OC Raw is a family-owned and operated business, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Corona, California. The food is made in the company’s own pet food commercial kitchen.
For our OC Raw dog food reviews we’ll look at each food line individually, based on the food ingredient quality and safety. There are 2 lines with 14 dog foods. Each dog food review was based on these criteria.
OC Raw Frozen Dog Food Review
Score: 9.5/10
Package Ingredients For OC Raw Frozen Turkey & Produce Dog Food Recipe: Turkey, Ground Turkey Bone, Turkey Gizzard , Carrots, Apples, Broccoli, Spinach, Acorn Squash, Beets, Cod Liver Oil, Parsley, Blueberries, Calcium Carbonate, Kelp Powder
Using our evaluation criteria, OC Raw Frozen is considered a low risk dog food. .
Ingredient Quality
The recipes in the Raw Frozen dog food line are single animal proteins with 90% protein (including bone and organ) and 10% produce. No points are deducted for Ingredient Quality. The food has minimal carbohydrates and has no added vitamins or minerals, meaning the nutrition comes from the whole food ingredients. The fat percentage is lower than protein, which is desirable in a raw frozen dog food.
Ingredient Safety
When it comes to Ingredient Safety, the food doesn’t lose any points for minimal processing. However, there are some concerns that cause a loss of Ingredient Safety points.
High Pesticide/Herbicide Foods: Some recipes in the OC Raw Frozen line contain foods such as apples, beets or spinach that are known to carry large pesticide/herbicide residues. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers pose a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils.
GMO Ingredient: The company states its foods are non-GMO but the recipes do contain one small ingredient, alfalfa powder, that if not organic, is likely to be genetically modified. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops.
Other Concerns
Here are some other concerns to be aware of when evaluating the safety and quality of dog food:
Does Not Provide Omega-6:Omega-3 Ratio: OC Raw does not state the omega6:omega-3 ratio in their foods. While this is true of most dog foods, it’s a concern because AAFCO allows a very inflammatory limit of 30:1. Diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation and disease.
Does Not State Farmed Vs Wild Caught Fish: These foods don’t specify whether the fish ingredients (pollock, tilapia and cod liver oil) are farmed or wild caught. Tilapia in particular is well known for being a farmed fish. Farmed fish is less nutritious than wild caught fish and does not contain the same healthy fatty acid balance.
Benefits
Here are some benefits of these foods:
Minimally Processed: Frozen raw foods are minimally processed so they don’t suffer nutrient loss.
High Protein: OC Raw’s protein content averages 52% on a dry matter basis, which is good to see.
Low Carbohydrates: These recipes average less than 4% carbohydrate (as calculated on a dry matter basis) which is negligible.
Read more OC Raw Dog Food Reviews
OC Raw Freeze Dried Dog Food Review
Score: 9.2/10
Package Ingredients For OC Raw freeze dried Chicken Fish & Produce Dog Food Recipe: Chicken Ground, Chicken Bone, Chicken Liver, Chicken Gizzard, Pollock Fillet, Carrots, Apples, Broccoli, Spinach, Acorn Squash, Beets, Parsley, Blueberries, Apple Cider Vinegar, Calcium Carbonate, Kelp powder
Using our evaluation criteria, OC Raw freeze dried is considered a low risk dog food.
Ingredient Quality
These recipes lose a point for being higher in carbohydrates than many freeze dried foods, averaging around 15%, with rabbit especially high at 21%. However, the carbohydrates come from produce and not grains or other more starchy ingredients. The recipes don’t contain added vitamins and minerals (except for calcium carbonate) and that indicates better quality ingredients that provide the nutrients in the food.
Ingredient Safety
The recipes don’t lose any points for light processing. However, there are some concerns that cause a loss of Ingredient Safety points.
High Pesticide/Herbicide Ingredients: Recipes in the OC Freeze Dried line contain ingredients such as apples, beets or spinach that are known to carry large pesticide/herbicide residues. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers pose a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils.
GMO Ingredient: The company states their products are GMO free but one recipe (Beef & Produce) in the freeze dried line does contain a small amount of a known GMO ingredient, alfalfa powder. If not certified as non-GMO or organic, this ingredient is likely genetically modified. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods.
Other Concerns
Here are some other concerns to be aware of when evaluating the safety and quality of dog food:
Does Not Provide Omega-6:Omega-3 Ratio: OC Raw does not state the omega6:omega-3 ratio in their foods. While this is true of most dog foods, it’s a concern because AAFCO allows a very inflammatory limit of 30:1. Diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation and disease.
Does Not State Farmed Vs Wild Caught Fish: These foods don’t specify whether the fish ingredients (pollock, cod liver oil) are farmed or wild caught. Farmed fish is less nutritious than wild caught fish and does not contain the same healthy fatty acid balance.
Benefits
Here are some benefits of OC Raw freeze dried dog foods:
Lightly Processed: Freeze dried raw foods don’t have heat applied during processing, so the nutrients in the raw ingredients are preserved.
High Protein: The protein content for OC Raw Freeze Dried averages over 45% which is good to see. The fat is lower than the protein which is desirable in a raw freeze dried food.
Read more OC Raw Dog Food Reviews
Is OC Raw A Good Dog Food?
Overall, OC Raw is a high quality, low risk dog food, with no points lost for minimal or light processing. All ingredients are whole foods or whole-food-derived, with the exception of added calcium carbonate. The recipes also contain less fat than protein.
While the raw frozen foods are very low in carbohydrates, some recipes in the freeze dried line lost ingredient quality points for having carb content as high as 21%.
The raw frozen and raw freeze dried recipes all contain some ingredients known to carry higher pesticide or herbicide residues, namely beets, apples and spinach.
The company states their products are GMO free but the foods do contain a known GMO ingredient in the form of alfalfa powder. If not certified as non-GMO or organic, this ingredient is likely genetically modified.
There are additional concerns with the dog food and marketing that don’t affect the OC Raw dog food reviews score, as noted in the reviews of each line above.
OC Raw Recalls
Finally, there have been several OC Raw dog food recalls:
- April 2018: Several raw and freeze dried batches were recalled due to potential for listeria or Clostridium botulinum (the bacteria that causes botulism poisoning). The State Department of Agriculture reported a positive test for listeria in a food sample. But there was no botulism found in the foods. The freeze dried Sardines were recalled because the fish were larger than the FDA guideline of 5 inches, which the FDA says leads to a higher risk of botulism.
- September and May 2015: some raw batches were recalled due to the potential for salmonella.
Evaluation Criteria
We evaluate and score dog foods based on two criteria:
Are the Ingredients High Quality?
Here are some common low quality ingredients or markers we look for:
- Is there excessive carbohydrate content, which can cause gut imbalances?
- Does the food contain unnamed proteins, which are low quality?
- Does the food use cellulose (wood pulp) as a source of fiber instead of real food?
- Are there excessive vitamins and minerals added in place of real food nutrition?
- Are there excessive added amino acids or plant proteins instead of expensive meat protein?
- Does the food contain inflammatory processed seed oils?
How Safe Are the Ingredients?
Many ingredients come from unhealthy, inflammatory sources or are full of pesticides so we look for:
- How processed is the food?
- Does the food contain known genetically modified foods?
- Does the food contain ingredients known to be high in pesticides?
- Does the food contain natural flavor, which are often MSG or animal digest?
- Does the food contain rice, which is high in arsenic?
Each food is objectively evaluated by these criteria and a score is assigned using the average of ingredient quality and safety. This is NOT a paid list and there are no affiliate links. We’ve partnered with DogFoodReviews.com to make sure dog owners have unbiased, objective criteria to help them choose the best dog food on the market. You can view the full Evaluation Criteria at DogFoodReviews.com.
