Bellfor Dog Food Review – Featuring Insect-Based Cold Pressed Dog Food

When Bellfor reached out to me recently and asked me to review their range of healthy dog food I have to admit it was the first time I’d heard of the brand, however this family run company has been producing dog food for 25 years and their products are now exported from Germany to many European and Asian countries so they have a wealth of experience in the dog food market.
The company manufacture a huge variety of dog food but one thing most of them have in common is that they are grain free and contain a high percentage of human grade meat or fish that is ethically sourced as well as fresh fruit and vegetables and added nutrients. Bellfor dog food does not contain any artificial ingredients and the company produce breed and age appropriate variations of some of their recipes.
Bellfor has impressive green credentials sourcing almost all their ingredients from local farms and using environmentally friendly fabric sacks to pack many of it’s products.

Talking of being environmentally friendly there’s been a bit of a buzz in the dog world about insect-based dog food recently and I have to say that as someone who tries to live in a sustainable way it has definitely peaked my interest. So I was impressed to learn that Bellfor was the first company in Europe to launch insect-based dog food to the market. It was when I found out that Bellfor produce a Cold Pressed Insect-Based Dog Food though that I knew that it was time for my spaniels to taste test this sustainable delicacy.
(Maya and Lucia are raw fed dogs and eat a BARF diet that I prepare from scratch but I do feed cold pressed on days out/holidays and also occasionally if I am short on time}

Cold Pressed Dog Food

Bellfor produce a few varieties of Cold Pressed Dog Food which only contain high quality fresh fish or chicken as well as the insect-based one which they combine together with fruit and vegetables and added nutrients and process at temperatures which do not exceed 55 degrees. Although extruded kibble has come a long way in recent years (Bellfor produce a really high quality grain free dog food} Cold Pressed is definitely my preferred alternative to RAW for Maya and Lucia when travelling due to it retaining more nutrients and also because it is arguably more easily digestible for dogs used to a raw diet. Indeed Bellfor has developed it’s cold pressed range in such a way that its optimal ratio of essential vitamins, amino acids, fatty acids and minerals is very close to that of a BARF diet.
I’m not going to lie, Cold Pressed is also way more convenient to feed than RAW and I sometimes ask myself why I don’t switch completely but I have raw fed all my pooches for over 25 years and old habits die hard! Anyway my spaniels tested two varieties of Bellfor Cold Pressed dog food, the Chicken and of course the Insect but there is also a tasty sounding Salmon and Trout variety available.

Benefits of feeding an insect based dog food

Of course one of the main advantages of feeding an insect-based diet is environmental. The black soldier fly, used as the protein source in both the cold pressed and kibble versions of Bellfor uses just one tenth of the resources that would be required for say cattle breeding. There is no need to use antibiotics either because the insects do not become sick. Even the waste from processing the insects is used as a natural fertilizer so as you can see feeding your dog Bellfor Cold-Pressed Hypoallergenic Dry Food For Dogs with Insects would really cut down your dog’s carbon pawprint.
There are advantages to your dog’s health too. Dogs have a short digestive tract and so there is little time for them to process nutrients, but because the biological value of the proteins of the black soldier fly are 85% your dog can absorb the nutrients much more easily. Insect-based Bellfor dog food is highly digestible, grain free and contains only natural ingredients.

The Taste Test

I did harbour a few reservations as to whether Maya and Lucia would consume the food but they were completely unfounded, even Maya as I have documented on this blog before can be a bit on the fussy side when it comes to dry food wolfed it down with gusto! The ‘croquettes’ are a handy 1cm in size and I have been using them as training treats. I fed Maya and Lucia the insect-based version for a couple of weeks and there was no noticeable difference in their energy levels, demeanour or coat compared to their behaviour and condition when eating a raw diet which was reassuring and I will definitely consider feeding it occasionally in the future so the girls benefit from this nutritious protein source.

The range of healthy dog treats and snacks produced by Bellfor is phenomenal and include training treats, dried meats and antlers, it goes without saying that the spaniels give all these a big paws up!

Bellfor Dog Food has a really informative website where you can of course order dog food and also read lots of information on the company’s ethos and processing methods, why not have a look.

Love Sal, Maya and Lucia xxx

* Bellfor kindly gifted us a supply of food and treats to review