How Tuggs Tests, Cooks and Traces Every Batch

When it comes to making dog food, food safety is not something we believe should be vague. Owners should be able to understand how their dog’s food is cooked, how it is tested, and what happens if an ingredient or production batch ever needs to be traced.

Here’s a closer look at the controls behind every batch of Tuggs.

No - and there is an important distinction between batch-level food safety controls and microbiological verification testing.

Every Tuggs production batch is controlled and released against its validated cooking record. For every retort cycle, the temperature reached and the required hold time are recorded, providing evidence that the critical cooking process has been completed correctly.

Microbiological testing is then carried out as an additional verification programme, following a sampling schedule agreed with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

This means that the primary assurance for each individual batch comes from the validated cooking process and its recorded Critical Control Point (CCP) data, rather than relying on microbiological testing alone.

Samples are tested for:

Testing is carried out by a UKAS-accredited laboratory in accordance with the requirements set out in Annex XIII, Chapter I of Regulation (EU) No 142/2011.

The microbiological programme acts as an ongoing verification that the wider production and food safety system is performing as intended.

Yes.

The Tuggs scheduled cooking process has been independently validated by our Thermal Processing Authority.

Validation involved both temperature distribution and heat penetration studies, including measurements taken at the coldest point within the product and assessments of each retort vessel used in production.

The validated process is designed to achieve P₉₀ ≥ 10, equivalent to a minimum 6-log reduction of non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum.

Importantly, this validation is not based simply on the retort reaching 90°C. It considers the combination of temperature and time experienced by the product itself, including at the point that is slowest to heat.

Every production cycle is subsequently recorded so that the validated process can be confirmed before product is released.

Yes.

Every Tuggs pouch carries a Julian production code which connects it to the manufacturing records for that specific batch.

From that code, we can identify the:

This means traceability operates in both directions: from a finished pouch back to the ingredients used to make it, and from an individual raw-material batch forward to the finished products in which it was used.

The traceability system is also tested through mock recall exercises, helping ensure the process works effectively should it ever be required.

Tuggs meals are produced at a site operating under Animal By-Product approval U1541110/PETP, in accordance with Regulations (EC) No 1069/2009 and (EU) No 142/2011.

The facility is inspected by APHA Scotland, with oversight from Food Standards Scotland (FSS).

It is also SALSA certified, providing an additional independently audited framework covering food safety and production standards.

Microbiological testing follows a sampling schedule agreed with APHA, rather than every individual production batch being sent for laboratory testing.

The programme is rotated to ensure that every species line and both retort vessels are represented. Retained samples are also held from production.

This distinction is important. Laboratory testing provides verification of the overall food safety system, while the assurance that each individual batch has been safely processed comes from the validated thermal process and the recorded CCP cook data for that specific production cycle.

Food safety is not dependent on any single test.

Our approach combines a validated thermal process, recorded controls for every production cycle, microbiological verification testing, regulatory oversight and full ingredient-to-pouch traceability.

Together, these controls allow us to demonstrate how every Tuggs batch has been produced, while maintaining the records needed to trace an individual pouch all the way back to the raw materials used to make it.