Gently cooked, chilled and frozen meals designed around food safety, portioning and the cold chain — with nutrition that holds up through storage and serving.
Fresh, gently cooked and raw formats are among the fastest-growing in pet food, and they carry the highest food-safety demands. Without the long cook of extrusion or retort, pathogen control, cold-chain design and short shelf life have to be engineered into the product.
We build fresh recipes around a validated kill step — thermal or high-pressure processing — with portioning from the energy value, shelf-life studies and the food-safety inputs your manufacturer needs.
Start your project with Guires PNLEvery format starts from the species, the life stage and the nutritional objective.
Complete fresh recipes for dogs and cats, cooked to a validated kill step.
Recipes and packs designed for chilled or frozen distribution.
Raw formats with high-pressure processing, built around pathogen control.
Portion sizes set from the energy value and the pet’s needs.
Recipe platforms that adapt to life stage, weight and activity.
Fresh complements that add appeal to a complete diet.
Raw and lightly processed formats carry higher Salmonella and Listeria risk, so a validated kill step is essential.
High-pressure processing works, but results vary by pathogen and formulation, so each recipe is validated.
Chilled shelf life is set by microbiology, oxidation and texture together.
Vitamins and fats must still meet targets at the end of shelf life, not just at production.
Species, format, distribution and market.
Recipe, energy calculation and portion design.
Thermal or HPP process with validation plan.
Kitchen and pilot batches.
Pathogens, nutrients and shelf-life studies.
Specification, HACCP inputs and process sheet.
Peer-reviewed findings that shape how we develop this format.
One study found Salmonella in 26.2% and Listeria monocytogenes in 19% of raw diets, and in none of the extruded diets tested.
Fresh and raw recipes are designed around a validated kill step.
HPP at 586 MPa achieved 5-log reductions of Salmonella and STEC in raw pet food, but Listeria was more resistant and results depended on the formulation.
HPP is validated for each recipe, not assumed.
Since January 2025, FDA requires US manufacturers using uncooked poultry or cattle materials to consider H5N1 in their food safety plans.
H5N1 hazard analysis is part of US fresh and raw projects.
Each application has its own page with the evidence, the actives and the claim boundaries we work within.
Firm stools, comfortable digestion and a balanced gut microbiome.
A healthy skin barrier and a glossy coat, driven by the right balance of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, protein quality and key micronutrients.
Lighter, more satisfying diets that help pets reach and keep a healthy weight.
Nutrition that helps the immune system work as it should.
Every ingredient we choose for fresh & gently cooked is assessed for nutrient contribution, digestibility, processing behaviour, palatability and the rules in your market — and sourced to your specification.
Regulation updates, the latest research, recalls and market trends that shape fresh & gently cooked — written by our formulation, testing and regulatory teams.
Every project at Guires Pet Nutrition Lab runs inside an ISO 9001:2015 certified quality system and FSSAI-licensed operations, with documented methods, calibrated instruments, traceable raw materials and reviewed reports — so the results behind your product can be checked and defended.
Yes, with a validated pathogen-reduction step such as HPP and a testing plan, because raw formats carry higher pathogen risk.
It depends on recipe, kill step and packaging; we set it from shelf-life studies rather than estimates.
We design recipes and packs for chilled or frozen distribution and advise on storage conditions.
Real client projects — the problem, the science and the result.
Tell us the species, the format and the market — we will come back with an approach and next steps.
Every Guires PNL product is formulated to comply with the FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines and the AAFCO Dog and Cat Food Nutrient Profiles. Neither body issues certificates to manufacturers, so compliance is verified independently against their published standards — and every product comes with a complete documentation package for regulatory submissions in the EU, US, Australia and Asian markets.
How we verify compliance →