mandatory safety protocols for the manufacture of pet food in Canada. However MDF is committed to the production of safe products and is one of only two Canadian companies to implement Good Manufacturing Procedures (GMP’s) established for Canadian raw food manufacturers by the Canadian Association of Raw Pet Food Manufacturers (CARPFM) we are also the only company that is Hazard Analysis critical Control Points (HACCP) certified, this is a human grade food safety standard that we have put in place to ensure safety for you and your pet(s). As part of these GMP’s, MDF undergoes voluntary annual third party facility inspections.

We do not use binders per se. Up until May 12, 2014 we did use TVP (textured vegetable product) made from soy in 3 products. We are now switching to use pea bran in those products to absorb the 'free water' in excess which aids in packaging.

No preservatives are added to our products. To maintain freshness all products are frozen immediately after packaging.

Carbohydrates from grains are not required for complete nutrition – dogs and cats get there energy from animal fats and protein.

All products except the Bovine with Vegetable & Fruit contain bone. Our process includes a double grind process to ensure bone size consistency.

We do not use beef bone (or saw meal) in any product. In our Beef Ascension product we use chicken backs to add calcium component. For our Bovine product we suggest using a vitamin mineral supplement Kelp-Mn that has dicalcium phosphate in it to supply calcium; but this is only if the Bovine represents the total diet and not fed as part of a larger meal plan including the poultry products.

Yes - MDF has special formulas for small breed dogs and a Mountain Cat Food. These products have an additional grind (10 passes of the blade) to ensure a smoother, finer ground consistency for smaller pets.

MDF does not recommend mixing raw food and kibble. Kibble take longer to digest than raw meat.

Active dogs : 3% of optimal body weight.
Non-Active dogs: 2% of optimal body weight.
Puppies: 4%-5% of body weight – weigh the puppy every two weeks and adjust the feed amount accordingly.

Remember – weigh all foods – do not guess at the amounts. Also remember that treats count as part of the daily amount and we recommend that treats be no more than 10% of the diet.

Check out the “How Much To Feed” Caculator.

It depends on the product. MDF products include:

Non-supplemented: Alpine Plain Chicken Bone-In (BI) and Alpine Plain Turkey BI – suggested supplements include organ meats, fruit and vegetables, kelp and Cod liver oil.

Partially supplemented: Alpine Chicken BI and Turkey BI and Protein Balanced products – these have vegetables and some organ meats included so suggested supplements include kelp and cod liver oil.

Fully supplemented products: The Ascension products are fully supplemented – ready to serve meals.

Check out our suggested supplements here.