Whether you’re a seasoned pet parent who remembers when kibble was just… kibble, or a trendsetter prioritizing clean labels for your fur baby, 1 thing unites us all: we want the best for our pets. Enter human-grade dry dog food, a category that’s changing how we feed our four-legged family members and improving their well-being.

But what does human-grade dry dog food really mean? How can you tell if the brand you’re eyeing actually lives up to the hype? What are the Benefits?

Let’s break it down.

Who determines what human grade pet food means?

The Association of American Feed Control Officials sets nutritional standards for pet food in the U.S. ONLY. According to AAFCO, to make a “human grade” claim on pet food labels, companies must meet rigorous standards set by AAFCO and verify through the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Process Verified Program.

These standards require

1. All ingredients be legally edible by humans and handled in compliance with FDA human food regulations (21 CFR Part 117).
2. The food must also be manufactured in a licensed and inspected human food facility
3. Undergo annual safety inspections
4. Maintain written procedures to ensure products were stored, processed, and transported using practices that preserve its human-grade status.
5. Additionally, clear labeling is required to indicate the product is meant for pets, even when labeled “human grade.” If human grade is on the label you can trust that since those are verified.

So does human-grade dry dog food actually exist? Yes. Keep reading and you may find my secret offer.

Human Grade dog food benefits

Customer have reported the following benefits from human-grade dry dog food:

• Improved overall well-being and energy
• Improved digestion
• Improved skin & coat health 

Types of Human-grade dry dog food

Human-grade dry food is more than a trend—it’s a movement toward better health, transparency, and trust!

Thankfully, many brands are now offering dog foods and cat foods with traceable, ethically and sustainably sourced ingredients, share their behind the scenes videos and offer pet foods with less processing than traditional kibble.

The forms of human-grade dry dog foods available in 2025 are:

• Baked dog food
• Air dried dog food
• Freeze dried dog food
• Cold pressed dog food

Think you already know these types of foods? Cold pressed was new to me!

Hopefully I’ll share Some brands of pet foods that you never heard of!

The number one healthiest human-grade dry dog food of 2025?

For me, my top 3 healthiest dry dog food picks are #6. 7 and 12.

2025 Human-grade dry dog food reviews

Standard kibble is extruded at high temperatures and baked multiple times. If I recall correctly, in Dr. Karen Becker’s 2025 pet food review, she said kibble is cooked 4 times.

1. Bixbi Rawbble turkey kibble:

• Quality: human edible food but supplements are FEED grade per Ms.Thixton
• No ingredients: No meat meals or by-products
• Added vitamin/minerals: 21
• Cooking method: Extruder*
• Testing: Salmonella, E-coli and Listeria. Contaminants and environmental toxins.
• Bixbi Review Rating: 2.4 stars   
• Verification: Bixbi Rawabble is NOT human grade verified. The feed grade supplements is an indicator that it is not.

*Bixbi explains the process of their dry food for dogs this way, “The kibble is cooked for about 30 minutes at a variety of temperatures. For food safety purposes, we do make sure that our kibble reaches the temperature of 212F”

The rating for this brand was from Dr. Karen’s 2025 pet food reviews. They warned this food is high copper and zinc. Another website review of Bixbi Rawabble 4.3 out of 10 stars. As for the for other protein versions, they received slightly lower scores.

Human-grade Baked Kibble

Baked kibble is most likely choice of Human-grade dry dog food for regular kibble feeders. The positive thing about baked kibble is that it is a little less processed than extruded kibble.

2.Lotus Pet Foods kibble

• Quality: NO GMO, hormones, antibiotics
• Added vitamin/minerals: 24
• Cooking Method: Oven Baked*
• Country of origin: Canada
• Standout: Separate foods for Puppy, Adult and Senior
• Ownership: Family owned & operated
• Rating:  see below for various version
• Verified: Lotus pet food is not human grade certified. The certification is a USA based certification and this is a Canadian based dog food company.

*Lotus says it is baked in small batches for 10 minutes, and the oven is set to 500 but internal temperature only reaches 160.

One pet review website gave 6 stars for Turkey, 6.5  for the duck dry food and chicken puppy recipe, 5.5 of 10 stars for sardine, lamb, and chicken recipe for Senior dogs.

3.Stella & Chewy baked kibble

• Quality: Some responsibly Sourced meat*, Some organic produce
• Added vitamin/minerals: 20 Plus 4 probiotics   
• Cooking Method: baked
• Versions: Kibble coated with “Raw,” and Wild Red.
• Review Rating:Wild Red: 6 out of 10 stars. (Raw coated kibble versions only received 3.5 of 10 stars).
• Savings: You can order directly from their website for a discount: Use code : HTWT10 for a 10% discount. 
•  Is Stella & Chewy Verified human-grade?: Stella & Chewy Kibble can not be deemed human-grade dry dog food because it includes ground bone which is not a human grade ingredient.

*some meat meals are used, which is not a human grade ingredient.

Order options: 1) order directly from Stella & Chewy for the freshest food and 10% off.  2) You can order S&C Wild red dog food from Baxterboo. As of 2/11/26 you can get $10 first order of $39, 5% on rewards, and 15% on auto-ship. 3): You can order from Chewy. If you are a first time customer with Chewy, you can get a $20 gift card.

4. Open farm Epic Blend Salmon recipe

This new line features baked kibble and air dried meat and organs.

• Quality: Some human grade food, supplements, some Organic, Humanely raised Meats, and *some meat meals.
• Added vitamins/minerals: 16
• Cooking Method: Baked & air dried
• Country of origin: Canadian based company
• Ownership: Investments from private equity
• Savings: save 25% when you order directly from their website.
• Is Open Farm Epic Blend Verified human-grade?: Open farm Epic blend is NOT human grade certified. Meat meal is Not human grade so this brand can not make the human-grade dry dog food claim.

Open Farm does have many good quality ingredients in this version of their dog food so it is still worth considering. They also offer other versions of dry dog food and Freeze dried dog food as well.

Order options: I think the safest option is to order directly from the company website. It’s likely the food is fresher than what Amazon may have, it has likely been stored at proper temperatures, they’ll have your contact information should their be a recall and that is where you can get 25% discount. 2) If none of that matter to you, you can order Open Farm on Amazon. 3) You can order the Epic Blend Beef recipe on Baxterboo

5.  Carna4 dog food

Carna4 offers Novel proteins like Goat, Duck, and Venison, as well as other proteins like Lamb or chicken.

• Ingredient Quality: Human grade meat, Pasture-raised, Organic sprouts and seeds
• NO ingredients: chemicals, synthetics, corn or wheat
• Added vitamin/minerals: 0
• Cooking Method: baked then air dried
• Country of origin: Canada
• Ingredient sourcing: Canada and USA
• Standout: CNA posted and their feeding guidelines are set for *puppy, adult, active adult and less active or senior dogs.
• Ownership: Family owned
• Manufacturing: private 3rd party pet food manufacturer
• Testing: on every batch for essential nutrients and 15 pathogens and toxins
• Is Carna4 Verified human grade?: Carna4 is not human-grade certified because 1) it is made in a pet food facility vs. a human-grade facility and 2) AAFCO rules to use this term apply to USA based dog food companies, not Canadian.

You still may consider this if you are looking for the Best Puppy Kibble 2025. Puppies have different nutritional requirements than adult dogs so it is important to have food made for them.

Carna4’s Novel protein baked dog food offers many options not just The best kibble for puppies. It can be purchased on Amazon although I prefer Baxterboo for quality assurance.

 Top Human Grade Air dried dog foods

Air dried dog food is like kibble in the respect that it is shelf stable. But this human-grade dry dog food type is less processed than kibble and baked kibble.

6. Sundays’ company

The 50% discount For Sundays food for dogs will be reduced to 30% so ACT FAST to get the biggest discount!!

Sundays air dried dog food offers 3 different single source protein options.

As of June 2026 Sundays’ now has a new recipe, white fish and salmon dog food!

• Discount: Get 50% off Sundays dog food Coupon code happytrails50 If that doesn’t work try HappyTrails30 fr a 30% discount
• Ingredients: Human grade made from whole foods
• No synthetics 0, including no copper supplements
• Ingredients you can pronounce
• Ships within USA, including Hawaii and Alaska
• Made in USDA kitchen
• Cost to feed Sundays dog food: Take the quiz, it will give you the cost to feed. **Take into account if you feed this 25 % (like a topper) or a full meal Every day or only a few days of the week.**
• Is Sundays for Dogs Human grade verified? Yes it is.

7. Zeal air dried dog food

Zeal dog food is advertised as 96% meat, that means the other good looking ingredients are in the food in minuscule amounts.

Therefore if your pet needs support from things like Mushrooms or GLM  (Green Lipped Mussel powder), you will still need to buy and add those to your pet’s food.

• Quality: Responsibly & Ethically sourced, Grass-Fed, Free-range meats, Organic fruits
• No Ingredients: no fillers, preservatives or coloring
• Added vitamin/minerals: 10
• Cooking Method: air dried at 176 degrees*
• Country of origin: Canada
• Standout: Organic shiitake mushroom and… ORANGE
• Ownership: Privately owned, to my knowledge
• Protein options: 4
• Testing: nutrient analysis, microbiological tests, and regular safety screenings
• Discount: 2/11/26 they are having a 25% off sale for Valentine day. Offer ends soon!
• Verified: As a Canadian based dog food company, the term human-grade dry dog food does not apply to Zeal dog food since the Verification/Certification is for US based companies.

I Love that they formulate to AAFCO, although they don’t need to, since AAFCO is US based. Additionally I like that they test their food rather than calculate on “paper” hoping it meets guidelines and their intended nutritional goals.

*FDA says bacteria is killed at 165.

8. A pup above Air dried dog foods

A pup above is finally offering their single source protein air dried food online. I say finally because for a while it was only available at select stores.

• Discount: Coupon code: HAPPYTRAILS50 orders of $100 will receive $50 off A Pup Above. As of 7/13/26 they have an offer on their website for $25 off
• Ownership: A pup above is owned by a couple who launched it in 2020.
• On a Top pet food list and 2025 Vanguard award recipients.
• Ingredient quality: Human grade, Non-GMO veggies and fruits, Ranch raised Beef, Cage Free chicken, turkey and duck.
• Sourcing: all sourcing is shared.
• Food types: fresh and air dried dog food. Fresh food is frozen before shipment
• Cooking method:air dried (they also have Fresh sous vide dog food)
• Protein options: (air dried) 5 protein options, and 6 fresh food options with their newest recipe being Fish and 1 puppy fresh food.
• Facility: USDA human food facilty
• Guarantee: money back guarantee on first order
• Certified Human-grade dry dog food: A pup Above IS human grade Certified dog food!
• Rating: 3.4 of 5 stars* (CHICKA PUPATOUILLE recipe) was given during Dr. Karen’s 2025 air dried dog food review.*Part of the rating was based on the fact that their CNA was not public, but it is now!

My A pup above review: I like many things about their fresh food but wish they used more whole foods instead of synthetic vitamins and minerals. At least they are human grade food supplements verses feed grad supplements.

As for their air dried food, 4 out of 5 dogs I introduced the beef pot roast recipe to, they all went bonkers before I even opened the bag. The 5th dog preferred the fresh beef dog food, She even stole it from me 2 times!

9.  Ziwi peak

Did you know Grass fed animals are commonly finished with Grain?

Not Ziwi dog food, it is a Grass Finished dry dog food! Ziwi Peak offers 2 “kibble” styles: air dried dog food  and steam dried dog food.

• Quality: Ethically sourced from New Zealand. Free range, Grass fed, Grass Finished, Cage free and Wild caught.
• No Ingredients: Rendered meat or meat meal
• Added vitamin/minerals: 14 + fish oil
• Cooking Method: air dried
• Country of origin: New Zealand
• Standout: Steam Cooked dog food
• Ownership: 2021 bought by a Chinese private investment firm
• Protein options: 6
• Rating:8.5 of 10 stars
• Cost to feed: 7 lb. bag feeds a 20 lb. dog for 31 days
• Is Ziwi Peak Human grade verified?: Ziwi Peak dog food does not fall under the rules to use the term human-grade dry dog food because it is a New Zealand based dog food company. The rules apply to USA based dog food companies.

Ziwi peak review from 1 website gave the Tripe & lamb, chicken, venison, and beef recipes: 9 out of 10 Stars, and the lamb recipe received 8.5 stars of 10.

Human Grade Freeze dried dog food brands

Freeze dried dog food is another form of human-grade dry dog food. It is fair less processed than kibble, baked kibble and air dried. Actually it is closer to raw but shelf stable!

10.. Shepherd boy farm

SBF refers to this as a Farm to table Dog Food. It is marketed as a single protein freeze dried dog food. Meaning if you buy the Bison recipe it will have bison organs NOT organs from another animal.

However, most of the recipes do contain goat milk and eggs. To me, that is not a true single source but I guess that depends on your point of view.

• Ingredient Quality: human grade, organic fruits & vegetables, from local farms
• No Ingredients: Synthetics
• Added vitamin/minerals: 0
• Cooking Method: Freeze Dried
• Country of origin: USA
• Ownership: Privately owned
• Protein options: 8: Novel proteins like Rabbit, or alligator dog food, and common proteins like Beef or Salmon.
• Rating: 2.9 of 5 stars
• Discount: Save 35% off first subscribe & save.

Dr. Becker’s 2025 Pet Food Review Panelists gave Shepherd Boy Farm alligator recipe 2.9 of 5 stars. While panelists had lot of good things to say and loved their ethics, other panelist worried about the pathogen mitigation because the company would not share that information as they deemed in proprietary.

11. The SPF Bison Recipe

If you’re a pet parent who is into Food energetics their simple dog food is formulated based on a Carnivore diet and according to traditional Chinese principles of warming, neutral and cooling dog foods.

• Quality: Human grade, many Organic ingredients, Some Certified Humanely raised animals, USDA inspected & passed meat (no rendered meats)
• No Ingredients: No corn, soy or wheat
• Added vitamin/minerals: 0
• Cooking Method: freeze dried
• Country of origin: USA
• Standouts: days of food, and all foods are packaged at 1.5 lbs. to keep it fresh and the more you buy the bigger the savings.
• Ownership: privately owned by a veterinarian/Woman owned business 
• Protein options: 6
• Simple food project Recall: none
• Rating: 3.6 of 5 stars (bison) and 5 of 5 stars (beef recipe)

During Dr.Karen and Rodney Habib’s 2025 pet food review, they mentioned they toured the facility and everything was clean and pristine, and the food was visually appealing. A Different website rated their Beef recipe giving it 5 of 5 stars. IMO, this is The Best human grade freeze dried dog food brand USA.

Is The SFP human grade verified? Here’s a prime example of WHY a pet food who uses human grade ingredients can NOT be labeled as a human-grade dry dog food. The company explained to me that because they do not produce at least 1 human product in their USDA-Certified and inspected kitchen, they can not use that term on their label.

Order options: You can buy their food from Chewy,  or Amazon.

12. woof The New Zealand Natural Pet Food Co.

NZ Natural Pet food offers both Freeze dried and 3 Air dried dog foods. The styles are not mixed into one bag like some of the other brands do, they are each sold separately.

• Quality: Ethically & Locally sourced, Supports fair trade
• No Ingredients: NO grain, gluten, fillers like corn, soy or wheat or no by product
• Added vitamin/minerals: 9
• Cooking Method: Freeze dried
• Country of origin: New Zealand
• Standout: Formulated to AAFCO
• Ownership: acquired by Investment firm
• Protein options: 7
• Recalls: none

In Dr. Becker’s pet food reviews 2025, I learned many other countries do not have something like AAFCO in their country that they have to adhere to. I was happily surprised to see their food is Balanced to AAFCO since they did not have to do that.

The New Zealand Pet food Co. dog foods can be purchase at Amazon,  Chewy, or my favorite online pet store  Baxterboo 

13.  Unkibble dog food

Spot and Tango Unkibble is a dog food delivery brand that refers to this line of food as fresh dry. Spot and Tango dog food is formed into bite sized pieces.

• Quality: some Human Grade, whole food produce and proteins**
• No Ingredients: corn, soy or wheat nor artificial preservatives or colors.
• Added vitamin/minerals: 17 
• Cooking Method: freeze dried and gently cooked
• Country of origin: US based company
• Standout: The quiz asks for your dogs activity level of mellow (aka: couch potato), active and very active. This is relevant to serving proper portions (aka: vitamin/minerals and calories)
• Ownership: Private (with financial backing)
• Protein options: 3
• Shelf life: 12 months unopened, 8 weeks opened
• Recalls: 1 in 2022 (4 sku’s for salmonella)
• Discounts: 50% off {as of Feb. 11, 2026}

**In Dr. Becker’s 2023 dog food review, Ms.Thixton said they would NOT tell them who makes the food or the country of origin for their ingredients. Dr. Becker did not like that they classified their food as all life stages. I don’t like the term fresh dry, isn’t it one or the other!

One website gave Spot & Tango’s subscription based dog food 6 out of 10 stars for their cod & salmon recipe.

14.  Dr Marty’s Dog Food – Essential Wellness Premium

• Discount: as of 2/11/26 you will get 40-54% off {when you select tv offer}
• Quality: Some Human Grade
• No Ingredients: artificial preservatives or colors, synthetic vitamins or mineral powders.
• Added vitamin/minerals:0 
• Cooking Method: freeze dried
• Country of origin: US based company, Some meat from NZ
• Protein options: multiple proteins in each food
• Testing: for things like Salmonella and E-Coli
• Pathogenic measures: HPP which is a water based process
• Human grade Verified: To my knowledge it is not been through the Certification process.

Order options: order directly from the company website.

2025 Human-grade Dehydrated dog food

15. The Honest Kitchen Wholemade grain free dog food

THK pioneered Human Grade dog food.

• Quality: Human grade
• No Ingredients: GMO, meat meals
• Added vitamin/minerals: 17
• Cooking Method: dehydrated
• Country of origin: USA
• Standout: Verified human grade
• Ownership: Privately owned
• Protein options: 4
• Sizes: 5 sizes
• Life stage: They offer many Adult recipe and a few Puppy recipes
• Guarantee: 90 day money back Guarantee
• Certifications: B-Certified, 1 of the first Co’s to hold this certification.
• Is The Honest Kitchen Verified human-grade dog food: Yes

My honest kitchen review: I wish they used more Whole Foods vs. synthetic vitamins/minerals.

Human Grade Cold pressed dog food made in the USA

16. Honest kitchen food clusters

THK was the pioneer of Human Grade Pet food and the 1st verified human-grade dry dog food. The Food clusters come in Whole grain and grain free versions.

• Quality: Human grade
• No Ingredients: GMO, corn, wheat, soy, meat meals, artificial preservatives, colors or flavor
• Added vitamin/minerals: 21
• Cooking Method: Cold pressed
• Country of origin: USA
• Standout: Verified human grade
• Ownership: Privately owned
• Protein options: 3
• Guarantee: 90 day money back Guarantee
• Certifications: B-Certified, 1 of the first co’s to hold this certification.
• Rating: 5.5 out of 10 stars
• Is the Honest Kitchen Verified human-grade dog kibble: Yes

Dry dog foods I do NOT recommend

In my previous blog I covered the worst dog foods of 2025 In case you missed it, I would like to point out that just because a brand has some Organic meat or produce in it, it does NOT make the dog food human grade. Here is a prime example.

 Primal kibble in the raw

Primal’s dog kibble takes the cake for the most cooking methods used in one food.

• Quality: Not humanely raised, Organic fruit and Vegetables
• Con’s: beef plasma and montmorillonite clay
• Cooking Method: Cold pressed then freeze dried
• Ownership: Bought by private equity
• Protein options: 3
• Recalls: for listeria, and bone grind too large

During Dr. Becker’s Pet Food Reviews 2025 they did not review this version of  dog food. However in they did review Primal Beef nuggets. The experts Warned that clay in food can firm up stool so it is NOT good for pets that are constipated.

Dr. Recker said non active dog will not exceed copper but active dog, who gets more food, may get excessive copper. Panelists say the last recall was handled poorly.

The secret offer …

Yay you make it almost to the end, Here is the secret offer I mentioned earlier. If you are cat owner, leave a comment if you would like some human grade cat dry food suggestions.

Comment below with Your number 1 choice for healthiest shelf stable dog food.

Disclaimer: The information shared in my content is intended for general educational purposes only. The information contained herein does not constitute veterinary advice, diagnosis, or treatment of any kind. No veterinarian-client-patient relationship VCPR) is created or implied by reading, accessing, or using this guide. The author of this guide is not a licensed veterinarian and is not acting in a veterinary capacity. Always consult your veterinarian before making any changes to your dog’s care, diet, or treatment plan.