The Honest Kitchen takes State Regulators to Task

August 6th 2007

San Diego, CA The Honest Kitchen announced today that it is taking the Ohio Department of Agriculture to court, to appeal that department’s refusal to allow the company to label its pet food products as human food grade.

The company’s diets are made with 100% human-food-grade ingredients which are also sold to the human food industry, in a human-food factory alongside bakery mixes and other products for human consumption. Every batch is taste-tested by human QC personnel as it comes off the production line. The sole distinguishing feature is that the products are formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of dogs and cats.

Several years ago, The Honest Kitchen proved to the federal FDA that every vendor it deals with, is a legitimate supplier to the human food industry, and the ingredients it purchases are no different from those that enter the human food chain. Every other state where the company licenses its products, has acknowledged the human grade nature of the diets and allows the company to label its product Human Grade, yet Ohio will not.

“We have tried to communicate with the department of agriculture in Ohio, to show them that the ‘human food grade’ statement on our labels is just, truthful and not in any way misleading” stated company spokesperson Lucy Postins.

She continued, “Our attorneys have gone back and forth with them, trying to persuade them of our right to commercial free speech and the discretionary oversight they have made in refusing to allow us to sell our products in their state, but to no avail. We know our products are human grade and we want to fight the good fight and try our very best to have their decision overturned.”

The statement on the company’s labels, to which Ohio objects, reads, “This product is made with 100% human food grade ingredients. It contains no animal feed grade ingredients whatsoever and is made in a USDA inspected facility, but is intended for your dog to eat, not you!”. The statement was devised in conjunction with USDA and FDA in 2005, so that the company could make a legitimate claim to the human grade nature of its products while still noting that they were formulated for the consumption of pets.

More information on the details of this case are available from Lucy Postins Lucy@thehonestkitchen.com (858) 483 5995.