USDA facility | No HPP | No chemical bath | No radiation

The Largest, Premier Manufacturer of Bovine Organ Powders from US Human-Grade Raw Material.

We pathogen-kill, freeze-dry, mill, and pack in one USDA-inspected facility, starting with US human-grade raw material rather than pet-downgraded meat.

The owner of Flatiron Food Factory smiling beside a branded freeze-dryer on the production floor
  • USDA Facility
  • USDA Organic
  • Grass-Fed / Grass-Finished
  • Allergen-Free Programs
  • Women-Owned
  • No HPP

The process difference

We Heat Treat the Raw Material. The Industry Blasts It.

Most processors rely on high-pressure pasteurization, often combined with chemical treatment or irradiation.

We start with human-grade material under USDA inspection and gently raise it to a minimum of 145°F for seven minutes. That is the pathogen kill. No HPP. No chemical bath. No irradiation. Better material in. Better ingredient out.

How We Run Quality
Two piles of freeze-dried beef liver treats side by side: heat treated pieces keep a natural steak-like texture, while HPP pieces are uniform pressed blocks

Milling

Most Freeze Dryers in the Country Can’t Mill.

They dry the material and ship it out, which adds a queue, a freight leg, and a second facility's idea of your spec. We run a hammer mill and a cryogenic mill in the same plant, with a milling scientist on staff.

Cryo milling is what makes very fine mesh and high-fat material possible. Heart is usually too fatty to mill conventionally: it smears instead of fracturing.

Milling Capability
Hammer mill
Standard mesh work at production volume
Cryogenic mill
Very fine mesh, high density, high-fat material
Run to your spec
Mesh and density you specify, not a house default
Milling scientist
On staff, in the same building as the dryers

Built for Customers at Every Stage of Growth.

You shouldn’t have to build your business around your manufacturer. We’ve structured ours to give customers more flexibility, fewer handoffs, and a clearer path to production.

  • Runs from 500 to 100,000 pounds

    Start with 500 pounds as a pilot run. Scale as demand grows, without being forced to buy a year’s supply.

  • No equipment to buy

    Move beyond bench-scale production without investing seven figures in your own equipment, or learning to run it.

  • One purchase order.

    Sourcing, processing, dicing, milling, and packing sit behind one PO and one partner instead of four vendors.

  • Domestic production

    Shorter lead times, no customs fees, and greater control over scheduling.

  • Competitive pricing, reliable lead times

    You can plan around what we quote you. If a date is going to move, you hear it from us before it does.

Who runs it

Women-Owned, WBENC-Certified, and Family-Run.

Since 2014, one of the few independent freeze-drying manufacturers operating under USDA oversight. Flatiron Food Factory manufactures. Our sister company, Gembra Health, distributes.

  • WBENC-certified and women-owned

    Verifiable, which matters if you carry supplier diversity targets.

  • Independent and family-run

    Small enough to take a 500 lb pilot, equipped enough to run a commercial program.

  • Manufacturer, not a broker

    The equipment and the plant are ours. Nothing is quietly subcontracted to a facility you cannot inspect.

The Flatiron Food Factory family standing in front of the Flatirons in Loveland, Colorado, wearing Flatiron Food Factory shirts

FAQ

Questions buyers ask us

Which proteins do you work with?

Beef, chicken, turkey, pork, and lamb, in both muscle cuts and organs.

Beef. Muscle cuts ground, diced, or powdered, plus organs including liver, heart, and kidney for nutrient-dense supplements.
Chicken. Breast and trim, ground, diced, shredded, or powdered, plus heart and liver for pet food and supplement applications.
Turkey. Breast and dark meat, in the same formats, plus heart and liver.
Pork. Ground, sausage, Canadian bacon, and diced ham, with savory spice options, plus organs for specialized formulations.
Lamb. Run periodically, in muscle cuts and organ material.

Bovine organ powder is the largest thing we run. If we can source it, we can freeze-dry it.

Is this real freeze-drying, or air-drying sold as freeze-drying?

Real lyophilization. Material is frozen, then the ice is drawn off under vacuum by sublimation, so the structure, color, flavor, and nutrition of the food stay intact instead of collapsing the way they do under heated air. It also finishes at a much lower water activity, which is what gives freeze-dried material its very long shelf life without refrigeration. Dehydration is a different process with a different result, and we do not blur the two.

What does it actually cost per finished pound?

It depends on the yield of your material, and yield is where most customers get surprised. Freeze-drying removes water, so a raw pound is never a finished pound, and the ratio is different for liver than it is for a diced muscle cut. Send us the material and the volume and we will quote against the finished pound, which is the number your retail math needs. You can expect competitive pricing and a reliable lead time on it.

What are your lead times?

Some products are in stock and can ship quickly. For a custom run we typically see four to six weeks, though it depends on the material, the volume, and what is already on the schedule. Contact your Flatiron Food Factory representative for specifics on your project rather than planning a launch window around a general figure.

How do you keep batches consistent?

Two things do most of that work. Everything happens in one facility, so material is not handed between a dryer, a miller, and a packer with a different process at each stop. And milling is run in house by a milling scientist against your density and mesh spec rather than to whatever a third-party mill produces that week. The facility keeps batch records, Certificates of Analysis (COAs), and traceability systems that support recalls, audits, and export documentation.

What documentation is provided with my order?

More than most buyers expect. The highlights are Certificates of Analysis (COAs) confirming the main pathogens test negative, aerobic plate count (APC) and total coliform count, mesh size and density on powder orders, batch records, and export documentation where a program needs it. Tell us what your auditor, your retailer, or your certifier asks for and we will confirm what we can produce before you commit to a run.

Can you run an allergen-free program?

Yes. We can accommodate allergen-free and allergen-sensitive programs, including gluten and the top nine allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame. Allergen-free runs are scheduled as such, and the line is sanitized between an allergen-containing run and an allergen-free one. Tell us what your formulation has to avoid and we will tell you exactly what we can guarantee for your run.

How do you handle packaging and co-packing?

Packaging happens here, from bulk industrial through retail-ready, with sealing, lot coding, and custom labeling. We also do co-packing in house for some customers. Where a job runs past what we do here, or needs encapsulation or pouching, we either connect you with a trusted partner or manage that step with them on your behalf. Either way you have one place to start the conversation rather than a list of vendors to go assemble.

Do you do R&D?

Yes, and it is worth being precise about where it starts. We do not do recipe development: if you want a freeze-dried meal, the meal needs to be formulated first, and we can point you to people who do that well. Our R&D begins at the freeze-drying stage. Bring us the made product and we will run it several ways to work out the drying method that gives you the finished result you want, one that rehydrates in the time and the manner your product needs. R&D runs are a charged service, and they are a good deal cheaper than discovering the problem in a production run.

Tell Us What You’re Making.

Send the material, the volume, and the finished spec you need. You will hear back from someone who runs the equipment, not a sales desk.

  • Runs Start at 500 lb

  • USDA-inspected, Human-grade

  • Milling and Packaging in House

Request a Quote

Prefer to talk it through? Call (970) 775-8677.