Tyson Foods recently announced they purchased a minority stake in Freshpet, a manufacturer of refrigerated pet food. This news inspired Packaged Facts, to send an e-direct reminder about their Fresh Pet Food in North America study which was released in July, 2008. Freshpet will apparently gain access to Tyson’s distribution network and manufacturing facilities, while Tyson gains an interest in a pet food manufacturer in a growing sector of the market. I would think Freshpet will also look to Tyson for sourcing of some ingredients. Freshpet dog foods are formulated to meet Association of American Feed Control Officer (AAFCO) standards for dog nutrition. Their website also notes that the food is Pasteurized All Natural Nutrient Dense food. The pasteurization would alleviate concerns some people have about bacteria levels in raw pet food. The only place I could find a definition for PAN food was Wikipedia, which makes me think it’s a marketing term rather than a actual standard in the pet food industry.