SuperClean™ bird food since 1937
Seed can arrive with dust, husk fragments and other unwanted material from harvesting and handling. Haith’s cleans and screens seed before blending because better food preparation starts before the bag is filled.
SuperClean™ is our name for that commitment: carefully sourced ingredients, specialist cleaning, inspection and quality control applied to food for wild birds and cage and aviary birds.
From arrival to prepared seed
Black sunflower seed provides a clear example. The photographs below show how it arrives, the unwanted material associated with uncleaned seed, and the result after cleaning and screening.
01Seed is an agricultural ingredient. Harvesting, transport and handling can leave dust, broken material and field debris mixed through it.
02A closer view reveals the difference between the seed itself and the material that does not belong in the finished food.
03Cleaning separates unwanted dust, husk fragments and debris rather than allowing them to remain in the finished food.
04The cleaned and screened black sunflower seed is then ready to be used as an individual food or as an ingredient in an appropriate blend.
Dust is easy to overlook. Birds experience their feeding environment at much closer quarters.
Why remove dust?
Birds have specialised respiratory systems. Dust can irritate the respiratory tract, while organic material may provide a vehicle for microorganisms or fungal spores under unsuitable conditions.
Cleaning seed cannot replace good hygiene, correct storage or an appropriate diet. It is, however, a practical part of responsible food preparation and one Haith’s has prioritised since the business began.
“Our small but deadly enemy.”
Fred Wright, budgerigar breeder, writing about dust
The process behind the promise
SuperClean™ begins with the raw ingredient and continues through cleaning, screening, blending, inspection, packing and storage. The precise route depends on the seed or food being prepared.
Experience, scrutiny and improvement
Haith’s combines practical seed-cleaning experience with inspection, laboratory investigation where appropriate and access to external scientific advice.
Haith’s quality-control work is supported by external scientific advice from Professor John E. Cooper, an expert in veterinary pathology and zoological medicine, when needed.
Why clean bird food matters →
Haith’s work in avian nutrition and quality control has received recognition from the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Read about the BIAZA recognition →
Professor Cooper examines why dust and the microbiological quality of food deserve attention in bird keeping and food preparation.
Read Dust and Diets →A principle established in 1937
John “Ted” Haith began cleaning seed after becoming frustrated by the inconsistent, uncleaned food available for the birds in his care. What started with practical experimentation became the founding principle of the family business.
Equipment, premises and quality-control methods have changed considerably since then. The underlying question has not: what can we remove before this food reaches the bird?
Read the Haith’s story →
Choose your range
Explore food prepared for garden birds or browse specialist diets and ingredients for cage and aviary birds.
Helpful answers
Clear answers about cleaning, dust and responsible use.
SuperClean™ is Haith’s approach to preparing bird food. It includes sourcing ingredients with care and using specialist cleaning, screening, inspection and quality-control processes to remove unwanted dust and debris before food is packed.
SuperClean™ means that seed has been cleaned to remove unwanted dust and debris. Agricultural ingredients can never sensibly be described as existing in a completely sterile or particle-free environment, so correct storage and feeding hygiene remain important.
Birds have specialised respiratory systems, and dust may irritate the respiratory tract. Organic dust can also carry microorganisms or fungal spores, particularly when food has been stored in unsuitable conditions.
No. Clean food should be part of a wider routine that includes keeping food dry, feeding manageable quantities, removing old or damp food, cleaning feeding equipment and providing fresh water.
No. Nutritional purpose varies between products. Some are mixtures, some are individual ingredients and others are specialist foods. Always read the product description and choose food appropriate to the species and feeding purpose.
