What Is Sous Vide Pet Food? The Science of Cooking at 80°C (and Why We Don't Go Higher)

Sous vide. Vacuum-sealed pouches submerged in a precision water bath. The technique behind the best steak of your life, the silkiest poached eggs, and that 72-hour short rib at the restaurant you saved up for.

Now picture that same method, scaled to feed your cat or dog. That's what we do. Every pack of Bon Pet food is sous vide cooked at exactly 80°C, sealed in the same bag it cooks in, then blast-frozen and shipped cold-chain to your door.

This post is the long-form answer to the question we get most often: "Why sous vide for pet food?" Not because it's trendy. Because the science says it preserves more of what your furkid actually needs, and we want to walk you through the why.

Here's what's going on inside that bag.

What sous vide actually is

Sous vide is French for "under vacuum." Food gets sealed in a plastic pouch, submerged in temperature-controlled water, and held there for a long time. Restaurants use it because:

• ✅ Temperature stays exact (within 0.5°C). No hot spots, no overcooking, no guessing.
• ✅ Nothing escapes the bag. Juices, fat, micro-nutrients all stay with the food.
• ✅ Bacteria get pasteurised by time, not by burning. You can hold meat at 60-80°C for hours and pathogens still die, but the protein stays tender and the heat-sensitive nutrients survive.

For pet food, that last point is everything. Most commercial pet food is extruded (kibble) at 120-200°C, or canned at 121°C+ for sterilisation. Both temperatures are well past the point where:

• Taurine starts to break down (the amino acid cats need or they go blind and develop heart disease)
• B vitamins denature (thiamine is famously fragile, deficient cats develop neurological symptoms)
• Omega-3s oxidise (the EPA and DHA in fish that support skin, joints, and brain)
• Maillard reaction kicks into overdrive, creating advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) linked in canine studies to oxidative stress and inflammation

Sous vide at 80°C sits right in the sweet spot: hot enough to pasteurise, cool enough to preserve.

Why 80°C and not 100°C?

Three reasons we don't go higher.

1. Taurine is heat-sensitive, and cats can't make their own. Cats are obligate carnivores. Their bodies don't synthesise taurine the way dogs and humans do, so every milligram has to come from food. Boiling, frying, and extrusion all destroy taurine, sometimes by 50% or more. Studies on commercial cat foods have shown thermal processing reduces bioavailable taurine substantially, which is why most kibble has to add synthetic taurine after the fact. We use whole-animal protein (heart especially, which is naturally high in taurine) and cook at a temperature that keeps it intact.

2. Maillard reaction and AGEs. You know the brown crust on a roast? That's the Maillard reaction: amino acids reacting with sugars under heat to create flavour compounds and, less helpfully, advanced glycation end-products. Research on dry pet food (van Rooijen et al., 2013) has found AGEs at levels well above human-food norms, with kibble showing dramatically more AGEs than minimally processed alternatives. AGEs are linked in companion-animal research to oxidative stress, inflammation, and accelerated ageing. At 80°C, sealed in a pouch (no exposed surface, no browning), Maillard activity is minimal.

3. Real food shouldn't taste burnt. This sounds soft, but it matters. Cooked at 80°C, our packs come out the colour and texture of actually-cooked meat. Not brown crumbles, not grey paste. Pets can tell. The sniff-and-walk-away rate on extruded food vs sous vide is not subtle.

Why 80°C and not 65°C?

You might be reading sous vide forums right now and thinking "but humans cook chicken sous vide at 60-65°C all the time." True. The reason we sit higher comes down to two things.

1. Pasteurisation kinetics for pet food ingredients. We use a lot of organ meat (heart, liver, kidney) that's higher-risk for pathogens than the human muscle cuts you'd find in a restaurant. To reliably reduce Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, and Campylobacter to safe levels, the time-temperature combination needs to clear what's called a "7-log reduction" (a 99.99999% pathogen kill). At 65°C you can get there with very long hold times. At 80°C it happens faster and more consistently across pack sizes, which matters when you're producing batches.

2. Veg and supplements need a bit more heat. Our dog formulas contain real veg (sweet potato, zucchini, beetroot) and a supplement blend formulated by a PhD in animal nutrition. Some of those ingredients (especially starchy veg) are more digestible after a slightly higher cook. 80°C softens the cell walls enough that nutrients become more bioavailable, without pushing into the temperature range where vitamins start dropping out.

So 80°C is the floor for safety, the ceiling for nutrition. That's where every batch sits.

"Gently cooked" vs sous vide: what's the difference?

If you've shopped fresh pet food in Singapore, you've seen "gently cooked" everywhere. PetCubes, BomBom, others. Honest answer: "gently cooked" is a marketing term, not a process. It can mean any of:

• Steam-cooked in open trays
• Boiled in water (loses vitamins and minerals to the water that gets drained off)
• Slow-roasted in ovens (uneven, surface AGEs)
• Sous vide (precise temperature, sealed pouch)

We use "gently cooked" on our site because it's what most pawrents are searching for, but technically what we do is sous vide. Sealed pouches. 80°C. Precise temperature control. Same equipment a Michelin restaurant uses, just scaled up.

If you ask a fresh-pet-food brand "what does gently cooked mean for you?" and they can't tell you the temperature, the time, or whether it's sealed, they're using it as a vibe. That's fine. It's just not the same thing.

What goes in our packs (no fillers, no shortcuts)

Sous vide is only as good as what you put in the bag. Here's what's in ours.

Cat formulas (200g packs):

• ✅ 95% whole-animal protein. Muscle meat plus organ meat (heart, liver, kidney) for natural taurine, B12, iron.
• ✅ 5% supplements. PhD-formulated blend covering vitamins A, D, E, taurine top-up to AAFCO All Life Stages, plus calcium and trace minerals.
• ✅ 0% veg fillers. Cats are obligate carnivores. They don't need carrots.

Dog formulas (300g packs):

• ✅ 70% whole-animal protein.
• ✅ 25% real veg and fruit. Sweet potato, zucchini, beetroot, blueberries (varies by recipe). Sliced fresh same day in our kitchen.
• ✅ 5% supplements. PhD-formulated to AAFCO All Life Stages, including omega-3s from fish oil, joint-supporting glucosamine, and a balanced vitamin/mineral blend.

Every recipe is published in full on our open-source formulas spreadsheet. Ratios, ingredients, supplement breakdown, gram by gram. No proprietary-blend nonsense.

How sous vide compares to the other ways to feed

vs. kibble. Shelf-stable, cheap, calorie-dense. Trade-offs: extruded at 120-200°C (taurine and B-vitamin loss), high in starches (often 30-50% by dry matter), surface AGEs, low moisture. Most kibble-fed pets are chronically under-hydrated.

vs. raw. Raw preserves nutrients perfectly. Trade-off: pathogen risk, especially for puppies, kittens, and immunocompromised humans in the household. Sous vide gets nutrient retention close to raw with the safety of cooking.

vs. freeze-dried. Freeze-drying preserves more than extrusion but isn't free: lipid oxidation can still happen during processing and storage, and rehydration takes owner effort. Texture changes too.

vs. home-cooked. Boiling, pan-frying, and oven-roasting all hit higher temperatures with exposed surfaces, so taurine and B-vit losses are real. Home cooking can work if you're using a vet-formulated recipe and tracking ratios, but most DIY pet food is nutritionally unbalanced (a 2013 UC Davis study found 95% of online recipes failed to meet AAFCO standards). Outsource the formulation; keep the cooking precise.

Quick reference: our range

Protein	Cat (200g)	Dog (300g)	Notes
Chicken	$7.10	$8.60	Most accessible. Lean, palatable, broad appeal.
Beef	$9.00	$9.70	Iron-rich. Big for energy and muscle support.
Kangaroo	$11.90	$13.30	Novel protein, low exposure in SG. Sensitive-pet starter.
Duck	$8.70	n/a	Cat-only. Low exposure, rich in B vitamins.
Pork	n/a	$8.80	Newest dog protein. Low-exposure option.
Fish	n/a	$13.30	Omega-3 powerhouse for skin and coat.

Every recipe is sous vide cooked at 80°C, AAFCO All Life Stages, and made in our kitchen at Pioneer Crescent. No exceptions.

Storage, thawing, and never reheating

Once cooked, our packs are blast-frozen and shipped cold-chain via NinjaVan Cold Chain. At home:

• ✅ Frozen: keep up to 1 year in your freezer.
• ✅ Thawed in the fridge: 2-3 days max.
• ✅ Serve room-temp or cool. Take out an hour before, or thaw overnight.
• ✅ Never microwave or reheat. This is the one we have to repeat. Heating sous vide pet food kills the whole point: taurine starts breaking down again, B vitamins denature, omega-3s oxidise. Cold or room-temp only.

If your cat is a "warm food only" diva, run the sealed pack under warm tap water for 60 seconds. The pack stays sealed, the food stays under 30°C, the cat eats. Done.

FAQ

Q: Is sous vide pet food safe for raw-fed pets to transition to?

Yes. The transition protocol is the same as any food change: 3-5 day gradual handover (25% new / 75% old, then 50/50, then 75/25, then 100% new). Some raw-fed pets prefer the softer texture of sous vide. Others miss the chew. Trial and see.

Q: Does sous vide actually kill bacteria?

Yes, for everything you'd worry about in pet food. At 80°C held for our standard cook times, we hit a 7-log pathogen reduction (99.99999% kill) on Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, and Campylobacter. We test batch samples for confirmation.

Q: Why does sous vide pet food cost more than kibble?

Three reasons: ingredients (we use human-grade muscle and organ meat, not rendered protein meal), process (low-temperature sous vide takes hours per batch, not minutes through an extruder), and freshness (cold-chain frozen delivery, not ambient warehouse storage). Whether it's worth it depends on your budget and your pet, no judgement either way.

Q: Can I reheat sous vide pet food if it's been refrigerated?

No. Serve it cold or room-temperature. Heating undoes the nutritional preservation. If you're set on warm food, immerse the sealed pack in warm tap water for a minute, then open.

Q: Is your food AAFCO-certified?

Yes. Every recipe is formulated to AAFCO All Life Stages standards by our PhD nutritionist. That means it meets the nutrient profile for puppies, kittens, adults, and seniors. No separate "growth" formula needed, no separate "senior" formula either.

Q: How do I know how much to feed?

Use our feeding calculator to size meals by weight and activity. Quick rules of thumb: adult cats 65g × 2 meals/day, kittens 65g × 3 meals/day, adult dogs around 3-4% of body weight per day split across 2 meals.

Ready to try it?

If you've made it this far, you probably already have a feeling about whether sous vide is something you want to try with your furkid. The fastest way in is one of our mix Sampler Sets. Every protein in one order, no subscription required, ships cold-chain.

Prefer to dip in with a single pack first? Grab a cat Sampler Set or dog Sampler Set (chicken or beef, on us, $9 cold-chain delivery). You can always upgrade to the mix later.

Whichever way you start, your nose will tell you within 30 seconds it's not kibble. Your furkid will tell you within 30 seconds whether they like it. Sous vide doesn't need a sales pitch beyond "smell the bag." 🐾

❤️ The Bon Pet team

Frequently asked questions

Is sous vide pet food safe?

Yes. At 80°C, sous vide achieves a 7-log pathogen reduction (99.99999% kill rate) for Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, and Campylobacter. Every pack is then blast-frozen and shipped cold-chain to lock in safety until you serve it.

Why not just feed raw if you want to preserve nutrients?

Raw keeps nutrients intact but carries pathogen risk, especially with organ meats like heart, liver, and kidney. Sous vide at 80°C preserves heat-sensitive nutrients like taurine and B vitamins while still pasteurising the food, so pawrents get the nutrition of raw without the bacterial risk.

How is sous vide different from 'gently cooked' pet food?

'Gently cooked' is a marketing term with no fixed temperature or method. Sous vide is a specific technique: vacuum-sealed in a pouch, submerged in water held to within 0.5°C, with nothing escaping the bag. Juices, fat, and micro-nutrients all stay with the food your furkid eats.

Does sous vide cooking destroy taurine for cats?

No. Taurine breaks down at higher temperatures used in kibble extrusion (120-200°C) and canning (121°C+), which is why most commercial cat food adds synthetic taurine after processing. At 80°C, the taurine in whole-animal protein like heart stays intact and bioavailable.