Ask most people what’s in commercial raw dog food and they’ll describe something simple: ground meat, some organ, a bit of bone, maybe some vegetables, frozen into patties. No cooking, no processing, nothing added.

That gets the ingredients roughly right but misses how much happens in between. Commercial raw dog food is a manufactured product, and because it skips the cooking step other formats rely on to control bacteria, raw production depends even more heavily on everything else:

• Ingredient sourcing
• Temperature control
• Sanitation
• Formulation
• Pathogen-reduction technology
• Testing
• Packaging
• An unbroken frozen cold chain

This post is part of my How It’s Made series. If you’ve read how kibble is made, you’ll see just how different raw production is.

What exactly is commercial raw dog food?

Commercial raw dog food is made from uncooked animal ingredients (muscle meat, organs and often ground bone), sometimes combined with fruits, vegetables, seeds, oils and vitamin and mineral supplements. It's usually sold frozen as patties, nuggets, medallions or chubs, but raw is also sold freeze-dried or dehydrated.

"Raw" isn't a tightly defined regulatory category. In one of its sampling assignments, FDA noted it had not defined raw or minimally processed pet foods, and that products ranged from hunter-supplied animal parts to complete and balanced retail diets.

Raw products vary widely in

• Ingredients
• Fat content
• Bone inclusion
• Formulation
• Pathogen reduction
• Packaging
• Nutritional adequacy

Who regulates raw dog food?

Open each section for the details.

1Step one

Ingredient sourcing and quality control

Sourcing matters in every format, but in raw it carries extra weight because there's no cooking step to reduce whatever bacteria arrive with the ingredients. Manufacturers typically qualify suppliers and set written specifications for each ingredient: species and cut, fat and moisture ranges, bone content, particle size, arrival temperature and microbiological expectations.

• Muscle meatBeef, chicken, turkey, lamb, pork, fish and other species
• OrgansLiver, kidney, heart, spleen
• BoneUsually ground into the mix
• Fruits and vegetablesOften finely ground or puréed
• Seeds, oils and fatsFor fatty acids and energy
• Vitamins and mineralsA premix or targeted supplements

Animal ingredients arrive refrigerated or frozen, are checked for temperature and condition, logged by lot number for traceability, and moved straight into cold storage.

Hazards raw manufacturers plan around

Raw meat carrying bacteria is expected, not a sign of a bad supplier. It's precisely why the rest of the process exists.

2Step two

Weighing and preparing the ingredients

A raw formula starts in formulation software as nutrient targets and ingredient percentages, then gets scaled into a batch sheet listing each ingredient, its weight and space for lot numbers and operator checks.

In a raw facility, temperature governs everything. Ingredients are often kept frozen or partially frozen ("tempered") until processing, so the meat stays cold enough to limit bacterial growth and grinds cleanly. Many facilities work in refrigerated rooms and move product quickly between steps.

Precise weighing matters most for ingredients used in small amounts, such as liver (rich in vitamin A and copper) and supplements.

3Step three

Grinding and mixing, kept cold

Meat, organs and bone are ground to a consistent particle size. Grinding bone finely does two jobs: it reduces the physical hazard of sharp fragments and spreads minerals more evenly. Vegetables and fruits are usually ground or puréed.

Uniformity matters most for micronutrients. You can see flecks of bone and vegetable, but you can't see whether zinc, vitamin E or iodine is spread evenly through every patty. A sequence I recommend to clients:

1. Pre-blendMix dry supplements with a small carrier ingredient
2. Add to meatDistribute the pre-blend through the ground base
3. Add oilsOnce dry supplements are evenly spread
4. VerifySample from several points in the batch

Mixing time and sequence vary by facility, and good manufacturers document their protocol. Product temperature is monitored throughout, because friction and time both warm meat. If you're mixing raw at home, my guide to common homemade dog food mistakes covers where balance usually goes wrong.

4Step four

Forming and packaging

The mixed product is portioned and formed, then sealed into packaging. Common formats include:

• Patties
• Nuggets
• Medallions
• Chubs
• Bulk tubs

For raw, packaging often has an extra job. In products that use high-pressure processing, the food must already be sealed in a flexible package before treatment, so packaging comes before pathogen reduction. Packaging also protects against contamination and freezer burn, limits oxygen, supports portion control, and carries the lot code that ties each package back to its production records.

5Step five

Pathogen reduction

This is where raw production differs most from cooked formats. Without a heat step, each manufacturer decides how, or whether, to reduce pathogens, and practices vary widely.

What the research shows

A "5-log reduction" means 99.999% of the target bacteria are eliminated. Open each study for its findings.

Other approaches

Under U.S. rules, process controls must define the parameters that control a hazard and the minimum or maximum values they must reach. That's the standard I'd expect any raw manufacturer to be able to explain, whatever method it uses.

6Step six

Freezing and cold chain

After forming, packaging and any pathogen-reduction step, raw product is frozen, often rapidly. In one published study, a manufacturer reported freezing raw nuggets at −32°C and storing them at −20°C. That's one example, not a standard.

Freeze-dried raw takes a different route. Frozen product is dried under vacuum so it can be stored at room temperature, but it still hasn't been cooked.

7Step seven

Nutritional quality control

A food can be carefully handled and still be nutritionally incomplete. Raw diets are formulated to the same standards as other formats, usually the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for a specific life stage. Raw has a few pressure points worth knowing:

• Calcium and phosphorusBone content varies, so mineral levels can drift between batches.
• FatRaw diets can be very high in fat, which drives calorie density.
• Vitamin DFish-heavy diets need careful checking against maximums.
• Trace mineralsOrgan inclusion affects copper, vitamin A and iron.

The research shows both sides

Formulation, not format, is the deciding factor. The nutritional adequacy statement tells you whether a food is complete and balanced for a life stage. Under the formulation method, nutrient content can be calculated rather than tested, which is less reliable because ingredients vary. For raw, where bone and fat vary so much, I place real weight on whether a company verifies batches with lab analysis. Because raw is high in moisture, compare it to other foods on a dry matter basis, and check calorie needs carefully, since high-fat raw can be very energy-dense.

8Step eight

Quality assurance and food safety testing

Raw production leans heavily on its quality system: supplier verification, temperature monitoring, sanitation and environmental monitoring, pathogen testing, test-and-hold release, batch records, corrective actions and recall procedures. In U.S. terms, verification includes calibrating instruments, testing product for pathogens, and environmental monitoring where needed.

Testing has real value in raw, but it can't prove every package is pathogen-free, because contamination can be low-level and uneven. For context, an FDA-led study published in 2014 tested raw pet foods bought online:

Dry and semi-moist foods in the same study were almost never positive. The study predates wider HPP adoption and doesn't describe any specific product today.

It shows why raw manufacturers invest so heavily in controls, and why handling at home still matters.

What happens after the food leaves the factory?

Keeping raw food frozen all the way to your home protects quality and limits bacterial growth. A package that arrives thawed or warm is worth reporting to the seller.

1. PlantFrozen after packing
2. Cold storageFreezer warehouse
3. DistributionFrozen transport
4. Retail or deliveryFreezer or insulated box
5. Your homeFreezer, fridge, bowl

Handling raw food at home

• Thaw raw food on the bottom shelf of the fridge in a sealed container.Public Health Agency of Canada
• Thaw only what you need, and don't refreeze leftovers.Public Health Agency of Canada
• Use separate dishes and utensils for pet food, and wash them separately.Public Health Agency of Canada
• Pick up bowls when your dog is finished and throw out leftovers.Public Health Agency of Canada
• Don't rinse raw meat. Splashing spreads bacteria to other surfaces.FDA
• Clean and disinfect surfaces and items that touch raw food, and wash your hands well.FDA

Dogs can shed bacteria even when they look perfectly healthy, so hand hygiene after feeding, play and cleanup matters too.

Is raw more nutritious than cooked food or kibble?

There's no universal answer. Nutritional quality depends on formulation, adequacy, ingredients, processing, digestibility, quality control, storage and the individual dog.

Digestibility research does show some raw diets performing well. A 2024 University of Illinois study compared five commercial diets fed to the same dogs:

The authors themselves called for more research to separate the effects of ingredients, processing and nutrient composition. Higher digestibility also isn't the same as demonstrated long-term health benefits. Raw, cooked and dry diets can all be complete and balanced when properly formulated, and the right choice depends on your dog and household. My post on which food is best for my dog walks through that decision, and what "clean label" really means explains why marketing words aren't a nutrition measure.

What should dog owners look for when buying raw dog food?

Use this checklist with any raw product you're considering. A company that answers all of these clearly is usually a good sign.

Common myths about raw dog food

The complete raw process at a glance

1. 1
   Source and inspect ingredients

   Meat, organ, bone and other ingredients arrive cold, are checked against specifications, and are logged by lot number.

2. 2
   Grind and mix cold

   Ingredients are ground to a controlled particle size and mixed with supplements while temperature stays low.

3. 3
   Form and package

   Product is shaped into patties, nuggets or chubs and sealed, often in packaging designed for pressure treatment.

4. 4
   Pathogen reduction, where used

   Many brands use HPP or other validated interventions; some rely on sourcing, sanitation and testing alone.

5. 5
   Freeze

   Product is frozen and kept frozen to your home. Freezing stops growth but doesn't sterilize.

Conclusion

Commercial raw dog food is a controlled manufacturing process built around one defining choice: no cooking. That makes sourcing, temperature control, formulation, pathogen reduction, testing, packaging and the frozen cold chain even more important than in cooked formats, and practices differ considerably between manufacturers.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading