Freshpet just landed a big third-party credibility boost in the pet food aisle.

In a Feb. 12 announcement, Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT) said its entire U.S. and Canadian product line has earned Clean Label Project™ Certification and the nonprofit’s Purity Award for ingredient quality and safety. Freshpet says it’s the first and only pet food brand to earn that recognition across its full portfolio.

The Purity Award is reserved for the top third of performers in a product category, according to the release, based on independent testing for contaminants that consumers won’t see on a standard ingredient list.

What the certification tests for

Clean Label Project says its certification process involves independent lab testing for more than 100 environmental and industrial contaminants, including:

• Heavy metals: lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury
• Bisphenols (BPA, BPS)
• Phthalates (including DEHP)
• Acrylamide
• Pesticides and other environmental contaminants

Freshpet said certification of its recipes began in early 2025, and its full portfolio now meets Clean Label Project’s thresholds for heavy metals and industrial/environmental toxins.

“Twenty years ago, we set out to create a fundamentally different kind of pet food, made from real, simple ingredients and prepared in our own kitchens,” said Scott Morris, co-founder and president of Freshpet. “Clean Label Project’s Purity Award validates that belief and reinforces our commitment to raising the standard for pet food.”

New report highlights higher contaminant levels in many dry dog foods

Freshpet’s announcement follows the release of Clean Label Project’s Dog Food Category Report, which found that many popular dry dog foods contained significantly higher levels of heavy metals and industrial contaminants than fresh and frozen dog foods.

According to the release, the report looked at 79 top-selling dog foods and included more than 11,000 individual tests. In that dataset, traditional dry dog food averaged:

• 13.3 times more arsenic
• 20 times more lead and mercury
• Higher levels of DEHP and acrylamide

By contrast, Clean Label Project found that fresh and frozen dog foods—including Freshpet recipes—had the lowest heavy metal levels of any segment tested and were lower on average than the organization’s benchmark for human-consumable products across arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead, acrylamide, and DEHP, the release said.

“Most pet owners assume the food they buy for their dogs is held to the same safety standards as human food, but that’s simply not true,” said Molly Hamilton, executive director of Clean Label Project. “Given that dogs often eat the same food every day, this raises important questions about long-term exposure and the need for greater transparency and stronger safety standards.”

Freshpet’s approach: refrigerated, gently cooked recipes

Freshpet’s fresh, refrigerated recipes are positioned as a less-processed alternative to traditional kibble. In the release, the company highlighted:

• Fresh, recognizable ingredients like chicken, beef, salmon, vegetables, and whole grains—without rendered meat meals or fillers
• Gentle steam-cooking rather than high-heat extrusion, which can contribute to acrylamide formation
• 20+ quality and safety tests throughout production, according to the company

“Contaminants like heavy metals and industrial chemicals do not show up on a traditional ingredient list, yet they are what many health-conscious pet parents worry about for themselves and their pets,” said Dr. Lisa Weeth, board certified veterinary nutritionist and head of veterinary research and communications at Freshpet. “Independent verification from the Clean Label Project gives veterinarians and families data to help them make informed decisions when choosing a fresh diet over conventional options.”

What to watch for (STM Daily News)

• Will other brands pursue similar third-party testing? If certifications like this become more common, it could shift how pet parents compare products beyond marketing claims.
• More scrutiny on processing methods. The report’s focus on contaminants and acrylamide may increase attention on high-heat extrusion used in many dry foods.
• Transparency becomes a differentiator. Testing for “what’s not on the label” is likely to become a bigger talking point across the pet food industry.

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Tighter Budgets Haven’t Stopped Travel. They’ve Changed How Americans Plan

(Tiffany Miller for ALG Vacations) The flight search is open, but many travelers are pausing before they book. Prices feel higher than last year, headlines are heavy and budgets are tighter. Still, the question isn’t whether to take a vacation, but how to make it work.

A November 2025 survey from ALG Vacations of U.S. adults planning to travel in 2026 shows that financial pressure is reshaping how people approach vacations, not whether they take them. While 81% say they have at least some concern about their household finances in the months ahead, 92% say they would still travel even if tighter finances required scaling back.

Financial pressure shapes decisions, not demand
That shift shows up in the small moments of planning. Travelers are taking longer to compare prices, reconsidering timing and adjusting expectations before they book.

Inflation and rising prices top the list of concerns, cited by 61% of respondents, reinforcing why travelers are rethinking destinations, trip length and overall costs.

Concerns about global events and safety follow at 39%, with broader political and economic instability close behind at 38%.

Still, those worries rarely lead travelers to walk away from travel altogether. Instead, many describe pulling back in measured ways, scaling down plans, rethinking details and making trade-offs that keep a trip possible, even if it looks different than originally imagined.

Experience changes how travelers move from planning to booking
Not all travelers navigate those trade-offs the same way. For some, uncertainty slows the process. For others, familiarity helps clear the final hurdle.

Among respondents who have previously booked a packaged vacation through a major vacation brand, 80% say they plan to take an international trip in the next year, compared with 46% of those without that experience.

That confidence carries into spending decisions as well. Sixty-seven percent of packaged-vacation travelers expect to spend more than $2,500 on their next trip, compared with 47% of those who have never booked a packaged vacation.

Taken together, the findings point to a confidence gap, with prior experience linked to greater comfort committing to international travel and higher spending.

Professional guidance plays a larger role when planning gets complex
For many travelers, planning no longer stops at picking dates and destinations. Rising prices, shifting availability and higher expectations have turned vacation planning into a series of decisions that feel harder to navigate alone.

That complexity shows up most clearly among travelers with prior packaged-vacation experience. Ninety-four percent say they plan to use a travel advisor, compared with 81% of those without prior packaged-vacation experience.

The gap suggests that familiarity with structured travel planning often leads travelers to seek expert guidance. As trips become more layered, getting the details right matters as much as the destination itself.

Travel remains a priority, even as decisions slow
The findings suggest that travel is still very much on the table, even as decisions take longer to make. Travelers are weighing trade-offs, seeking guidance and leaning on experience as they plan, rather than walking away altogether.

Advertisement

The flight search may stay open a little longer this year. But for many Americans, the trip is still happening.

Methodology
ALG Vacations commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of U.S. adults planning to travel and travelers with prior packaged-vacation experience in the United States.

The survey included 1,000 adults planning to travel and a subsample of 502 respondents who had previously booked a packaged vacation through a major vacation brand.

The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample and 4 percentage points for the packaged vacation subsample at a 95 percent confidence level.

Fieldwork was conducted in November 2025. Atomik Research, part of 4media group, is a creative market research agency.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

SOURCE:

ALG Vacations

Last Updated on February 27, 2026 by Daily News Staff

7 Vegetables to Grow Easily in Your Home Garden

(Family Features) Growing fresh, healthy vegetables at home may not be as hard as it sounds. Novice gardeners just need good dirt, easy plants to grow, lots of sunshine and the right amount of water.

Once you’ve prepared your garden plot, select one or all of these vegetables, which are among the easiest to grow:

1. Lettuce – Plant lettuce seeds directly into the garden or a pot then repeat every two weeks. It can be cut a few weeks after planting. Some harvest lettuce by pulling it up – roots and all – but cutting a little off the top every few days can keep it growing until summer’s heat turns it too bitter.
2. Spinach – This vitamin-packed green is planted and harvested just like lettuce.
3. Cucumbers – Make several mounds of dirt near the edge of your garden and place 2-3 plants around the center of each. Cucumbers are notorious for growing vines that overtake other plants, so be vigilant about keeping them contained. 
4. Squash – Like cucumbers, summer squash is planted on small mounds at the edges of a garden so their vines can be contained. Most varieties, such as yellow squash and zucchini, are quite prolific and just a few plants can feed a large family all summer long.
5. Tomatoes – Purchase plants that grow best in your area of the country from your local garden center. All plants should be staked or enclosed in tomato cages because successful plants produce an abundance of large, heavy fruit throughout the summer months.
6. Bell Peppers – Bell peppers are easiest to grow from plants. Space them about 1 foot apart then watch them take off with little care required. The only real trick to growing bell peppers is knowing when to harvest. If you’re growing red, orange or yellow varieties, they’ll start out green then turn color as soon as they ripen.
7. Carrots – Dig a long, shallow trench in soil that is free of rock. Sprinkle the seeds along the row, cover lightly with topsoil and wait for the top of the carrot to pop through the soil. Once a bit of orange appears, pull and enjoy.

Find more tips for growing a bountiful garden at eLivingtoday.com.

Photo courtesy of Unsplash

SOURCE:
Family Features

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