Instinct: Facts, Recalls & Verified Foods
Instinct is made by Agrolimen, founded 2002 — it scores green on 4 of 5 WSAVA-aligned criteria we track (0 red, 1 undisclosed), 2 FDA recalls on record, and 0 of the 24 Instinct foods we've verified carry an AAFCO feeding-trial statement.
· 24 Instinct food labels checked
The scorecard
WSAVA-aligned criteria
The World Small Animal Veterinary Association's nutrition guidelines suggest questions to ask any pet food maker before you buy. Here are this brand's answers, each with its source, or marked undisclosed when we could not confirm one.
4 of 5 criteria confirmed yes · 0 confirmed no · 1 undisclosed. Undisclosed is common, especially for smaller brands — it means we couldn't confirm an answer from a public source, not that the answer is unfavorable.
Vets page names Dr. Susan Wynn, DVM, DACVIM (Nutrition) — a board-certified veterinary nutritionist — and refers to 'our on staff Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist.' DACVIM (Nutrition) is the ACVN-equivalent board certification.
source & quote
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Site states Instinct makes food in 'our own facilities' (company-operated plants in Lincoln, Nebraska). Source language specifically covers raw production and does not address whether any dry/canned lines use co-packers, so not classified 'mixed.'
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No feeding-trial AAFCO statement found on the 24 labels we’ve verified for this brand, and no company-wide claim was found either. Most pet foods are only "formulated to meet" AAFCO profiles (a paper calculation) rather than fed to real animals in trials — this is common, not necessarily a red flag.
covers: finished-product pathogen testing (raw lines); same page: raw ingredients microbiologically tested, nutrient levels confirmed by a 3rd-party lab. Instinct vet page.
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5 PubMed papers (animal/pet filtered) list Instinct Pet Food in an author address; we checked 5 and 5 really name the company. A floor, not a total.
source
These five checks come from WSAVA's guidelines on selecting pet foods — not our own opinion score. WSAVA does not approve or list brands. See how all 50 brands we track answer WSAVA's questions → · Our methodology →
The company
Who makes Instinct
Ownership and history, each sourced independently — private-label and co-packed brands often hide the actual manufacturer behind the name on the bag.
Parent company
Agrolimen
source
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Headquarters
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
source
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The cost
What Instinct costs, against everything else we have priced
None of the 24 Instinct foods we have verified is currently price-matched to a live retail listing, so we will not state a cost per 1,000 kcal for this brand. The composition figures below are verified regardless.
What Instinct actually puts in its food
The ingredients this brand reaches for most across its 24 verified foods, counted once per recipe. Each links to what the ingredient is, what the evidence says, and how common it is industry-wide.
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Taurine (supplemental)
In 23 of 24 Instinct foods (96%).
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Peas
In 22 of 24 Instinct foods (92%).
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Mixed tocopherols (natural vitamin E)
In 22 of 24 Instinct foods (92%).
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Rosemary extract
In 15 of 24 Instinct foods (63%).
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Tapioca
In 14 of 24 Instinct foods (58%).
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Named Meat/Poultry Meal (e.g., Chicken Meal, Lamb Meal)
In 13 of 24 Instinct foods (54%).
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Probiotics (live microbials)
In 10 of 24 Instinct foods (42%).
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Fish oil (EPA + DHA omega-3)
In 7 of 24 Instinct foods (29%).
The safety record
FDA recall history
From the FDA's Animal & Veterinary recall list, last checked 2026-10-19, plus older FDA notices we added by hand. Instinct recall page →
Instinct Raw Chicken Formula for dogs (Bites 4 lb and 7 lb, Patties 6 lb; best by 04/27/16)
Potential Salmonella contamination
Instinct Raw Organic Chicken Formula for dogs and cats, one batch (best by 10/04/13)
Pieces of clear plastic (choking risk)
The FDA's online recall list is complete for recent years but leaves out many notices from before about 2023. We add older FDA recall notices by hand when we find them.
The labels
What we've verified from Instinct's labels
Computed directly from the official-label data we've extracted for this brand — never estimated.
Foods verified
24
3 dog · 21 cat
Feeding-trial validated
0
of 24 (0%)
Formulated to meet
0
AAFCO paper calculation
Label transparency
47%
avg. fields disclosed
The foods
Foods from Instinct we've verified
Every one links to its own Verified Label — guaranteed analysis, AAFCO statement, and (where priced) cost per day.