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Is Rachael Ray Dog Food Made in China? What You Need to Know

Kristin Hitchcock

By Kristin Hitchcock

rachael ray nutrish dog food and treats

Rachael Ray dog foods are not made in China. Instead, all of their dry foods are made by Big Heart Pet Brands, which owns facilities in the United States. However, their wet food recipes are produced in Thailand.

With that said, they do not specify where their ingredients are sourced from. Therefore, they may use suppliers in China for their dog food. They are not required to disclose this information, and they likely will not disclose this information in the future. Sadly, many dog food companies do not release where their food is sourced from.

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Ingredients

There was a very large recall in 2007 relating to melamine being found in many different formulas. This chemical is used in the production of plastic and is toxic. Sadly, before the recall could be done, thousands of pets died, and many more experienced permanent kidney damage due to this chemical. Hundreds of pet foods were recalled from many different brands.

In the end, the contamination was caused by a fault in a supplier. This supplier was in China and supplied many larger suppliers and pet food companies directly. The owners of this company were fined. However, beyond a reporting system for potentially contaminated dog foods, the dog food industry remains much the same today.

Rachael Rayโ€™s dog food was not around at the time of this recall. However, this situation goes to show that where the ingredients come from is just as important as where they are cooked.

While this company produces most of its food in the United States, it likely gets its ingredients from foreign countries, including China.

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What Dog Food Is Not Made in China?

Rachael Ray Nutrish ad

Many different dog food brands are not made in China. Today, dog food companies understand that their customers do not want food that comes from China. Therefore, they do their best to produce their foods within the United States, but there are still some that produce a lot of their food in foreign countries, including China.

On top of making food in China, some companies also donโ€™t source any ingredients from China either. Many companies will announce that all of their foods are made in the United States. However, that doesnโ€™t mean that all of the foodโ€™s ingredients are produced in the United States. Usually, the ingredients come from elsewhere and are then assembled into dog food once they reach US soil.

Luckily, many companies do not get their ingredients from China. While many of these companies still get some of their ingredients from other countries, theyโ€™re more likely to turn to Europe or Oceania for ingredients that they canโ€™t get in the United States.

Many companies get their vitamin additives from China, as it is one of the largest producers of vitamins in the world and has cheap ingredients. Many other extracts are also commonly sourced from China.

To find dog foods that contain minimal ingredients from China or none at all, you have to turn to a very specific list of brands. Here are the brands that truly donโ€™t source ingredients from China or only source a very small number from China:

  • The Honest Kitchen
  • Fromm Family Dog Food
  • Merrick
  • Acana
  • Grandma Maeโ€™s
  • Orijen

While there may be other companies out there that donโ€™t source from China, these are the few brands that we are confident in. Most dog food companies arenโ€™t very forthcoming on whether or not they source their ingredients from China. If they donโ€™t blatantly state that they donโ€™t, then theyโ€™re probably getting at least some of their ingredients from China.

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Conclusion

In todayโ€™s world, most dog food companies do not make their foods in China. However, many do source their ingredients from China. Therefore, many dog foods that are โ€œmade in the USAโ€ donโ€™t use ingredients solely from the USA. Instead, they tend to source from around the world, including China.

Rachael Rayโ€™s dog food brand does not specify exactly where its ingredients are from. However, many dog food companies donโ€™t, so this isnโ€™t anything out of the ordinary. Because they donโ€™t state that all of their ingredients come from the USA, at least some of them are likely foreign. China is a common source of vitamin supplements, so we expect that this company probably sources some vitamins from China.

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Kristin Hitchcock

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Kristin is passionate about helping pet parents create a fulfilling life with their pets by informing them on the latest scientific research and helping them choose the best products for their pets. She currently resides in Tennessee with four dogs, three cats, two fish, and a lizard, though she has dreams of owning chickens one-day!

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