How Freshpet Earned Clean Label Certification and Purity Award Recognition for Ingredient Quality

When it comes to feeding our pets, we all want the same thing: food we can trust.

That trust now comes with a powerful new third-party validation. Freshpet’s entire U.S. product line has not only earned Clean Label Certification from the Clean Label Project, but has also been awarded the organization’s prestigious Purity Award, a distinction reserved for the top one third of tested products within the dog food category.

This recognition is more than a badge. It’s a confirmation of something we’ve believed in since day one: Real, fresh ingredients prepared with care can – and do – meet the highest levels of safety and transparency.

Let’s take a closer look at what this certification really means, why it matters, and how our fresh-from-the-fridge recipes naturally meet the bar.

What is the Clean Label Project?

The Clean Label Project (CLP) is a nonprofit that looks past the marketing and focuses on what really matters: what’s inside the food we are eating or feeding our loved ones. CLP tests food products for things you won’t see on a label, such as heavy metals, pesticides, acrylamide, and BPA, using industry standard testing protocols in GMP compliant and FDA registered labs. For their first ever pet food analysis, 79 dog food products were tested and compared.

Freshpet is currently the first and only pet food brand to have its entire U.S. product line Certified by CLP. This is a milestone that underscores the rigor of the process and the standards we’ve held ourselves to all along. To earn Clean Label Certification, each of Freshpet’s recipes had to exceed rigorous third-party benchmarks for over 100 potential contaminants including heavy metals, pesticides, BPA, and acrylamide. Additionally, Freshpet’s production process was evaluated for ingredient quality, transparency around ingredient sourcing, as well as manufacturing and safety practices.

When Clean Label Project compared Freshpet to traditional dry dog food, the difference was striking. On average, dry food contained much higher levels of heavy metals like lead and cadmium, as well as acrylamide, which is a by-product of high heat processing.

These findings underscore a growing truth: how pet food is made matters. And the science supports what many pet parents have long suspected – fresh food is a cleaner, safer choice.

Why this recognition feels so natural for us

Freshpet didn’t have to change who we are to meet these standards. In many ways, Clean Label Project Certification reflects what we’ve cared about from the start. Our recipes have been built around real, gently cooked ingredients prepared in our Freshpet-owned kitchens. That means:

·        Fresh, recognizable ingredients like real chicken, beef, salmon, veggies, and whole grains.

·        Gentle steam-cooking methods that help preserve nutrients and ingredient integrity.

·        Clean ingredient philosophy that ensures all recipes are made without artificial preservatives or additives.

·        Strict safety checks at every step in the preparation process.

Our fresh-from-the-fridge approach is built around doing things the right way, even when it’s harder, slower, or more hands-on. That’s why these standards feel less like a hurdle and more like a natural match for the food we already make.

Why third-party verification matters

Pet parents deserve to feel confident about what they’re serving, and that confidence should come from more than just a brand’s word. Independent testing offers proof, not promises, showing that what’s in the bag or roll matches what’s on the label.

With more pet food choices on shelves than ever before, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Marketing terms like “natural,” “premium,” or “clean” are everywhere, but they don’t always come with clear definitions. Third-party certification cuts through the noise. It creates a level of transparency the pet food world hasn’t always had, one that opens the doors, shows the process, and holds products to measurable, science-backed standards.

The Freshpet promise

Clean Label Certification and the Purity Award mark a meaningful milestone, but they also serve as a reminder of the responsibility we carry with each batch of fresh food. Ingredient integrity isn’t something we “achieve” once; it’s something we recommit to every single day.

Because when it comes to feeding the pets we love, clean, honest, real food should always have a place in the bowl.

Click the link below to read the Clean Label Project category study in full:

Clean Label Project (CLP) Dog Food Study