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FAQ

Looking for answers to commonly asked questions?

• Why should we use Purified Ingredient Diets?

  The fundamental purposes of purified diets are full knowledge of all ingredients, complete open formulas, ease of modification, and repeatable consistency, resulting in accurate, reliable data. 

  Purified open formulas diets (AIN, Van Heek, for example) specify the exact description and the exact amount of each ingredient, including all minerals and vitamins.   Each nutrient is derived from a distinct, refined ingredient. Ingredients are obtained from reliable, consistent, traceable and proven suppliers. 

  In  grain-based diets, each nutrient has multiple sources; therefore, to modify a grain-based diet, many ingredients must be adjusted.  For modified LabDiet^® formulas, we strongly suggest you contact info@TestDiet.com before you proceed with any supplier; only our LabDiet^® and TestDiet^® nutritionists can accurately modify a LabDiet^® formula with accuracy. 

• Can you manufacturer Modified Grain-Based Diets?

  Often we can meet your research needs by adding nutritional components to standard grain-based animal 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.  

  When required by your research, we can also add medications and test compounds to any diet, including standard LabDiet^® products, and custom diets, both grain-based or purified.

  Alternatively, we can produce custom-formulated grain-based LabDiet^® products 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).  The standard LabDiet^® product is typically used as a control diet in this situation.

• Will TestDiet® add test compounds, special ingredients, and drugs to diets?

  Adding test compounds to standard or custom grain-based diets or 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.  All test compounds need to be approved by the TestDiet^® plant manager prior to accepting them into our facility. 

  We never compromise the integrity of our products; we never endanger the validity and accuracy of your research, nor the safety and health of you or our 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 in our manufacturing process.

• TestDiet® products have diets for what species?
  Our team of animal nutrition professionals can custom-formulate purified or grain-based research diets for virtually 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.
• Why should we use standard or custom-formulated TestDiet® lab animal diets?
  LabDiet^® products have been the baseline of nutrition for the biomedical research community for several decades.   Whenever nutritional or physical requirements cannot be met using a standard LabDiet^® product, our nutritionists will formulate and produce custom research TestDiet^® animal diets to meet your individual study demands.