Freezedry Harvest
Pet food
Herbs and vegetables
for toppers and mixers.
Freeze-dried parsley flakes, banana pieces and vegetables such as carrot, kale and broccoli, grown for your program, are used in pet food toppers, meal mixers and treats. They are dry, light and shelf-stable without a cold chain. Ask us which crops suit a pet product; the onion family does not.
01 — Why freeze dried
A dry product that still looks like vegetables.
Pet food toppers are sprinkled or stirred onto a meal at home, so the ingredient sits open on a shelf between uses. That favors an ingredient at very low water activity. Freeze-dried fruit and vegetable powders are reported at a water activity of about 0.20 to 0.35, below the 0.60 at which microbes can grow, and freeze-dried ingredients can be stored without refrigeration.
A topper is also bought by eye. Freeze drying keeps the cut, so a parsley flake stays green and a carrot dice stays orange on top of brown kibble, where a hot-air-dried piece would shrink and darken. Because no hot air passes over the crop, less of its aroma is driven off. The ingredient is light, because almost all of the water is removed, and it ships from the plant with no cold chain.
We make no claims about animal health or nutrition. What we supply is the dried crop, with the paperwork that shows how it was grown and handled; for the comparison with other drying methods, see freeze drying versus air drying.
02 — Crops, cuts and when they go in
Which of our crops fit, and in what form.
These are the crops from our range, and the crops we can grow, that pet-food developers ask about. Cut and dose are set at the bench trial.
| Crop | Cut or form | Typical use | When it is added |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parsley | Chopped flakes, or powder on request | Dry toppers and meal mixers, for green color | Dry-blended into the finished topper |
| Banana | Pieces, or powder on request | Meal mixers and treats | Blended dry, or as powder in a treat dough |
| Carrot | Grown for your program: dice, pieces or powder | Toppers and meal mixers | Dry-blended; powder in baked or pressed treats |
| Kale | Grown for your program: flakes or powder | Green toppers and powders | Dry-blended or dusted |
| Broccoli | Grown for your program: pieces or powder | Meal mixers | Dry-blended |
| Beans | Grown for your program | Meal mixers | Dry-blended, or rehydrated by the owner with the meal |
Carrots, kale, broccoli, beans and other crops are planned and grown against your volumes on our own farms.
03 — Sourcing facts
What a pet-food buyer can put on file.
Pet-food buyers ask the same sourcing questions as human-food buyers. The answers are the same, because the ingredient is made in the same plant.
- Grown on our own farms and by contracted growers around Lake Naivasha, harvested all year round.
- Washed and graded the day it is picked, and in the dryers the same day.
- Herbs and vegetables certified USDA Organic and EU Organic, certified by Ecocert.
- Made in an FSSC 22000-certified plant that is an FDA-registered food facility, with a PCQI on staff.
- Every lot micro-tested in our own lab and traceable from field to pouch: farm, plot, harvest date, dryer run and packing date.
- None of the major allergens in the product or in the plant.
- Packed in metalized pouches straight after drying; 3 years shelf life in sealed packaging.
Questions
Questions buyers ask about freeze-dried pet food toppers.
Which FD Harvest ingredients are used in pet food toppers?
Parsley flakes and banana pieces from the range. Carrot, kale, broccoli, beans and other crops can be grown on our own farms and freeze dried for your program.
Why use freeze-dried vegetables in a pet topper?
They are dry, light and shelf-stable without refrigeration, and keep their cut and color on top of a meal. Freeze-dried ingredients typically finish at a very low water activity, below the level at which microbes can grow.
Can I get freeze-dried vegetable powder for treats?
Yes. FD Harvest makes powders to your specification when you ask, from a single crop.
Are the pet ingredients made in a human-food plant?
Yes. FD Harvest makes them in the same plant at Lake Naivasha as its human-food ingredients, an FSSC 22000-certified plant that is an FDA-registered food facility.
Is there a minimum order for a pet-food program?
No. There is no minimum order. Pilot runs are made small at the plant, then scaled, and free samples ship with a spec sheet.
Contact us to discuss your product requirements.
Tell us the topper or treat format and the crops you have in mind. We will suggest samples and the cuts that fit.
Contact us