At The Honest Kitchen, we’re committed to accountability, transparency and consistently doing the right thing.
It’s been brought to our attention that a statement about ingredient origin that appears on our packaging and marketing materials has been perceived in a way that we did not intend. We’d like to share the history of this statement, and our plans to remedy the situation.
In 2007, the pet food industry experienced recalls caused by a food safety crisis that devastatingly killed thousands of dogs and cats. The cause of this recall was from ingredients contaminated with Melamine, sourced from China. Although our company was never part of the recall, we immediately conducted a risk assessment and made the decision to completely remove all Chinese-origin ingredients from our supply chain as part of our commitment to quality control. We added a statement to our packaging – “Made in the USA with ingredients from around the world (nothing from China)” – to communicate this, as many customers in light of the recall, actively looked for this messaging when making a pet food purchase.
The use of the statement on our labels was in no way illustrative of our feelings about the country of China itself or its people, but rather about trying to provide clarity into the origin of our ingredients, so that our customers can make informed buying decisions.
In light of the current social climate, we received feedback that the statement can be open to misinterpretation and regarded as insensitive to Asian and Asian-American communities. As a company that strives for diversity and inclusion, we sincerely apologize, and we are taking responsibility by actively removing the messaging from our packaging and marketing materials.
I want to assure you that it is absolutely not our intention to offend or to insult anyone, ever, and we do not discriminate against anybody based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation or any other factor. While our sourcing practices and standards have not changed in any way, we are removing this statement from all materials, and are committed to providing customers transparency into our sourcing, in a compassionate and respectful way.
If you have any questions about this matter, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Lucy Postins
Lucy Postins is founder and Chief Integrity Officer at The Honest Kitchen. She is a companion animal nutritionist who started The Honest Kitchen in her kitchen in 2002. She is passionate about advanced nutrition and holistic health including complementary modalities such as herbalism and homeopathy. Considered an expert in her field, Lucy frequently writes articles for local and national media, conducts radio interviews and educational spots, and occasionally holds educational seminars for pet owners on the importance of good nutrition. She also recently authored Dog Obsessed, a guide to a happier, healthier life for the pup you love.