To measure is to know

In order for agriculture and livestock farming businesses to claim organic certification, they must meet numerous requirements. In agriculture, for example, the use of harmful pesticides is forbidden, just like the genetic modification of crops. In livestock farming, animals may not receive preventive antibiotics and feeding is only allowed if organic feed is used. Additionally, the animals must be kept according to strict animal-friendly rules*. An analysis of different aspects is needed.

Analyses

Whether a chicken, cow or pig has enough inside and outside space for a better life is easy to check. That is why Yarrah’s quality manager visits all suppliers personally. Whether a crop has previously been sprayed with pesticide or if a cow has always been fed organic food can’t be checked during such a visit. To be absolutely sure of the purity of our dog and cat feed we regularly analyse the feed.

Extra tests

In addition to the normal analysis featured on all packaging (percentage of protein, fat, fibre, crude ash and moisture), Yarrah further tests the raw materials and the feed for the presence of pesticides and glyphosate, GMO, aflatoxin, peroxide and bacteria such as salmonella and E-coli. Products that must be completely free of beef are submitted to a so-called ruminant test. When certain harmful substances are found in foods, for example BHA/BHT, acrylamide or heavy metals, the quality manager may choose to analyse the raw materials for these substances.

As expected, all values found are well within the set margins and comply with the organic regulations.

*Each country determines for itself when a product can claim organic certification. It is therefore possible that a country only has one national organic certification (the Netherlands for example) and other countries have several (Germany has many organic quality marks). The overarching European regulations apply to all countries. If a product complies with those regulations, it can feature the European green leaf.