WHY FRESH FOOD

What's actually in your dog's bowl?

Most commercial kibble is extruded at 130-180°C, hides its formula, and trace-tests positive for aflatoxins. Bon Pet's gently cooked at 80°C, openly published, made fresh in Singapore. Here's the science.

Three things most kibble does to your furkid's food

Not an attack on any brand. Just facts published in peer-reviewed journals and FDA filings.

Heat damages nutrients

Extrusion (the standard kibble process) cooks at 130-180°C. Reactive lysine bioavailability can drop by up to 61.8%1. Heat also creates Maillard reaction products and AGEs linked to chronic inflammation2. Sous vide at 80°C, like ours, doesn't.

Mycotoxins survive cooking

Over 60% of commercial pet food samples tested globally contain detectable aflatoxins or deoxynivalenol3. High-heat cooking does not eliminate these toxins. Fresh, frozen-stored meals avoid the long shelf-life mold conditions that create them.

Opaque ingredients

Most brands publish an ingredient list but never the ratios. You don't know how much chicken vs filler is actually in the bag. Bon Pet publishes every gram on our open formulas page (and the source Google Sheet if you want to download it).

Common myths, actual research

Sourced from peer-reviewed veterinary journals and FDA filings.

MYTH

Kibble cleans dogs' teeth.

FACT

Periodontal disease still affects 80-89% of dogs over age 34. Brushing and dental chews do more than diet texture for oral health.

MYTH

"AAFCO complete and balanced" is enough.

FACT

AAFCO has tiers. "Adult Maintenance" is the easiest to meet. "All Life Stages" requires meeting growth + reproduction nutrient profiles too. Bon Pet meets All Life Stages5.

MYTH

Fresh food is marketing fluff.

FACT

A 2024 Cornell metabolomics study on senior dogs found fresh food reduced AGEs and increased antioxidant markers (ergothioneine, carnosine) vs kibble6.

MYTH

Grain-free is automatically healthier.

FACT

The FDA investigated 553 cases of grain-free diets potentially linked to canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) by 20187. Causation is unclear, but grain-free isn't a free pass.

How we do it differently

Four things we built into the brand from day one.

Sous vide at 80°C

Vacuum-sealed, gently cooked. Preserves taurine, lysine, B vitamins. No Maillard browning, no AGE creation at scale.

AAFCO All Life Stages

Same recipe meets nutrient minimums for puppies, kittens, adults, seniors, and pregnant pets. No reformulating as your furkid grows.

Every gram published

Every ingredient, every supplement, every ratio published on our open formulas page. No SG fresh-pet brand matches this.

Single-protein recipes

One animal protein per recipe. Built for sensitive guts, novel-protein elimination diets, and picky eaters. Browse the menu.

Sous vide bags simmering at 80°C in our Pioneer Crescent kitchen
Real kitchen, real cook, 80°C. No factory in the photo.

Sources & Science

Every claim above traces to one of these. We update this list when sources change.

  1. Lysine bioavailability loss in kibble. "Nutrient and Maillard reaction product concentrations of commercially available pet foods and treats." PMC/NCBI, peer-reviewed, 2023. View paper
  2. Maillard reaction products and AGEs in pet food. "Immunomodulation by Processed Animal Feed: The Role of Maillard Reaction Products and Advanced Glycation End-Products." Frontiers in Immunology, 2018. View paper
  3. Mycotoxin contamination in commercial pet food. "Natural mycotoxin contamination in dog food: A review on toxicity and detoxification methods." ScienceDirect, peer-reviewed, 2023. View paper
  4. Periodontal disease prevalence in dogs. Cornell University Riney Canine Health Center; multiple peer-reviewed studies. View page
  5. AAFCO All Life Stages standards. AAFCO Model Regulations for Pet Food, 2023. View document
  6. Fresh food and senior dog metabolic markers. Cornell University metabolomic study on senior sled dogs (Dr. Heather Huson), 2024. View summary
  7. FDA investigation of grain-free diets and DCM. US FDA, ongoing investigation, 553 reported cases by 2018. View FDA filing
  8. Extrusion processing and starch digestibility. "Extrusion Processing Modifications of a Dog Kibble at Large Scale Alter Levels of Starch Available to Animal Enzymatic Digestion." PMC/NCBI, peer-reviewed, 2022. View paper
  9. Systematic review on fresh pet food claims. "Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Quality Claims Associated with Fresh Pet Food." PMC/NCBI, 2024. View paper

Try it on your own furkid.

Free trial pack, $9 cold-chain delivery to your door. No subscription required, no commitment. If your dog or cat doesn't love it, drop us a note and we'll make it right.

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