NEEDHAM, MASS. — Guardian Pet Food Company, Inc. received a US patent on Dec. 28 for its shelf-stable, freeze-dried, calorie-dense dog food bars. The patent covers Guardian’s NOBL® Canine Food Bar Beef & Chicken and NOBL® Canine Food Bar Turkey & Duck products.

Both dog food bars provide at least 5,000 kcal, vitamins and minerals via fruits and vegetables, are 100% nutritionally complete. They are not heat-extruded and contain no artificial ingredients.

"By granting this patent, the United States Patent & Trademark Office has recognized years of hard work and innovation embodied in our NOBL® Canine Food Bars," said Jim Galovski, founder and chief executive officer, Guardian. "This granted patent should provide pet consumers with confidence that our products are truly innovative, are based in recognized scientific knowledge, and will consistently deliver quality nutrition. We believe in using real ingredients, simple feeding, and honest presentation to our customers and their pets."

Both bars contain chickpeas, sweet potatoes, flaxseed, coconut oil, salt, kelp, broccoli, spinach, beets, carrots, tomatoes, cranberries, oranges, apples, cherries, blueberries, strawberries and tocopherols. In addition, the Beef & Chicken bar includes beef, beef liver, chicken and chicken liver, while the Turkey & Duck bar includes turkey, duck and turkey heart.

According to Guardian, its NOBL® Canine Food Bars offer balanced nutrition for everyday or on-the-go, are more than 90% digestible, contain more than 80% animal-based protein and are ready-to feed. A whole 2- to 3-oz bar is formulated for 40-lb dogs and can be broken into smaller pieces for portioning based on the size of the dog.