Ralston Purina began as an animal feed company in the 1890s. In 1898, Purina Chow became the first pet food produced on a commercial basis. In 50 years, the company entered the international market. The company opened manufacturing facilities in various countries.
Nestlé acquired Ralston Purina in 2001 for $10.3 billion. It became Nestlé Purina PetCare Company. This is one of the largest pet food manufacturers in the world. Nestlé is a multinational company that owns a wide range of brands. They range from pet food to cosmetics and health devices. Nestle has a well-known candy portfolio. It also owns Perrier, Carnation, Lean Cuisine, Haagen-Dazs, Alpo, Fancy Feast and Purina.
In its annual report, Nestle Purina Pet Care reported annual sales for 2022 as $19.385 billion USD.
For our Purina dog food review, we’ll look at the food ingredient quality and safety of each line of food. We base our dog food reviews on these criteria.
IS PURINA A GOOD DOG FOOD?
This review covers 20 product lines from Purina. They include Purina One, Purina Pro Plan, Purina Essentials, Purina Smartblend, Purina True Instinct, Purina Chow, Purina Beyond, and Purina Moist & Meaty. There are 12 lines of dry dog foods with 46 recipes, and 8 lines of wet dog foods with 27 recipes. Our evaluation criteria consider the dry foods to be high risk to very high risk.
Only the Purina One True Instinct wet dog food is considered a low risk dog food. Base on our criteria, the other lines of canned dog food are moderate risk. Proplan Focus scores as high risk. Canned foods score better than the dry foods as they are less processed. They still have high carbohydrate levels and other concerns.
The Concerns With Puppy Chow
The lowest scoring line is Purina Puppy Chow dry dog food with a score of 1.25/10. By our criteria, it’s a very high risk dog food. Like the other dry foods in this brand, it is ultra processed and high in carbohydrates. Here are other concerns:
- Inflammatory seed oil
- Artificial colors
- 3 of the top 5 ingredients are corn and soybeans that are GMOs
- GMO crops are also high in pesticide residue
- Higher carbs than protein in most recipes
- No whole food sources like fruits and vegetables
- Excessive added vitamins and minerals
All recipes in the Purina brand contain added synthetic vitamins and minerals. Purina Pro Plan Development Puppy dry food doesn’t fare much better than Puppy Chow. It has a score of 1.6/10 for similar concerns. These concerns are especially evident when marketed to pet owners with growing puppies.
It’s stated that several lines of dry and wet foods don’t include wheat, corn or soy in the recipes. However, that does not mean they have low carbohydrates. Recipes include starches such as barley, oats, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, and rice. In most recipes, carbohydrates are higher than the protein content. In the case of Purina Dog Chow, average carbs are twice as high, at 46%. The average protein is 21%.
Average carbohydrates as calculated in the dry recipes never dip below 30% and go as high as 46%. Canned foods generally have fewer carbohydrates. However, most of the canned lines are much higher than we’d like to see, ranging from 18 to 25%. The exception is Purina One True Instinct canned dog food. It has average carbohydrates of 9% on a dry matter basis. It is also Purina’s highest scoring line.
Other quality concerns throughout the dry and wet foods include the use of plant protein. It is the least expensive substitute for quality animal protein. Recipes contain unnamed animal products. Using an unspecified protein is also a less expensive and lower quality source of protein or fat. You want to see beef, salmon or chicken, not animal, fish or poultry. Meat and bone meal is a broad definition. It allows tissues from any mammal, known or unknown.
Several recipes also have added amino acids. This indicates there’s less animal protein and more plant protein in the recipes. Sugar is also a quality concern that dogs don’t need. Recipes also have heavily processed, inflammatory seed oils.
There are similar concerns for ingredient safety for both canned and dry recipes. In fact, most of the dry foods score 0/10 for ingredient safety. Dry foods are ultra processed. There are several stages of heating that cause a loss of nutrients. Canned foods are less processed but also have several stages of heating.
The company website notes some lines don’t use artificial colors and preservatives. Others don’t use poultry by-product meal. But other Purina lines include these questionable ingredients. So, this practice is not brand-wide and there is no consistency. They note they don’t use artificial flavors. However, many recipes use natural flavor. This is often made of animal digest or MSG. These are low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.
All products contain ingredients known to have high pesticide or herbicide residues. Some ingredients are also known to be genetically modified (GMO). These are important safety concerns. This is especially true when they appear in the top 5 ingredients. That means they’re included in higher amounts. Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers pose a significant health risk. They affect plants, animals, and soils. GMO foods have limited safety studies and they lack nutrients compared to non GMO foods.
Other safety concerns are the use of carrageenan in canned recipes. This ingredient contributes to intestinal inflammation and other health issues. Rice is also a concern. Arsenic contamination is a concern. It’s linked to chronic health issues. Many recipes contain menadione, a synthetic form of vitamin K not required in dog food. There are links to immune system dysfunction. It might link to oxidative damage to cells, liver toxicity, and allergic reactions.
Purina doesn’t state whether fish or fish oil is from farmed or wild caught sources. Wild caught fish is more nutritious. It has a better fatty acid balance, providing healthy omega-3s. Finally, Purina doesn’t state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their recipes. While this is true of most companies, it’s a concern because AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.
Let’s take a brief look at each line.
Purina One Smartblend Dry Dog Food Review
Score: 1.6/10
Ingredient List For Healthy Weight Recipe: Turkey, rice flour, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, chicken by-product meal, oat meal, whole grain wheat, corn germ meal, whole grain corn, soybean germ meal, beef fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, natural flavour, glycerin, calcium carbonate, salt, caramel colour, mono and dicalcium phosphate, dried carrots, dried peas, potassium chloride, vitamins [vitamin E supplement, niacin (vitamin B-3), vitamin a supplement, calcium pantothenate (vitamin B-5), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B-1), vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin supplement (vitamin B-2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B-6), folic acid (vitamin B-9), vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulphite complex (vitamin K), biotin (vitamin B-7)], minerals (zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), choline chloride, L-lysine monohydrochloride
Purina One Smartblend Dry is a very high risk dog food by our criteria. There are 9 recipes that average 27% protein and 36% carbohydrate as calculated. These recipes rank low in ingredient quality for the high carbohydrates. They have excessive added vitamins and minerals, plus some amino acids. Recipes also include pro-inflammatory seed oil, sugar, plant protein and unnamed animal protein. On the ingredient safety side, 7 of these recipes score 0/10 (2 recipes score 1/10). These foods are ultra-processed. They have high heat that destroys nutrients. There are high pesticide foods and GMO crops listed in their top 5 ingredients. They also include natural flavor, caramel color, rice that can contain arsenic. They use menadione, which can lead to liver toxicity and allergic reactions.
Pet owners may choose this line for its single protein recipes. It’s notable that 4 of the recipes combine 2 or more proteins. Additionally, the recipes contain unnamed proteins so their sources are unknown.
There are glam ingredients, which are fruits or vegetables found in tiny amounts. They contribute little or no nutritional value. There is ingredient splitting in these recipes. That’s the practice of splitting ingredients into subcategories. This can also move more desirable protein ingredients higher. Purina doesn’t provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio. This is a concern since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.
Smartblend Dry Benefits
- Added probiotics in 1 recipe (with CFU guaranteed)
- Made in-house
Smartblend Dry Concerns
- High in carbohydrates
- Excessive added vitamins and minerals
- Added amino acids
- Seed oil
- Plant protein
- Unnamed animal protein
- Sugar
- Ultra processed
- High pesticide/herbicide foods in top 5 ingredients
- GMOs in top 5 ingredients
- Rice
- Natural flavor
- Menadione
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
- Doesn’t specify farmed or wild-caught fish for fish oil
- Uses ingredient splitting
- Uses glam ingredients
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Purina One True Instinct Dry Dog Food Review
Score: 1.7/10
Ingredient List For True Instinct With Real Salmon & Tuna Recipe: Salmon, chicken meal, soy flour, whole grain wheat, beef fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, whole grain corn, corn gluten meal, soy flakes, corn germ meal, rice flour, tuna, oat meal, glycerin, natural flavour, calcium carbonate, salt, soybean oil, caramel colour, mono and dicalcium phosphate, fish oil, vitamins [vitamin e supplement, niacin (vitamin B-3), vitamin a supplement, calcium pantothenate (vitamin B-5), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B-1), vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin supplement (vitamin B-2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B-6), folic acid (vitamin B-9), vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulphite complex (vitamin K), biotin (vitamin B-7)], potassium chloride, minerals (zinc sulphate, ferrous sulphate, manganese sulphate, copper sulphate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), choline chloride.
Based on our criteria, Purina One Dry True Instinct is a very high risk dog food. There are 5 recipes that average 31% protein and 30% carbohydrate as calculated. These recipes rank low in ingredient quality. This is due to high carbohydrates. They have excessive added vitamins and minerals. Recipes also include inflammatory seed oil, sugar, plant protein and unnamed animal protein.
On the ingredient safety side, 4 of these recipes score 0/10 (the 5th recipe is 1/10). These foods are highly processed. They use heat that destroys nutrients. There are high pesticide foods and GMO crops listed in their top 5 ingredients. They also include natural flavor and caramel color. Rice is a concern as it can contain arsenic. Some foods contain menadione, which can lead to liver toxicity and allergic reactions.
This line has 2 “high protein” recipes. However, their protein levels aren’t markedly different from the other recipes. These recipes are also described as having no poultry by-product meal. This ingredient figures prominently in recipes in other lines.
There is ingredient splitting in these recipes. That’s the practice of splitting ingredients into subcategories. This can also move more desirable protein ingredients higher. Purina doesn’t provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio. This is a concern since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.
Purina One Dry True Instinct Benefits
- Made in-house
Purina One Dry True Instinct Concerns
- High in carbohydrates
- Contains excessive added vitamins and minerals
- Contains seed oil
- Contains plant protein
- Contains unnamed protein
- Contains sugar
- Ultra processed
- High pesticide/herbicide foods in top 5 ingredients
- GMOs in top 5 ingredients
- Contains rice
- Contains natural flavor
- Contains menadione
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
- Doesn’t specify farmed or wild-caught fish
- Uses ingredient splitting
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Purina One Smartblend Canned Dog Food Review
Score: 5.5/10
Ingredient List For Classic Ground Beef & Brown Rice Entrée Recipe: Beef, beef broth, chicken, liver, pork lungs, brown rice, oat meal, spinach, egg product, carrots, minerals, carrageenan, guar gum, salt, choline chloride, locust bean gum, tricalcium phosphate, vitamins.
Based on our criteria, we consider Purina One Smartblend wet dog food to be a moderate risk dog food. There are 2 recipes that average 36% protein and 18% carbohydrate as calculated on a dry matter basis. These are high carbs for a canned dog food. These recipes rank low in ingredient quality. They also have excessive added vitamins and minerals, and plant protein. On the ingredient safety side, these foods are highly processed. They use heat that destroys nutrients. They have ingredients known for high pesticide residues. They also include carrageenan, and rice that can contain arsenic. Purina doesn’t provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio. This is a concern since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.
Smartblend Canned Benefits
- Made in-house
Smartblend Canned Concerns
- High in carbohydrates
- Excessive added vitamins and minerals
- Carrageenan
- Plant protein
- Highly processed
- High pesticide/herbicide foods
- Rice
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Purina One True Instinct Canned Dog Food Review
Score: 7.5/10
Classic Ground With Real Beef & Wild Caught Salmon Recipe: Beef, beef broth, chicken, liver, pork lungs, salmon, minerals, carrageenan, guar gum, salt, choline chloride, locust bean gum, vitamins.
Based on our criteria, Purina One True Instinct wet dog food is a moderate risk dog food. There are 2 recipes that average 41% protein and 9% carbohydrate as calculated on a dry matter basis. These are good levels for a canned dog food. These recipes have excessive added vitamins and minerals. On the ingredient safety side, canned foods are highly processed. They use heat that destroys nutrients. They also include carrageenan that can be inflammatory. Purina doesn’t provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio. This is a concern since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.
True Instinct Canned Benefits
- Made in-house
- Low carbohydrates
True Instinct Canned Concerns
- Excessive added vitamins and minerals
- Carrageenan
- Highly processed
- Doesn’t specify farmed or wild-caught fish
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Purina Dog Chow Dry Dog Food Review
Score: 1.3/10
Ingredient List For Complete Adult With Real Chicken Recipe: Whole grain corn, meat and bone meal, corn gluten meal, beef fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, soybean meal, poultry by-product meal, chicken, egg and chicken flavor, whole grain wheat, pork & poultry digest, salt, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, mono and dicalcium phosphate, choline chloride, minerals (zinc sulphate, ferrous sulphate, manganese sulphate, copper sulphate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], L-Lysine monohydrochloride, vitamins [vitamin E supplement, niacin (vitamin B-3), vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate (vitamin B-5), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B-6), vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B-1), vitamin D-3 supplement, riboflavin supplement (vitamin B-2), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (vitamin K), folic acid (vitamin B-9), biotin (vitamin B-7)], Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 40, soybean oil, Blue 2, garlic oil.
Purina Dog Chow Dry is a very high risk dog food based on our criteria. There are 2 recipes that average 21% protein and 46% carbohydrate as calculated. These recipes rank low in ingredient quality for high carbohydrates. There is an extensive amount of added vitamins and minerals. Recipes also include inflammatory seed oil, plant protein and unnamed animal protein.
On the ingredient safety side, this recipe scores 0/10 which is concerning. These foods are ultra-processed. They use several stages of heat that destroy nutrients. They have foods known for high pesticide and herbicide residues. GMO crops are in their top 5 ingredients. They also include meat and bone meal, natural flavor and dyes. There is rice that can contain arsenic. Menadione, which can lead to liver toxicity and allergic reactions.
Dog Chow Dry Benefits
- Made in-house
Dog Chow Dry Concerns
- High in carbohydrates
- Excessive added vitamins and minerals
- Seed oil
- Plant protein
- Unnamed animal protein
- Ultra processed
- High pesticide/herbicide foods
- GMOs in top 5 ingredients
- Meat and bone meal
- Rice
- Natural flavor
- Menadione
- Color/dye
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
- Doesn’t specify farmed or wild-caught fish
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Purina Puppy Chow Dry Dog Food Review
Score: 1.2/10
Natural Plus Vitamins & Minerals Dry Recipe: Whole grain corn, corn gluten meal, chicken by-product meal, beef fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, soybean meal, chicken, ground rice, barley, mono and dicalcium phosphate, natural flavour, calcium carbonate, fish oil, salt, potassium chloride, L-lysine monohydrochloride, minerals [zinc sulphate, ferrous sulphate, manganese sulphate, copper sulphate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], choline chloride, vitamins [vitamin E supplement, niacin (vitamin B-3), vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate (vitamin B-5), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B-6), vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B-1), vitamin D-3 supplement, riboflavin supplement (vitamin B-2), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (vitamin K), folic acid (vitamin B-9), biotin (vitamin B-7)], DL-methionine, garlic oil.
Purina Puppy Chow Dry is a very high risk dog food based on our criteria. There are 2 recipes that average 27% protein and 37% carbohydrate as calculated. These recipes rank low in ingredient quality. They have high carbohydrates. There is an extensive amount of added vitamins and minerals, and some amino acids. Recipes also include inflammatory seed oil, plant protein and unnamed animal protein. On the ingredient safety side, both recipes score 0/10 which is a concern. These foods are ultra-processed. There are several stages of heat that destroy nutrients. They have foods known for high pesticide and herbicide residues. Their top 5 ingredients also include GMO crops. They also include natural flavor and dyes. They have rice that can contain arsenic, and menadione. Menadione can lead to liver toxicity and allergic reactions.
Puppy Chow Dry Benefits
- Made in-house
Puppy Chow Dry Concerns
- High in carbohydrates
- Excessive added vitamins and minerals
- Added amino acids
- Seed oil
- Plant protein
- Unnamed animal protein
- Ultra processed
- High pesticide/herbicide foods
- GMOs in top 5 ingredients
- Rice
- Natural flavor
- Menadione
- Color/dye
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
- Doesn’t specify farmed or wild-caught fish
- Uses ingredient splitting
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Purina Beyond Dry Superfood Blend Dog Food Review
Score: 2.5/10
Ingredient List For Wild Caught Salmon, Egg & Pumpkin Recipe: Salmon, rice, whole barley, chicken meal, whole oat meal, beef fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, canola meal, dried egg product, pea protein, dried yeast, pumpkin, natural flavour, fish oil, calcium carbonate, salt, potassium chloride, mono and dicalcium phosphate, minerals [zinc sulphate, ferrous sulphate, manganese sulphate, copper sulphate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], vitamins [vitamin e supplement, niacin (vitamin B-3), vitamin a supplement, calcium pantothenate (vitamin B-5), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B-1), vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin supplement (vitamin B-2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B-6), folic acid (vitamin B-9), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (vitamin k), vitamin D-3 supplement, biotin (vitamin B-7)], L-lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, dried bacillus coagulans fermentation product.
Purina Beyond Dry Superfood Blend is a high risk dog food based on our criteria. There is 1 recipe with 26% protein and 35% carbohydrate as calculated. This recipe has high carbohydrates. It also contains an extensive amount of added vitamins and minerals, and some amino acids. The recipe also includes plant protein and unnamed animal protein. On the ingredient safety side, it scores 0/10 for being ultra-processed. It uses several stages of heat that destroys nutrients. The recipe uses GMO crops, and foods known for high pesticide/herbicide residues. They are in higher concentrations as they’re listed in the top 5 ingredients. It also includes natural flavor, and rice that can contain arsenic.
Superfood Blend Benefits
- Made in-house
- Contains probiotics (with CFU guaranteed)
Superfood Blend Concerns
- High in carbohydrates
- Excessive added vitamins and minerals
- Plant protein
- Unnamed animal protein
- Ultra processed
- High pesticide/herbicide foods in top 5
- Contains GMO ingredients
- Rice
- Natural flavor
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
- Doesn’t specify farmed or wild-caught fish
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Purina Beyond Simply Dry Dog Food Review
Score: 2/10
Ingredient List For Farm-Raised Beef, Barley & Free Run Egg Recipe: Beef, chicken meal, whole barley, canola meal, pea starch, beef fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, cassava root flour, dried egg product, pea protein, dried beet pulp, dried yeast, natural flavour, sunflower oil, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, salt, dried peas, mono and dicalcium phosphate, Dl-methionine, minerals [zinc sulphate, ferrous sulphate, manganese sulphate, copper sulphate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], vitamins [vitamin e supplement, niacin (vitamin B-3), vitamin a supplement, calcium pantothenate (vitamin B-5), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B-1), vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin supplement (vitamin B-2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B-6), folic acid (vitamin B-9), menadione sodium bisulphite complex (vitamin K), vitamin D-3 supplement, biotin (vitamin B-7)], taurine, choline chloride, dried bacillus coagulans fermentation product.
Purina Beyond Simply Dry is a very high risk dog food based on our criteria. There are 2 recipes that average 26% protein and 36% carbohydrate as calculated. These recipes rank low in ingredient quality. They have high carbohydrates. They have an extensive amount of added vitamins and minerals, and some added amino acids. Recipes also include inflammatory seed oil and plant protein. On the ingredient safety side, this recipe scores 0/10 which is concerning. These foods are ultra-processed. They use several stages of heat that destroy nutrients. They have GMO and high pesticide ingredients in the top 5 ingredients. They also include natural flavor. They have rice that can contain arsenic. It also contains menadione, which can lead to liver toxicity and allergic reactions. There is ingredient splitting in these recipes. That’s the practice of splitting ingredients into subcategories. It can move more desirable protein ingredients higher.
Beyond Simply Dry Benefits
- Made in-house
- Added probiotics (with CFU guaranteed)
Beyond Simply Dry Concerns
- High in carbohydrates
- Excessive added vitamins and minerals
- Added amino acids
- Seed oil
- Plant protein
- Ultra processed
- High pesticide/herbicide foods in top 5
- Contains GMO ingredients in top 5
- Rice
- Natural flavor
- Menadione
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
- Uses ingredient splitting
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Purina Beyond Grain Free Dry Dog Food Review
Score: 2/10
Ingredient List For Farm-Raised Chicken & Egg Recipe: Chicken, chicken meal, pea starch, cassava root flour, canola meal, dried egg product, beef fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, dried beet pulp, dried yeast, pea protein, natural flavor, dried apples, mono and dicalcium phosphate, potassium chloride, salt, taurine, calcium carbonate, Dl-methionine, minerals [zinc sulphate, ferrous sulphate, manganese sulphate, copper sulphate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], vitamins [vitamin E supplement, niacin (vitamin B-3), vitamin a supplement, calcium pantothenate (vitamin B-5), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B-1), vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin supplement (vitamin B-2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B-6), folic acid (vitamin B-9), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (vitamin K), vitamin D-3 supplement, biotin (vitamin B-7)], choline chloride, dried bacillus coagulans fermentation product.
Purina Beyond Grain Free Dry is a very high risk dog food based on our criteria. There is 1 recipe with 27% protein and 33% carbohydrate as calculated. This recipe has high carbohydrates. It also contains an extensive amount of added vitamins and minerals, and some amino acids. The recipe also includes plant protein. On the ingredient safety side, this recipe scores 0/10 which is concerning. This food is ultra-processed. It uses several stages of heat that destroys nutrients. It has GMO ingredients and foods that have high pesticide/herbicide residues. They are within the top 5 ingredients. It also includes natural flavor and menadione. Menadione can lead to liver toxicity and allergic reactions. The product label contains unsubstantiated marketing terms such as farm-raised. This has no legal meaning under pet food regulatory standards. There is ingredient splitting in these recipes. That’s the practice of splitting ingredients into subcategories. This can also move more desirable protein ingredients higher.
Beyond Grain Free Dry Benefits
- Made in-house
- Contains added probiotics (with CFU guaranteed)
Beyond Grain Free Dry Concerns
- High in carbohydrates
- Excessive added vitamins and minerals
- Added amino acids
- Plant protein
- Ultra processed
- High pesticide/herbicide foods in top 5
- GMO ingredients in top 5
- Natural flavor
- Menadione
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
- Uses ingredient splitting
- Unsubstantiated marketing terms
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Purina Beyond Grain Free Canned Dog Food Review
Score: 6.4/10
Ingredient List For Turkey & Sweet Potato Recipe: Turkey, Chicken, Turkey Broth, Liver, Sweet Potatoes, Inulin, Minerals, Guar Gum, Salt, Carrageenan, Choline Chloride, Vitamins.
Purina Beyond Grain Free Wet is a moderate risk dog food based on our criteria. There are 4 recipes that average 36% protein and 23% carbohydrate as calculated on a dry matter basis. There is an acceptable level of protein. The carbs are higher than expected in a canned dog food. These recipes also have added vitamins and minerals and unnamed animal protein. On the ingredient safety side, this food is highly processed. It uses heat that destroys nutrients. The recipes have ingredients known to have high pesticide residues. They also include natural flavor. Carrageenan is used. It’s linked to intestinal inflammation. The product label contains unsubstantiated marketing terms such as farm-raised. This has no legal meaning under pet food regulatory standards.
Beyond Grain Free Canned Benefits
- Made in-house
Beyond Grain Free Canned Concerns
- High in carbohydrates
- Excessive added vitamins and minerals
- Unnamed animal protein
- Highly processed
- High pesticide/herbicide foods in top 5 ingredients
- GMO ingredients (1 recipe)
- Natural flavor
- Carrageenan
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
- Doesn’t specify farmed or wild-caught fish
- Uses unsubstantiated marketing terms
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Purina Moist & Meaty Canned Dog Food Review
Score: 1.4/10
Ingredient List For Chopped Burger Recipe: Beef by-product, soy flour, soy grits, high fructose corn syrup, water, wheat flour, corn syrup, beef, phosphoric acid, calcium carbonate, beef fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, salt, soybean oil, sorbic acid (a preservative), calcium propionate (a preservative), minerals [zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], DL-Methionine, vitamins [vitamin E supplement, niacin (vitamin B-3), vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate (vitamin B-5), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B-1), vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin supplement (vitamin B-2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B-6), folic acid (vitamin B-9), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (vitamin K), vitamin D-3 supplement, biotin (vitamin B-7)], choline chloride, ethoxyquin (a preservative), Red 40.
Purina Moist & Meaty is a very high risk dog food by our criteria. This is a line of wet dog food with 6 recipes. Average protein is 27%. Average carbohydrates are 55% as calculated on a dry matter basis. That is excessive and twice the amount of average protein. These recipes rank low in ingredient quality. High carbohydrates are one reason. Other concerns include an extensive amount of added vitamins and minerals. Some added amino acids are also a concern. Recipes also include inflammatory seed oil and plant protein. These recipes have high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup in these recipes. They are low-quality ingredients. They can cause unwanted gut changes, obesity, and insulin spikes. High amounts can lead to leaky gut and inflammation.
On the ingredient safety side, all recipes score 0/10 which is concerning. These foods are ultra-processed. They use several stages of heat that destroy nutrients. There are GMO crops and foods with high pesticide and herbicide residues. They are in high concentrations as they’re listed among the top 5 ingredients. They also include natural flavor and synthetic preservatives. Some rice can contain arsenic. Menadione in rice can lead to liver toxicity and allergic reactions. All recipes may contain up to 4 added colors and dyes that might link to health problems.
There is ingredient splitting in these recipes. This can also move more desirable protein ingredients higher.
Moist & Meaty Food Benefits
- Made in house
Moist & Meaty Food Concerns
- High in carbohydrates
- Excessive added vitamins and minerals
- Seed oil
- Plant protein in 1 recipe
- Sugar
- Highly processed
- High pesticide/herbicide foods in top 5 ingredients
- GMOs in top 5 ingredients
- Natural flavor in 1 recipe
- Menadione
- Food coloring
- Synthetic preservatives
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
- Ingredient splitting
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
PURINA DOG FOOD RECALLS
Purina has had a number of recalls.
02/2023: Recall of Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EL for potentially elevated Vitamin D.
12/2022: Recall of Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets for mislabelling.
03/2016: Voluntary recall of Pro Plan Savory Meals and Beneful for inadequate vitamins and minerals.
08/2013: Recall of Purina ONE Beyond for possible salmonella risk.
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. Dogs Naturally has 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.
