The importance of quality control

October 12, 2009 - by Rocki & Ava

Among the many essential functions we perform (between naps) at the Nestle Purina Learning Center, is quality control.

Any package of pet food that arrives here must be inspected. Carefully. By us. Because, as Ava is quick to point out, no one cares more about our food than the felines who eat it. Also, we just like to be near our food.

The first step is a visual inspection. We stare at the package to make sure it doesn’t do anything surprising. Once we have visual control, we approach for a quick sniff.

If everything meets our standards, Ava then likes to rub the package. Think of it as her seal of approval. I sometimes show my approval by stretching out on new packages for a quick nap. (This works best with foods that have small kibbles.)

Of course, the most important part of the inspection is the taste test. This is essential to the process, so we ALWAYS make sure to conduct a thorough tasting of every cat food shipment. Sometimes several. We do, however, draw the line at tasting dog food. This we leave to our canine associates. Because frankly, we have better things to do… such as tasting the cat foods again. And again…