USDA Certified & Audited
Importance of USDA Certification.
Not all pet food manufacturers are required to be USDA inspected. Being USDA Certified is 100% voluntary, but 4 Paws Chicken Chips believes being USDA Certified and inspected on a daily basis helps guarantee quality and safety. Our parent company (Far West Meats) manufactures human food, therefore, we already have the process and procedures required for human food processing. We transfer them over to our pet food manufacturing process and keep the same standards. This ensures all raw materials are purchased from USDA vendors with letters of guarantee backing the quality of our raw materials.
What does it mean to be USDA Certified?
USDA Certified means the United States Department of Agriculture is present during the production of 4Paws Chicken Chips products. The USDA agent is present inspecting every ingredient and expiration dates for quality, ensuring equipment sanitation, and inspecting employees for food handling sanitation guidelines.
Third-Party Audit.
Third-party audits are used to verify your plant's compliance with current regulations and industry practices through program reviews and on-site observations. These audits, including HACCP, Distribution Centers (DC), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Food Safety Management Systems, Pet Food/Animal Feed, Packaging, and Dietary Supplements, employ a combination of food safety principles, regulatory guidelines and industry best practices to provide an objective overview of your program. Evaluations and audits and inspections are conducted by specially trained, experienced auditors with extensive knowledge of the food industry and specific training in each sector.
