“Human-Grade” — What That Actually Means (And Why We Bother)
Walk into any pet aisle and you’ll see “premium” slapped on everything from kibble to squeaky toys. It doesn’t mean much. “Human-grade” does. It’s a legal, regulated term, and it’s the standard we bake to every single day.
The actual definition
Human-grade means every ingredient in the product is edible and legal for a person to eat, and the facility making it follows the same sanitation standards as a human food kitchen. Not “probably fine.” Not “feed-grade meets some threshold.” Actually fit for a human plate.
Most pet food and treats are made with feed-grade ingredients — material that’s legal to feed animals but wouldn’t pass inspection for a person to eat. That includes some rendered meats, some sourced from animals that died before slaughter, and a long list of things that never have to appear on a label because feed-grade rules don’t require it.
Why we bother
Because we started this place over a chocolate lab named Holly, and we weren’t willing to feed her something we wouldn’t eat ourselves. That’s not a tagline. It’s the actual bar every recipe has to clear before it goes in the case.
Whole wheat flour. Real peanut butter. Actual pumpkin, actual sweet potato, actual chicken — the kind you’d recognize in your own kitchen. If you can’t pronounce it or Google it, it’s not going in a Slobberbones treat.
What this means for your dog
Fewer fillers, less mystery — no “animal digest” or “meat by-product meal” hiding in the ingredient list
Baked fresh in-store daily, not shipped in from a co-packer six states away
Easier on sensitive stomachs, because there’s less junk to react to in the first place
It also means our treats cost a little more than the bag on the grocery store endcap. We’re fine with that trade. So are the dogs lined up at our counter.
Come see (and smell) what’s fresh out of the oven this week — the case turns over daily, so there’s always something new. Stop by our Chattanooga bakery counter or check the case on Instagram @slobberbones_pet.
