Pedigree Choice Cuts in Gravy With Beef Canned Dog Food

The average dog food we reviewed had 39 total ingredients, with 1 controversial ingredient. This product has 6 total controversial ingredients and 2 of them are in the first five ingredients. This is concerning because the first 5 ingredients make up most of the product’s weight, so you want to always pay special attention here. Let’s take a closer look:

• 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.

• Sufficient Water For Processing
  This is just another name for water, which doesn't add nutrients to the food but is routinely used in dog food manufacturing (especially for canned foods). It's a standard dog food ingredient.

• 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.

• Meat By-Products
  Meat by-products are animal parts other than meat that are left over at the slaughterhouse. This can include the lung, spleen, brain, liver, blood, bone, beaks, kidneys, fatty tissue, and intestines. Because there is a wide variety of animal parts companies can use, and because details don't need to be disclosed, it's tough to compare the quality of different by-products. Generally speaking, by-products can provide important nutrients for dogs but can be of lower quality than meats and meat meals. Additionally, this ingredient doesn't identify the species it comes from making it questionable and intransparent. This includes the potential that rancid, dead, dying, disabled or diseased meat sources could have been used. For these reasons, we do not consider this a high-quality ingredient.
  
  
• Wheat Flour
  Wheat flour is made by grinding wheat grains into a powder. Wheat is a grass and cereal grain often used in dog food. It provides protein, dietary fiber, manganese, phosphorus, niacin, B vitamins and minerals. Some dogs may develop wheat allergies, though they are a lot less common than allergies to beef, dairy and soy. The jury is still out on whether wheat is a high-quality dog food ingredient so please consult your vet if you suspect your dog may be allergic or has food sensitivities. Grain-alternatives like potatoes, peas and legumes may be linked to canine heart disease (it's too early to say this conclusively), so keep that in mind when buying foods without wheat and other grains.
  
  
• Beef
  Beef is the culinary name for cuts of meat from cattle, particularly skeletal muscle. In dog food, beef can also include muscle tissues from the tongue, heart, diaphragm or esophagus. Beef is rich in protein and nutrients like niacin, vitamin B12, creatine, iron and zinc. Beef is generally a healthy dog food ingredient. Whole 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. We recommend looking for dog foods that also include meat meals (pre-cooked meat powder that contains four times the amount of protein).

‍‍Controversial Ingredients

1. Meat By-Products
2. Meat by-products are animal parts other than meat that are left over at the slaughterhouse. This can include the lung, spleen, brain, liver, blood, bone, beaks, kidneys, fatty tissue, and intestines. Because there is a wide variety of animal parts companies can use, and because details don't need to be disclosed, it's tough to compare the quality of different by-products. Generally speaking, by-products can provide important nutrients for dogs but can be of lower quality than meats and meat meals. For these reasons, we do not consider this a high-quality ingredient.

1. Wheat Flour
2. Wheat flour is not simply good or bad. It's a lower cost ingredient that does provide energy, but some dogs can have a sensitivity to it. Wheat is not generally considered a controversial ingredient, but is controversial when it is used in the top five ingredients (which make up about 80% of the food's weight) where a named meat or lean protein would be more nutritious.

1. Liver
2. The liver is an organ that's rich in iron, copper, and vitamin A and B. Generally, the liver is a nutritious and healthy ingredient, but this ingredient doesn't identify the species it comes from making it questionable and intransparent. This includes the potential that rancid, dead, dying, disabled or diseased meat sources could have been used. For these reasons, it's controversial.

1. Added Color
2. Added generically refers to synthetic dyes used to change the color of food, cosmetics and medications. In humans added colors can cause reactions that include headaches, asthma attacks, itching or hives, insomnia, and hyperactivity. What's most concerning is these ingredients are completely unnecessary, dogs simply don't care about the color of their food.

1. Vegetable Oil (Source Of Linoleic Acid)
2. An oil that is extracted from a mixture of seeds which contain Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids and is commonly used to supply additional energy and flavor. However, since this ingredient is not specifically listing it's plant source it's not possible to determine the quality.

1. Sodium Nitrite (For Color Retention)
2. A food preservative that prevents the growth of microorganisms while giving taste and color to processed meats. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified Sodium Nitrite as "probably carcinogenic to humans."

‍Country of Origin

Pedigree Choice Cuts in Gravy is made in the USA. That’s very positive, because ingredient and manufacturing standards are high in the United States, ensuring a certain level of product quality for dog foods made here.

Meat & Fat Quality

The meat quality of this food is inconsistent. On the one hand, Pedigree includes clearly identified protein sources like  Chicken and Beef in this food. On the other hand, the ingredient list contains items like Meat By-Products and Liver, which do not explain what species they come from. That’s intransparent and therefore not a good thing. Pedigree Choice Cuts in Gravy also uses “Vegetable Oil (Source Of Linoleic Acid)” as an added fat source. Again, this doesn’t identify which plant source the oil comes from, making it potentially low quality. Clearly stating what’s in your food should be a no-brainer, in our view.

Artificial Preservatives

‍This product contains no controversial preservatives, excellent. 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 as controversial because of their potential link to cancer and other serious health conditions.

Artificial Colors

This dog food has one artificial color called Added Color. This can mean any number of synthetic dyes that are used to change food color. Dogs are happy to eat food of any color and “Added Color” could potentially cause health issues, so this ingredient has no value.

Artificial Flavors

No artificial flavors are found in this food, very good. This is what you want to see.