Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Chicken Dinner with Garden Vegetables & Brown Rice

The average dog food we reviewed has 39 total ingredients, with 1 controversial ingredient. This product does have Carrageenan which is a controversial ingredient. You can read more about it below.

Top 5 Ingredients

Dog food ingredients are listed in descending order of weight. So when looking at dog food label, take a close look at the first 5 ingredients. They make up about 80% of the total weight.

• Chicken
  Chicken is a nutritious meat that provides protein, fat and other nutrients to dogs. Raw meat contains about 75% water which is cooked off during the making of dog food. This leaves only a fraction of the protein content in the final product's weight. We recommend looking for dog foods that also include meat meals in the first five ingredients (pre-cooked meat powder that contains four times the amount of protein). However, chicken is generally a healthy dog food ingredient.

• Chicken Broth
  Chicken broth is often used as a healthy natural flavor or instead of water when making dog food. It makes dogs more likely to eat the food and adds moisture but doesn't provide a lot of nutritional value. Chicken Broth is generally a healthy dog food ingredient.

• ‍Chicken Liver
  Chicken liver is an organ that contains healthy nutrients like calories, protein, vitamins and minerals. Specifically, it's rich in iron, copper, vitamin A and B. We consider it a high-quality dog food ingredient.

• Carrots
  Carrots are a root vegetable and contain healthy nutrients like carbohydrates, fiber and beta-carotene. We consider it a high-quality dog food ingredient.

• Peas
  Peas are a good source of carbs, fiber and protein. Peas are starchy but high in vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc. We consider this a healthy dog food ingredient. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that there is a potential link between peas and canine heart disease. It is still too early to draw conclusions so we cannot yet say if peas are a generally high-quality dog food ingredient or should be avoided.

‍

‍Controversial Ingredients

1. Carrageenan
2. Carrageenan is derived from red algae or seaweed and is used as a gelling or thickening ingredient to bind food together. Evidence has been found that it is potentially inflammatory and toxic to the digestive tract, and may be responsible for colitis, IBS, rheumatoid arthritis, and colon cancer.

‍Country of Origin

Blue Buffalo products are made in the United States.

Meat & Fat Quality

This product uses the clearly named meats - Chicken and Chicken Liver. This is excellent because it shows us exactly which animal these ingredients come from. Beyond these two meat sources, there is also Chicken Broth and Flaxseed which are named sources of added fat and other nutrients. Just like with the meat sources it’s a sign of quality to see specifically named sources like in this Blue Buffalo product.

Artificial Preservatives

This product does not have any controversial preservatives. It’s good to know that ‍not all artificial preservatives are bad. That’s because they serve an important purpose, which is to prevent food from spoiling. However, we consider 11 artificial preservatives controversial because of their potential link to cancer and other serious health conditions.

Artificial Colors

No artificial colors are used in this product.

Artificial Flavors

No artificial flavors are used in this product either. Not adding artificial preservatives, colors or flavors is great sign of quality - well done.