Are pet food tested on animals?

I'm quite sure pet food were tested on animals before they are put on sale in the market. Otherwise, how else will manufacturers know if the pet food is palatable or acceptable to animals? The question then, would be what kind of test was conducted on animals?

In response to this post on the ingredient list of Solid Gold Katz n Flocken, Mary asked whether SG pet food was tested on animals. I couldn't find the answer on SG's website, so decided to send an email query to the email address given on their website. They responded to me a while ago, all in less than 12 hours...not bad eh?

Basically, my question was this:
A friend of mine has a concern about whether Solid Gold pet food had been tested on animals, and if yes, may I know what kind of tests were conducted please?

The reply from SG:
From: Dane <(dane@solidgoldhealth.com)>
To: auntie p
Sent: Thursday, 3 May 2007 8:41:27
Subject: RE: Query: Are Solid Gold products tested on animals?

Thank you for your inquiry,

The only testing we conduct on animals is in the form of non-invasive feeding trials. The dogs and cats are fed a variety of foods and their preferences are simply monitored and recorded. Feeding trials are the best method of ensuring that our food is palatable for dogs and cats and is very necessary to ensure the best product makes it to the market. All dog food companies must assess the nutritional quality and palatability of their food before it can receive approval to be sold. This is currently done with personal pets owned by the employees and associates of Solid Gold.

Best regards,
Solid Gold

Foster Cats' Blog: Cat food - SG