Why mush?
Our story
In the beginning, dogs ate meat, bones, organs, vegetables and fruits. A few decades ago, we humans started feeding them grains as well. Today, they have to some extent gotten used to it, but it is not a natural food for dogs. Many dogs feel bad completely unnecessarily when they could feel much better on a food adapted to how they are created.
Sometimes life is hectic and we find ourselves in a constant tangle of unnecessary things. We ask ourselves: How did we end up here? But there are places on our earth where the pace of life is slow, tradition is valued, and wisdom is passed on from generation to generation.
Our dog food comes from such a place. Ever since the 1980s, we have been producing raw, frozen natural dog food from real ingredients in the small town of Pietarsaari on the Ostrobothnian plain in Finland.
We say no to grains in our products, and we can assure you that you will not find synthetic additives, preservatives, or other oddities in our dog food either.
Our Principles
Our promise to you is to deliver natural dog and cat food that complies with high-quality requirements. We make it easy, smooth, and safe for you to give the best feed to your pet. This is what transparency, natural, raw frozen, and complete means for us and your pet’s health:
WE SAY YES TO TRANSPARENCY
We set high-quality standards for our products and we expect our suppliers to do the same. The origin of the food is important, and our animal raw materials come from carefully selected producers in Finland, Sweden, and Norway.
WE SAY YES TO NATURAL ANIMAL FOOD
You will not find synthetic additives, preservatives or grains in our food. We at MUSH want to give all dogs and cats the opportunity to eat better food – food that is fresh, clean, unprocessed, and free from additives and unnecessary things.
WE SAY YES TO RAW FROZEN
Our products are raw frozen and thus less processed. In this way, the natural nutrients are best preserved.
WE SAY YES TO COMPLETE
Each bag (yes, actually every bun!) of our complete feed contains a balanced amount of each raw material. We make it easy to raw feed and you will see how good your pet feels when it is allowed to eat food that it is meant to eat.
YES, IT ACTUALLY MATTERS WHERE THE RAW MATERIALS COME FROM
When it comes to raw materials, we procure them very carefully. The raw materials form the basis of all products – we dare to say that they are the heart of everything we do. We are proud to work with suppliers who set as high standards as we do to be able to offer your pet the most natural food available.
Most of the meat in our products comes from Finland. We also take some of our animal raw materials from selected producers in Sweden and Norway, in our export products Vaisto Lightgreen and Vaisto Brown, we are using beef from Denmark. There are many advantages to using raw materials from Finland, Sweden and Norway. These countries all comply with the strict legal requirements of both the EU and their own countries, and therefore the level of food security is very high.
In international comparison, the Nordic soil is very clean. Thanks to the crop rotation and the frosty winters, less pesticides are used than in many other industrialized countries and this is done under controlled conditions. The production animals are only treated with antibiotics during treatment of established diseases and never for preventive purposes.
We at MUSH are proud of our talented employees and partners, the fine raw materials and how they are handled. We are still most proud of the tens of thousands of cats and dogs whose quality of life we have been able to improve with the help of our products!
beef
Most of our beef come from Finnish family farms via our parent company Snellman’s meat procession centre which is located only a few kilometres away from the MUSH plant. Fresh ingredients are delivered to our factory every day from Snellman.
Snellman meets the high standards set by the Finnish Food Authorities for businesses in the areas of processing food products of animal origin, and ensures that the high standards in the animal welfare program are complied with. Farms are visited by veterinary and advisory teams several times a year to ensure that these standards are always met.
Did you know?
- Finnish beef production is one of the most low-carbon in the world. The amount of water required by Finnish beef production is half the global average.
- Finland’s statutory national salmonella control programme ensures that the incidence of salmonella is monitored right from the primary production farm (From Farm to Fork). Consequently, home-reared meat does not contain salmonella bacteria, which is a significant issue in terms of public health.
- Finnish cattle are not fed soya. Rape or turnip-rape are used as cattle protein feeds, as well as frequent food industry by-products like brewers’ grain and distillers’ dried grain.
Snellman meets the high standards set by the Finnish Food Authorities for businesses in the areas of processing food products of animal origin, and ensures that the high standards in the animal welfare program are complied with. Farms are visited by veterinary and advisory teams several times a year to ensure that these standards are always met.
Pork
Most of our pork come from Finnish family farms via our parent company Snellman’s meat processing centre which is located only a few kilometres away from the MUSH plant. Fresh ingredients are delivered to our factory every day from Snellman.
Snellman meets the high standards set by the Finnish Food Authorities for businesses in the areas of processing food products of animal origin, and ensures that the high standards in the animal welfare program are complied with. Farms are visited by veterinary and advisory teams several times a year to ensure that these standards are always met.
Did you know?
- Snellman does not import pigs or pig genetics from abroad, but the entire production chain is under Snellman’s own control and not with foreign breeding companies. This way, we can ensure transparency, ethics, and reliability of breeding and to develop healthy pigs on a sustainable basis in accordance with Snellman’s values.
- Finland’s statutory national salmonella control programme ensures that the incidence of salmonella is monitored right from the primary production farm (From Farm to Fork). Consequently, home-reared meat does not contain salmonella bacteria, which is a significant issue in terms of public health.
- Snellman has been working extremely hard to reduce the use of additives in animal feed and has halved the use of soya since 2016.
We also get some of the pork from farms in Sweden that of course comply with the strict Swedish laws for Swedish meat production and animal keeping.
chicken
Our chicken come mainly from Finland, but also from Sweden. When it comes to chicken products we follow the country specific regulations that stretch beyond EU legal requirements.
Did you know?
- Finnish and Swedish chickens are fed with 100% GMO free.
Turkey
Our turkey come mainly from Finland, but also from Sweden. When it comes to turkey products, we follow the country specific regulations that stretch beyond EU legal requirements.
Did you know?
- Finnish and Swedish turkey are fed with 100% GMO free.
lamb
Most of our lamb comes from Finnish farms. We also get some of the lamb from selected producers in Norway, Sweden and Iceland who comply strictly with their country specific regulations for meat production and animal keeping.
reindeer
Reindeer are not confined within national borders since they roam free and eat natural food. Our reindeer meat comes from Lapland. The meat providers follow the animal protection laws, protect their reindeer against unnecessary suffering, and aim to create natural living circumstances.
salmon
Our salmon comes from Norway. The fish is compliant with the appropriate regulatory requirements for food safety.
egg
Our eggs come from a local egg producer in Finland.
vegetables
Only vegetables that meet the requirements for food safety go into our products. Some vegetables that we use are by-products or leftovers from the food industry which gives us the opportunity to help reduce food waste. Our vegetables also come from around Europe, but only when it is not possible to source them from Finland.
oils
Different types of oil that go into different products come from different countries. Camelina oil comes from Finland, sunflower oil from Germany, fish oil from Iceland and Extra Virgin Olive oil from Spain.
THIS IS HOW WE MAKE OUR PRODUCTS
FRESH PRODUCEMost of our meat raw materials from the nearby producers arrive daily at MUSH. The seasonal raw materials that come from further afield, e.g. reindeer from Lapland and salmon from Norway, transported fresh-frozen to MUSH. The fresh-frozen ingredients are stored in our cold store until they are used. |  |
THE RAW MATERIALS ARE EXAMINEDWe receive and inspect the raw materials. Upon receipt, the temperature is examined so that we can state that the raw material is well cooled. |  |
THE RAW MATERIALS ARE WEIGHEDAfter receipt and review, the raw materials are weighed according to the different recipes. Each batch is documented so that the person responsible for the weighing acknowledges the recipe and the document is saved in our self-control system. |  |
THE RAW MATERIALS GROSMALSThe weighed pulp is moved to pulp production where the raw materials are first coarsely ground in a large mill. If the fresh-frozen raw materials are mixed with, they are ground as frozen in the same mill. |  |
THE RAW MATERIALS ARE GRINDEDAfter the coarse grinding of the meat and bones, the mass is moved to two more grinders and at this stage vegetables are also added. |  |
THE MASS IS MIXEDThe minced meat and vegetables are mixed in a blender. |  |
THE MASS IS PORTIONEDThe ready-mixed mass is placed in our portioning machine, which turns the mass into meatballs of 25 g pressure. |  |
PRODUCTS ARE FREEZEDThe meatballs are transported through our modern freezing tunnel, which shock-freezes the meat for 30 minutes. Thanks to efficient and fast freezing, we can guarantee that the product is of high quality and that it is safe and secure. |  |
THE PRODUCTS WEIGHFrom the freezing tunnel, the meatballs go to an automatic scale that weighs packages of 800 g or 3 kg. When the packages are finished, they proceed to an automated packaging machine. |  |
THE PRODUCTS ARE PACKAGEDIn the packaging machine, the products are automatically packed in bags. |  |
THE PACKAGING IS CLOSEDOur new line packing machine closes the bag and at the same time the bag gets a locking mechanism that makes it easy to open and close. |  |
THE PRODUCTS ARE CHECKEDThe bags that weigh 800 g are still transported through a control scale and via a metal detector to our packing table where we manually pack them in cartons and at the same time check that the bags are whole and clean. |  |
FREEZE STORAGE FOR THE PRODUCTSPre-packaged products are moved to the cold store where the temperature is -18 degrees. |  |
DELIVERABLE PRODUCTSOur products are ready to be picked up and transported to MUSH dealers. |  |
We believe that our dog food is the best food for your dog. We also know that MUSH ® products are among the best on the market, and to maintain our high standards, we manufacture our products ourselves, in our own factories in Jakobstad, Finland and Nässjö, Sweden. In this way, we can control and execute every detail of the production in the best possible way. We choose where our raw materials come from, we benefit from the latest research in the development of our products, we manufacture and pack the products ourselves. When you use MUSH dog food, you know for sure where your dog food comes from, and you can safely feed your dog naturally. At present, we are almost 70 people working at MUSH in Finland and Sweden.
Our team
Managing Director
Magnus Pettersson
magnus.pettersson@mushbarf.fi
EXPORT MANAGER
+358 40 6809840
Jerry Dahl
jerry.dahl@mushbarf.fi
sales manager scandinavia
Robban Rosén
robban.rosen@mushbarf.se
sales manager
Paula Luuri
paula.luuri@mushbarf.fi
procurement manager
Roger Pettersson
rogger.pettersson@mushbarf.fi
