"The Tour"
It is said that Heaven is on Earth, but we do not see it. Well, I have....and it's in Fremont, Nebraska. What Heaven is is a matter of perspective, I suppose, but a beautiful vision greeted by my jet-dried eyes on that windy morning in the Heartland as I beheld Natura Pet Products state-of-the-art facility. Some of the healthiest pet foods are manufactured within those unassuming mid-western walls; Evo, Innova, California Natural; and I, along with twelve other independent retailers, were being given the opportunity to see how superior pet foods are made.
We all embraced this timely occasion, since we were then riding shotgun on the avalanche known as "The Great Pet Food Recall of Ought-Seven." We compared notes from our respective trenches, expressing both bewilderment and resolve. Melamine was supposed to be in your mom's summer outdoor dishes, not a nefarious and lethal means to extract profit at the expense of our beloved pet companions; we were an independent and unified band of pet owners and lovers, positioned far differently than corporate pet suppliers in that we all focused on premium foods which eschew ingredients that do not contribute optimum nutritive value i.e., wheat, corn, non-organic soy, glutens, meat by-products, digests, grain fractions, unspecified fats, etc. We were all helping our clientele through a challenging period of agonizing re-appraisal, not only relating the specifics of the recall and easing their concerns, but also directing them to multiple alternatives that vastly improved the diets of their companion animals. Natura Pet Products were at the top of all of our lists of preferred foods knowing, as we did, that Natura has one-hundred percent ownership and control of their dry food and biscuits, a proven track record of leadership in the pet food industry through continuing nutritional innovation and quality, and an unwavering commitment to the independent retailer.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, gets into this facility without being tested. Natura started with a list of one-hundred and fifty suppliers - fifty survived. It's Natura's way or the highway; and this included our motley crew. We were schooled on proper protocol, cautioned on what was safe and unacceptable, and attired in garments to prevent contamination of any kind, which made us look like a roving band of interns on Grey's Anatomy (These garments included beard nets, and a specially designed moustache snood for our patient leader Sean, whose prodigious forest of upper-lip growth was reportedly lifted at both ends by assistants in order for him to communicate with a hearing impaired attendee of a nutritional conference, so she could read his lips.).
When you enter the plant proper you quickly realize that this is one of the cleanest places on earth: shining floors, high, well lighted ceilings, not a dust bunny to be found. The only hint of odor was reminiscent of your Grandma's kitchen after a homemade Sunday dinner. Every aspect of the entire food making process has their own room, sealed off from each other and color-coded, so that product and equipment are not subject to cross-contamination. An on-site laboratory; unique in the industry and equivalent in quality to any independent lab; literally tests everything: from raw ingredients to the finished product.
At the heart of all of this is a glassed-in control center, within the visual contact of every room, every process. Though the entire procedure is computerized, monitoring each batch of food from inception to completion, this is a hands-on company that is committed to having a "human touch" on everything it does.
This brings me to my favorite room. Oh, I know, some favor the extruders; gleaming, stainless cookers slowly forming each kibble; while those marvel at pet food being lifted pneumatically through see-through tubes, arriving at baffles eight stories above to begin their slow, cooling descent, while others delight in the flowing rivers of finished product that end at an automated weighing and packaging system so advanced it echoes some future world. But for me, it was the wet room. This is where we watched boxes of Washington Apples, Idaho Potatoes, California Alfalfa Sprouts, tubs of cottage cheese, whole eggs and fresh ground chicken and turkey you would purchase at your store being combined into the heart of what makes these foods so wholesome and special. And you know what? At the end of the week, these skilled and dedicated workers take the remaining turkey and chicken and have a barbeque.
As we left the building, two thoughts played in my mind: 1.) Standing in the shadow of the recall, I could confidently recommend a food that the makers ate themselves and, 2.) It was appropriate that one of the first persons I met in Fremont was named Hope.
Doug