Freshpet Earns Clean Label Project Certification and Purity Award for Entire U.S. and Canada Portfolio

Freshpet wins full-portfolio Clean Label purity certification

Bedminster, N.J. — Freshpet Inc., the leader in fresh food for pets, announces that its entire U.S. and Canadian product line earns Clean Label Project Certification and the organization’s Purity Award, making it the first and only pet food brand whose full portfolio meets the nonprofit’s thresholds for environmental and industrial contaminants. The certification follows independent laboratory testing of more than 100 potential contaminants, and the Purity Award places Freshpet foods among the top third of products tested in the wider food industry.

The Clean Label Project evaluates ingredients for contaminants that do not appear on ingredient labels, including heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury, bisphenols (BPA and BPS), phthalates (CBP and DEHP), acrylamide, pesticides and other toxins. Freshpet begins certification work in early 2025 and subjects its grocery and pet-specialty SKUs to the nonprofit’s standards, with testing covering finished products and ingredients across its kitchens and supply chain. Clean Label Project’s independent thresholds are widely used by retailers and consumer groups to assess unseen chemical risks in food products.

Company executives present the recognition as third-party validation of more than two decades of investment in minimally processed, fresh ingredients and in-house manufacturing. Freshpet frames the certification as evidence of supply-chain control and ingredient integrity that supports “safer choices” for millions of pets and provides quantitative assurance to retailers, veterinarians and pet owners who seek independent verification of product purity rather than relying solely on labeling claims.

Co-founder and president Scott Morris says the company sets out 20 years ago to create a different kind of pet food from real, simple ingredients, and that today’s certification reinforces that long-standing mission. He emphasizes that achieving uniform certification across all U.S. and Canadian SKUs requires sustained sourcing discipline and manufacturing controls in Freshpet’s own kitchens.

The certification process, conducted by the nonprofit Clean Label Project, includes testing across the company’s full range and results in the Purity Award distinction reserved for top performers in a category. Freshpet says the findings support its positioning in fresh, minimally processed pet foods and aim to strengthen trust among retailers and veterinary professionals assessing product safety.