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Many questions are frequently asked by researchers. You will find some of those answers here. Just "click" on the question to see the answer.
For any other questions or additional information, please contact us.
Why should we use Purified Ingredient Diets?
The fundamental purposes of a purified diet are full knowledge of all ingredients, complete open formulas, ease of modification, and repeatable consistency, resulting in accurate, reliable data.
One of the fundamental reasons for using purified diets is that they are "repeatable." With purified diets, your materials and methods are easy to report, repeat, and modify. Your research benefits from constant formulas, with precise batch-to-batch consistency, whenever and wherever your research is repeated. When you want to vary your experiment, modifications are easy to formulate. Purified diets provide a dependable base for your research, with unmitigated consistency from batch-to-batch, whether a month, year, or decade apart.
While the precise amount of each specific ingredient of our natural grain-based animal feeds (i.e., LabDiet®) naturally varies from batch to batch as we strive to achieve nutritional consistency (what we cal "Constant Nutrition"), our precise purified ingredient diets are always produced according to a unique open formula. Precise open formulas specify the exact description and the exact amount of each ingredient, including all minerals and vitamins.
In purified ingredient diets, each nutrient is derived from a distinct refined ingredient. Ingredients are obtained from reliable, consistent, traceable suppliers of human-grade food products. You always know not only the exact nutritional content, but also the specific ingredients, no more and no less. We add each nutrient as a separate refined ingredient from a reliable and traceable source.
Purified diets contain no phytoestrogens and no significant bacterial contamination. In fact, purified diets typically contain as much as 100 times less naturally-occurring bacteria as standard grain-based feeds. Therefore, you can be confident that your resulting data is accurate, unadulterated by unknown and varying components of grain-based animal feed. More information on phytoestrogens ...
In a grain-based diet, each nutrient has multiple sources; therefore, to modify a grain-based diet, many ingredients must be adjusted, resulting in a wide range of variables. Unlike a grain-based diet, a purified diet is easy to modify. Since each nutrient is derived from a specific ingredient, modifications can be easily made by adjusting the amount of only one ingredient. (For example, by adding Vitamin A, or decreasing he amount of potassium.) Modifications can also be made by adjusting the ratio between two ingredients. (For example, by reducing carbohydrate calories and increasing fat calories.) In this way, a series of several diets can be formulated, with precise and discrete variables.
For a discussion of certain advantages of purified diets over grain-based diets, see excerpt from Lichtman, A.H., Clinton, S.K., Iiyama, K., Connelly, P.W., Libby, P., Cybulsky, M.I. Hyperlipidemia and Atherosclerotic Lesion Development in LDL Receptor Deficient Mice Fed Defined Semipurified Diets With and Without Cholate. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1999; 19:1938-1944.
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Why should we use Modified Grain-Based Diets?
Often we can meet your research needs by adding nutritional components to standard grain-based food (i.e., our LabDiet® products). This process is used often for adding fats, oils, cholesterol, and can be used to add any nutrient(s), such as protein, minerals, vitamins, carbohydrate, and fiber. (See additional information on direct adds.)
When required by your research, we can also add medications and test compounds to any diet, including standard grain-based diets, as well as custom diets, both grain-based and purified. (See additional information on adding medications.)
Alternatively, we can produce custom-formulated grain-based diets for you "from scratch," using standard multi-nutrient ingredients normally used in such products, or substituting nutrient-specific ingredients (such as milk casein as a protein source). This is particularly useful when you need a diet comparable to one of our standard LabDiet® products, but with certain components deleted from the formula (e.g., a diet with no added Vitamin A, or no soy protein).
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What are "standard" & "custom" Purified Diets?
Certain purified ingredient diets are used quite frequently by a wide range of researchers in various disciplines—therefore, they have been referred to as "standards." Since they are usually in a regular production schedule, they are often available for next-day shipment.
At TestDiet®, we treat all purified ingredient diets as "custom," assuring you the highest quality, freshest ingredients, and most efficient service.
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Will TestDiet® add test compounds, special ingredients, and drugs to diets?
Adding test compounds to standard and custom grain-based diets and to purified diets is an effective, accurate, and convenient means of dosing your animals for research purposes. With precision and consistency, we can homogeneously blend in virtually any compound, medication, or nutrient and produce the diet in any form: pellets, meal, or tablets; many can be made into a powder form for liquid diets.
We never compromise the integrity of our products; we never endanger the validity and accuracy of your research, nor the safety and health of your animals and staff. Therefore, we do not handle any toxins, carcinogens, mutagens, radioactive substances, controlled dangerous substances (CDS), or live organisms (viruses, bacteria, etc.). Thus, you are assured that no dangerous or deleterious cross-contamination will occur.
More information on Adding Compounds
TestDiet® has diets for what species?
For over 100 hundred years, Purina Mills has provided nutrition expertise for virtually every species. Our elite team of animal nutrition professionals will custom-formulate and produce purified ingredient and modified grain-based research diets for all animal species, including rats, mice, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, chinchillas, ferrets, felines, canines, primates, swine, poultry, reptiles, fish, aquatic mammals, zoo animals, exotic birds, etc. More information.
Why should we use standard or custom-formulated lab animal research diets from TestDiet®?
The mandate of LabDiet® is to offer a dedicated dietary system that meets the required research protocols of animal research studies. Most often, you can achieve those requirements by using one of the hundreds of lab animal diet standards known as LabDiet®.
Whenever nutritional or physical requirements cannot be met using a standard diet preparation, TestDiet® nutritionists will formulate and produce research diets to meet your individual study demands. These diets will be either a modification of a natural ingredient grain-based product or a purified ingredient diet.
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If in the past we’ve used purified diets from another manufacturer, why should we switch to TestDiet®?
One of the fundamental reasons for using purified diets is that they are "repeatable." Purified diets by their very nature are, or should be, ìopen formulaî so that they can be repeated identically and modified easily by the research community or any manufacturer. Therefore, every purified diet formula can be produced exactly the same by any manufacturer.
See "side-by-side" feeding trial data
Go Back to "Frequently Asked Questions"
So, why choose TestDiet® over the others?
There are many reasons, consider these four:
1. Quality –
Founded in 1894, Purina Mills, LLC/PMI Nutrition International has grown to become the world’s leader in animal nutrition products, research, and innovation. At the LongView Research Center in Gray Summit, Missouri, USA, nutritionists and veterinarians conduct extensive independent research, observing firsthand the interrelationship of sound dietary practices, good health, proper growth and development, and optimum performance.
We are research-focused. We have assembled a team of leading animal nutrition experts who consult with researchers to custom-formulate diets for their specific areas of study. The TestDiet® division formulates and produces custom grain-based and purified diets for animal research in academic, government, and pharmaceutical laboratories worldwide. At our state-of-the-art laboratory in Richmond, Indiana, USA, we operate the cleanest, most efficient, most comprehensive GMP-compliant, GLP-compatible, and ISO-certified lab animal diet production laboratory anywhere.
We offer exactly the same purified diet formulas, produced fresh in our ISO-certified production laboratory, in 5 business days or less.
2. Service –
Whether your lab is in the United States or half way around the world, TestDiet® is uniquely equipped to provide you professional service of the highest caliber. From the widest range of animal nutrition experts to consult on all your research diet needs, to regional sales managers and local distributors providing personal service, TestDiet® of Purina Mills, LLC assures you competent and rapid response to all your research needs.
You receive the world-class quality and expertise of Purina . . . the personal service and attention of local professional dealers. For example, your Certified LabDiet® Dealer can assure that your diets are delivered in one consolidated shipment, rather than "piece-meal" through common carriers (UPS, FedEx, etc.); or that they are stocked for you in their local warehouse to provide you "just-in-time" delivery—as you choose.
3. Reliability –
TestDiet®/Purina Mills, LLC, is part of a highly-respected family of companies, doing over $6 billion in annual sales, with the depth of expertise and resources to assure you absolute reliability and corporate accountability.
Whether your research costs only hundreds of dollars or involves multi-year research costing in the tens of millions of dollars, to you it is priceless. We are a major corporation, with the resources, longevity, stability, and century-long reputation to protect your interests Why trust such a vital part of your research—your animals’ diets—to anyone else?
We have been serving the animal nutrition market for over one hundred years—we’ll be around for at least the next hundred. When we say that we stand behind our products, we have the corporate resources available to make that mean something.
4. Value –
We at TestDiet® are committed to providing the highest quality lab animal research diets at the most reasonable prices. While we will never "cut corners" in order to lower prices, often we are able to provide exactly the same formulas as other manufacturers at significant savings. What we offer you is impeccable quality, exemplary service, and absolute reliability at a fair and reasonable price.
Can TestDiet® duplicate existing diet formulas?
Whether you produce your own diets or use a diet from another company, we can duplicate it and deliver it to you in whatever form you desire—pellet, powder, liquid, or tablet, and ship it to you in as few as five business days. See "side-by-side" feeding trial data
Purified diets, by their very nature, may be exactly duplicated since "repeatability" is one of the defining hallmarks of purified diets. Any manufacturer of a purified diet must provide you with a complete open formula so that you or anyone else can repeat that precise diet next week, next, month, or next year.
For grain-based diets, precise formulas are usually not available, but a list of ingredients and nutritional specifications are. Consequently, we will produce comparable grain-based diets using similar ingredients and resulting in approximately equivalent nutritional content.
See also:
Some Frequently Duplicated Diets
What information does Test Diet® need to create a custom diet formulated for my specific research?
We need to know some details about your research: the general objective of the research, the animal species and strain, the purpose of the diet, ingredients and nutrients of particular interest, any existing formula(s) you want duplicated or modified, any journal articles related to your specific study. Be as specific as possible, for example, avoiding subjective descriptions such as "low-fat" or "high-cholesterol;" the definition of such terms vary significantly from researcher to researcher.
What is the truth about phytoestrogens in laboratory animal diets?
Phytoestrogens are non-steroidal compounds produced by many plants and contained in many natural dietary components, such as soybeans, wheat, barley, corn, alfalfa, and oats. Structurally, they are similar to endogenous estrogens and share a similar mechanism of action through their affinity for and binding to estrogenic receptors. Phytoestrogens have actually been credited with health benefits against osteoporosis, heart disease, and some cancers.
In many research situations, however, they can pose a problem by their interference with animal hormone systems and a subsequent distortion of data. Often it is not the presence of phytoestrogens, but rather the unpredictable and fluctuating amounts of phytoestrogens in natural grain-based diets that causes the problem.
There are two approaches to addressing this issue:
1. Purified diets are inherently free of phytoestrogens (if soy is not used as the protein source).
2. LabDiet® now produces its Advanced Protocol line of grain-based diets with controlled, measured, verifiable levels of phytoestrogens at 150 ppm, or 50, ppm, or even less than 1 ppm. More information
How can we order a diet supplied to a researcher by TestDiet®, and subsequently noted in a journal article?
Generally, researchers will cite specific TestDiet® formulas when reporting their research. This assists readers in understanding fully the nutritional aspects of the studies, and assists researchers in repeating and modifying methods when conducting their own studies. (It is important for researchers to report the 4-digit alphanumerical formula number, not the product number that is different for each form of the diet, e.g.,1/2" pellet, 3/8" pellet, meal, etc.)
When authors cite these diet formulas, we can provide exactly the same formula to you, and we can produce "variations on the theme" as your specific research may require.
When authors do not cite the specific diet formula, they will usually provide formula information on your request. (Without a citation in an article or permission of the author, we cannot provide you any more information about a diet than appears in the article; however, we can provide diets that meet the same diet parameters disclosed in the article.)
What is "Vitamin-Free Casein" and why is it important?
Casein is a protein source derived from cow’s milk. "Vitamin-free casein" is an alcohol-extracted casein prepared from regular casein, and typically has 90-91% protein (%N x 6.38), 0.1% fat, and 4-6% moisture. Less-expensive casein that is not vitamin-free introduces unknown and random amounts of various vitamins into each batch of diet without being recognized or reported. The protein content of this less expensive casein can also fluctuate significantly. (See "The Essentials of Custom Diets for Laboratory Animals" for more information.)
Whoever manufactures your purified diets should assure you that they are using pure ingredients of known, verifiable, consistent composition to the greatest extent practicable. For example, a number of purified diet manufacturers use regular non-vitamin-free casein in their diets. This cost-cutting practice defeats the fundamental purposes of a purified diet: full knowledge of all ingredients, complete open formulas, and repeatable consistency, resulting in accurate, reliable data.
Consistent with the value of your research, we at the Purina Mills TestDiet® division use only the more expensive, more precise vitamin-free milk casein in our purified diets; and, we routinely assay our casein to confirm that the protein content is within tight tolerances.
Does TestDiet® completely disclose formulas?
For purified ingredient diets, we always provide you a complete formula, listing the exact description and precise amount of each ingredient, including all minerals and vitamins, and a comprehensive nutritional analysis.
For modified grain-based LabDiet® formulas, we provide a list of all ingredients and a complete nutritional analysis.
For custom grain-based diets, using the precise amounts of various grains as you may specify, of course, the complete formula is provided, including those precise amounts of specific grains.
How does TestDiet® assure confidentiality?
For decades, we have supported the research of leading pharmaceutical companies, government laboratories, and academia worldwide: they continue to trust us to respect absolute confidentiality.
We never reveal information to anyone about the diets you purchase or the experiments you are conducting without your explicit prior approval or by your own publication of research data. When you do publish your research, we encourage you to note precisely the TestDiet® formulas you have used to assist others in repeating and modifying your methods in their own studies.
What about "high-fat" purified diets?
We can formulate diets with a
variety of 20+ different fats, such as animal and vegetable fats, solid and
liquid fats, and fats with varying fatty acid compositions. We can produce
pellets with as much as 60% kcal from fat (35% fat by weight). Additionally, we
can formulate and produce custom diets to your exact specifications; however,
often a standard "high-fat" purified diet will suffice.
We manufacture several standard "DIO" (Diet-Induced-Obesity) diets used
extensively by researchers worldwide. One group of diets is commonly known as
the Van Heek series or diets "#12450B," "#12451," and "#12492." These diets are
available from TestDiet®.
We also carry a series of specially formulated TestDiet® DIO diets
for the 21st century. These diets include several features that
distinguish them from the standard Van Heek diets. This TestDiet®
DIO Series provides complex fiber, accurate protein and fat levels, vitamin-free
casein, and consistent ratios of simple and complex carbohydrates. The diets
are available in any form, but the ½” diameter pellets are most commonly
ordered. If you’d like any diet with greater than 60% of the kcal from fat, we
can provide the diet in a meal form, which has a “cookie dough” consistency.
See also:
Fat (Lipid) Modifications to LabDiet® Formulas
Fat (Lipid) Modifications to Purified Diets
What forms of diets are available?
Almost all our diets can be made in any form: powder (meal), "extruded" pellets, tablets ("precision pellets"), or liquid. We produce pellets with as much as 60%kcal from fat (≈35% fat by weight); higher fats levels can be made into a convenient "cookie dough" consistency.
All our diets are first prepared as a "powder" or "meal" mixture of all dry and wet ingredients. Depending upon the needs of your research, we can supply diets in this meal form, or process them into an extruded pellet, a tablet ("precise-dosage" or "precision" pellet), or as a suspendable powder for mixing as a liquid diet with water or ethanol.
Our standard extruded pellet is 1/2" in diameter by 3/4" to 1-1/4" in length; smaller diameters of 3/8" or 3/16" are available for ferrets, guinea pigs, and rabbits. We produce extruded pellets with as much as 60% of the calories from fat, or 35% fat by weight.
Our suspendable liquid diets are used in many types of research. They are convenient to use, mix easily, and, once mixed with water or ethanol, can be stored under refrigeration for several days. More information.
Diets can be compressed into tablets or "precision pellets" of precise weights and sizes for a variety of purposes, most notably used to reward and reinforce behavior through "pellet dispensers" (like "Skinner boxes") and to provide enrichment as treats. This "dosage" form is available in standard purified and grain-based formulas, and in formulas custom-designed for your specific research. More information.
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How does TestDiet® assure us the highest quality and consistency from batch to batch?
In every purified ingredient diet, each nutrient is derived from a specific ingredient. Each ingredient is the highest quality, meets standards set for human foods, and comes from a consistently reliable source. We guarantee every batch of purified diet to conform to formula specifications and to be consistent with all previous batches whenever produced.
At Purina Mills, our more than one hundred years of experience have earned us a sterling reputation for quality, integrity, and reliability in meeting the exacting nutritional requirements of virtually every animal species used in any kind of research.
In our modern state-of-the-art production laboratory in Richmond, Indiana, we produce all TestDiet® laboratory animal research diets produced under the strict requirements of the Purina Mills Quality Assurance Program, which meets or exceeds the demands of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP).
Because "your work is worth it,"TM we have made the investment in time, talent, and finances to meet the stringent ISO-9002 requirements of the prestigious International Organization for Standardization. We operate the cleanest, most efficient, most comprehensive GMP-compliant, GLP-compatible, and ISO-certified lab animal diet production facility in the world to produce any and every custom diet formula presently or previously available from any manufacturer for research on any species of animal.
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How quickly can TestDiet®; produce and deliver our diets? What about shipments outside the USA?
Our TestDiet® products are custom-mixed to fill each order: " Fresh from our lab to yours."TM See Production Times for details. We can ship by overnight express, regular ground UPS, or by our Certified Dealers’ trucks, as you require. Weight and delivery method determine shipping costs that typically are prepaid and added to the invoice.
If you want your diet irradiated, generally you will need to add up to an extra 10 days, although we strive to reduce that extra time whenever possible. More information on gamma irradiation.
We pride ourselves on global on-time delivery. Typically, within five business days your diet is on its way from our production laboratory to your research laboratory anywhere in the world. Our European and Asian distributors assure both prompt delivery and personal attention to the strict requirements of international import regulations.
When your need is urgent, rush service is usually available with only a reasonable additional charge if overtime labor is necessary.
What is the shelf life of a diet?
Purified ingredient diets are perishable; they do not contain any preservatives unless clearly stated in the formula. They should be stored in a cool, dry place. Refrigeration at 4oC (40oF) or lower is recommended; generally, diets can be stored this way for up to six months. Most diets can be preserved even longer by freezing, sometimes form a year or more; however, use of diets beyond six months will be subject to the protocols of your lab.
Grain-based diets will have a shelf life of varying lengths depending upon their composition. Generally, they will keep in cool dry storage for about the same length of time as for the comparable LabDiet® product, about six months. Please inquire about the specific shelf life of any custom grain-based diet.
Gamma irradiation can be used to destroy bacteria and mold spores, primarily for use of diets in barrier facilities. It also has the effect of reducing sources of spoiling, particularly in grain-based diets.
What are the packaging options for diets we order from TestDiet®?
Typically, we pack 20 kg of your diet in a 3-mil poly bag. If your diet is irradiated, it is packed in a heat-sealed 8-mil poly bag. (We can also "double-bag" on request.) Then, the bag is packed in a double-walled corrugated carton. We also often pack some diets, particularly those with higher fat contents in 10 kg cartons.
We offer various options such as vacuum packaging, heat-sealing, and specific quantity packaging (e.g., smaller sizes for use in isolator cages or other purposes).
Does TestDiet® irradiate diets for barrier facilities?
Research facilities are increasingly specifying gamma-irradiation as the economical and practical alternative to autoclaving. Many purified diets cannot be autoclaved without damaging the diet. At your request, all our TestDiet® products can be sterilized by gamma-irradiation at a nominal additional cost, usually only $1/kg with no minimum quantity.
Our Doxycycline and Fenbendazole diets are offered with free irradiation included in the price.
Irradiation normally can take up to 10 additional business days; expedited service is sometimes available at an extra cost.
More information on gamma irradiation.
We at TestDiet® are committed to providing the highest quality lab animal research diets at the most reasonable prices. While we will never compromise quality in order to lower prices, often we are able to provide exactly the same formulas as other manufacturers at significant savings. The incomparable value we offer you is impeccable quality, exemplary service, and absolute reliability at a fair and reasonable price.
We have produced thousands upon thousands of custom diets for the exacting requirements of researchers worldwide. We manufacture such custom diets only as needed by a researcher—"Fresh from our lab to yours"TM; therefore, we quote prices on an order-by-order basis, depending upon quantity, ingredients, and complexity of formulation and production.
Setting up a "standing order" for regular weekly or monthly deliveries of the same diets, may sometimes allow us to extend more favorable lower quantity pricing, depending upon the diet and other logistical considerations.
Many researchers on a regular basis frequently use a certain few animal research diets. These "standard" diets are usually always in production, have established prices, and are often available for next-day shipment.
Please contact your Certified LabDiet® Dealer or TestDiet® Customer Service at info@testdiet.com for price quotes.
With TestDiet® you have the widest range of shipping options.
In most areas of the United States and Canada our network of Certified LabDiet Dealers will provide personal attention and service for your order, delivering products to you as and when you want at reasonable rates. You receive the world-class quality and expertise of Purina . . . the personal service and attention of local professional dealers. For example, your Certified LabDiet® Dealer can assure that your diets are delivered in one consolidated shipment, rather than "piece-meal" through common carriers (UPS, FedEx, etc.); or, that they are stocked for you in their local warehouse to provide you "just-in-time" delivery—as you choose.
Of course, if you need faster service, your orders can be shipped direct to you from TestDiet® by the carrier of your choice (i.e, UPS, FedEx, DHL, and similar services; or by truck). Within the contiguous 48 states, for shipping and handling, by regular "ground" UPS service, we charge $1.00 per kg east of the Rocky Mountains, $2.00 per kg to the Rockies and west. For premium services (e.g. "second-day" or "overnight") additional charges will apply.
For formulating new diets, nutritional consultation, or re-orders, contact us directly. We provide rapid service around the globe. Via airfreight, you can receive your diets usually within five days transit time or less, often overnight. In many parts of the world, we have dealers or representatives to provide professional local attention to your research requirements.
Our TestDiet® products, whether purified or grain-based, are routinely shipped by various methods. Depending upon where you are located and what method of shipment you choose (and how much you want to pay for freight), transit time can be as short as one day or as long as two-three weeks. With rare exceptions, these products are perfectly stable for those transit times even though upon arrival we recommend that they be stored in a cool, dry place; refrigerated if available. For some very-high-fat diets, especially when shipped during the hot summer months, we will recommend "second-day" or "overnight" shipping, not so much to prevent spoiling as to preserve the pellet shape of the diet which may begin to crumble with extended exposure to elevated ambient temperature.
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