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Ruff Bars & Ruff Food are FDA Certified - What Does That Mean?
FDA Certification -
What does it mean that Ruff Bars and Ruff Food are FDA Certified?
Organic, Sustainability & Regenerative Farming
Maya Angelou said “We did what we knew to do, and when we knew better, we did better.”
We started Ruff Bar, Ruff Food, and Ruff Supplements, using all organic products, seeds, herbs, and antibiotic and hormone free proteins. Our salmon is wild caught in Alaska, purchased locally in WA.
Our values include products that are free of preservatives. We have grass fed grass finished beef and bison available for our BSP Summit Bars. Ruff Bars are made with grass fed beef and bison.
I encourage you to check out @TangenDraw. Their regenerative ranching practices are the future we all need to support. Regenerative ranching goes beyond sustainability. I’m grateful for the business relationships that connected us to Morgan and her family.
Grass fed/finished isn’t affordable to everyone and possibly isn’t a priority for everyone, so we’ll try to maintain options for both. As pet parents / owners, we can only do what we know to do.
In case you’re wondering about this information on our product labels, there are strict rules about using words like ‘organic’, ‘sustainability’, ‘regenerative ranching’. We can say we purchase organic carrots, but unless our facility is certified organic, carrots can not be listed as organic in the label ingredients.
My ask is that we support local farmers when you can and purchase organic as often as possible.
We’re friends with grass fed/finished ranchers in Oregon and would be pleased to share their names. If you have local farms and ranches you’d like to tell others about, let us know.
One thing this business has taught me — there will always be less expensive versions of what we sell. I’m not willing to compromise by using fillers, preservatives, or any other harmful ingredients in our products. Ever.
Let’s see if we can increase the life span of our canine companions and improve their health along the way, too.
Notes with Sue: Packaging
Sometimes, I wish we only carried a couple of products (this is said with humor from the person who just launched a new product). It would be simpler to manage inventory, paperwork, and packaging. While the idea of carrying fewer products appeals to us, deciding which ones to discontinue is a challenging task.
During the pandemic, supply shortages led us to explore alternative packaging solutions. After thorough research, we opted for a compostable packaging that claimed to be airtight and maintain shelf stability for our products.
After nearly a year of monitoring, we've discovered that compostable packaging hasn't progressed sufficiently to meet our shelf stability standards. In line with our dedication to environmental responsibility, we've chosen to adopt Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) packaging.
In our pursuit of sustainability, we're actively working on transitioning all our products to preprinted PCR packaging. This process comes with an 8-10 week lead time, plus additional time for graphic design and approval. The new packaging will resemble the pouches used for our Salmon Mini Ruff Bars.
Until the preprinted versions are ready, Ruff Bar packaging will remain clear with labels, and our pouches will be white PCR with labels.
Other notes coming soon: Graphic design and labeling, along with ingredients sourced with a focus on environmental sustainability.