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Pet Treats

So you've gone into the pet food treat business and discovered that state governments regulate businesses like yours? Well, it can seem pretty daunting when all you might have had in mind was selling a few dozen bags of home-baked dog biscuits through your local specialty pet shop. Your state regulatory agency is the ultimate authority on matters of registration, labeling and marketing, of course, but we can help you with the testing end of it at least. The next several paragraphs offer an overview of your problem and the specific ways in which we can help.


Here's your basic plan of action:


  • In order to market legally, you must register your product(s) with the appropriate state agency. And if you market in more than one state, you'll have to register in each state.
  • Depending on the state you may be required to attach suitable labels showing guaranteed analyses. See the relevant AAFCO label requirements. If you're producing products with different recipes, you'll need to provide separate names and labels for each product.
  • In order to figure out what guaranteed analyses to put on your labels, you need to have your product(s) tested for four key nutrients: moisture, protein, fat and fiber (you'll find our guidelines for estimating guarantees on another page.). As more and more states have requested Ash, Carbs and/or Calories be tested, NJFL has made it a standard part of the guaranteed analysis group. We call it "Pet Treat Calories". Even if guarantee labels are not required in your state, you may be required to have your product tested and to maintain records of that testing. Since most state labs won't perform this service for you, you need to find an independent lab to do it for you.
  • And that's where we come in. If you select us as your lab, please do the following:


    SAMPLE SUBMISSION:

  • Label a plastic bag with your product name and/or sample number. If you write directly on the plastic, take care to use a permanent marker, such a Sanford Sharpie®.
  • Put a 4 to 6oz sample (about half of a Ziploc Sandwich size bag) of your product in the bag, press the air out and seal it to prevent moisture gain or loss in transit. Zip lock bags are excellent.
  • Write us a cover letter, on your company letterhead if you have one, requesting us to test for Pet Treat Calories. Alternatively, use our cover letter form Please be sure to put your address information and sample identifications in the appropriate places in the letter.
  • Don't bother listing your ingredients. They are totally irrelevant to our testing, although (depending on the state) you may need to put them on your eventual product label.
  • PAYMENT:

    All Pet Treat Calories testing must be paid up front using one of the two following methods:

    1. 1. Include a Money Order (not a check) to New Jersey Feed Lab, Inc. in the amount of $75 (unless prep-fee added, see below) * the number of samples you are submitting. Put this in the package with your letter.
    2. 2. Simply send the package and wait for our emailed invoice and instructions. You will call back to pay with your credit card. This is the preferred method, as we require our customers keep a card on file when possible.
  • The $75 fee is a flat fee per sample, and covers all relevant testing, homogenizing, storage, and ~3 day reporting turnaround. Exceptions in price may be made at our discretion. For instance, any sample requiring cutting or sawing prior to grinding (Rawhide, Nylon Bone, some Jerkys) will incur an additional $25 charge. If you are unsure, please contact the lab PRIOR to sending.
  • SHIPMENT AND TURNAROUND TIME:

  • Package it all up and send it off. Check our addresses elsewhere on this site. If it's only one sample, your most priceworthy service is First Class Mail by the United States Postal Service (they have an excellent rate calculator online). This low-cost method will get your sample to us in (typically) three days or less from anywhere in the US. If you're sending several samples, you should consider Priority Mail which is often a day faster than First Class. Your post office has several shipping envelopes and boxes at their locations.
  • Wait for your results. And if you use njfl.com, it won't be long either. In most instances less than two business days elapse from the time we get your sample to the time a certificate of analysis is generated, emailed and post-mailed. If you're thousands of miles from New Jersey, you might think a lab closer to you will do it faster; we invite you to investigate, but doubt you'll find any lab faster than us. Or cheaper. Or easier to deal with.
  • Keep a file of your test results. And if you need guaranteed analysis labels, consult our guidelines.
  • Good luck. Running a small business isn't easy. We know.