Manufacturing pet foods

Manufacturing your own pet foods

This guidance covers the manufacturing of pet food. Providing emphasis on the domestic production of pet food and treats in your own home. For example: home-made dog biscuits.

Before you start manufacturing any pet food, please contact your local Trading Standards for advice. Feed businesses, including all pet food manufacturers, must not operate without being registered or approved (as appropriate) with their Local Authority - Trading Standards. 

Additionally, EU Regulations require the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), to approve manufacturers where pet food uses or incorporates products of animal origin. For example, eggs, meat, milk, butter, honey. This includes premises manufacturing pet food in domestic houses. Even if using products of animal origin deemed fit for human consumption.  

You can contact APHA:

Pet food is any product produced by a pet food manufacturer (even if produced in your own home) whether:

  • processed
  • partially processed
  • or unprocessed

and is intended to be ingested by pet animals after placing on the market. Usually, pet food is in the form of :

  • coarse mix
  • kibbles / biscuits
  • wet food in tins or pouches
  • but it also includes, for example, dog cakes and other similar treats
  • raw feed (frozen or fresh).

Feed legislation applies principally to feed for 'food-producing animals'. This means farmed livestock, including rabbits and horses. However, it also covers feed for what are called 'non-food producing animals'. This means creatures living freely in the wild, fur-bearing animals, pets, and animals kept in zoos, circuses, and laboratories.

A pet can be defined as any 'non-food producing animal' belonging to a species fed, bred, or kept but not normally used for human consumption.

For further information and advice please call APHA using telephone: 03000 200 301

Labelling

The pet food manufacturers association (pfma) website provides industry guidance and fact sheets on labelling pet food. It may help you with labelling your home-made pet food.

Your product may need to be analysed by a laboratory; so that you can provide detailed labelling information. We cannot recommend any specific laboratories, but here is an example of one Animal By-Product Testing laboratory. You might find others if you search online.

If the same recipe and method followed every time, then the analysis would only be needed once for each different product produced. We would recommend having a written recipe and method for each product created along with any lab results.

You need to ensure you use the correct weighing equipment. Further guidance is on the Business Companion website.

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