Purina Beneful Originals with Real Beef Dry Dog Food

The average dog food we reviewed has 39 total ingredients, with 1 controversial ingredient. This product has 6 total controversial ingredients and 2 are found in the first five ingredients. This is concerning because the first 5 ingredients make up most of the product.

Top 5 Ingredients

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

• 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).

• Whole Grain Corn
  Corn (also known as maize) is a cereal grain that provides carbs, protein, fat, vitamin B and other nutrients. Corn in dog food is an inexpensive (and often feed-grade quality) ingredient that we do not consider a high-quality dog food ingredient. However, whole grain corn is a higher-quality ingredient as it often contains more protein and nutrients.

• Barley
  Barley is a type of grass and a cereal grain. It is a source of calories and several nutrients, including protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, niacin and various minerals. Barley provides carbs, energy, fiber and other healthy nutrients for dogs. Barley is generally a healthy dog food ingredient.

• Rice
  Rice provides calories, complex carbohydrates and a few other nutrients to dogs. We generally consider it a quality dog food ingredient.

• Whole Grain Wheat
  Whole grain means that all three edible parts of the kernel (bran, germ, and endosperm) are kept before milling, which means more protein and nutrients are in the final product. 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.

‍

‍Controversial Ingredients

1. Whole Grain Corn
2. Whole grain corn is a low-cost dog food ingredient that provides energy (calories), but some dogs can be sensitive to it. Corn is not generally considered a controversial ingredient, but is controversial if 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. Whole Grain Wheat
2. Whole Grain Wheat is not simply good or bad as a dog food ingredient. It's a lower cost ingredient that does provide calories, but some dogs can be sensitive 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. Poultry By-Product Meal
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. 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. Glucosamine is a combination of glutamine (an amino acid) and glucose (a sugar) that's present in chicken. Chondroitin sulfate is a chemical that's naturally found in the cartilage around the joints of animals.

1. Egg and Chicken Flavor
2. Artificial flavors are added to increase the chance your dog will want to eat the food. The generic term artificial flavor is used to represent a large number of possible additives, some which could be harmful. These flavors may include but not list controversial ingredients such as propylene glycol, BHA and more.

1. Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Vitamin K)
2. A synthetic version of Vitamin K (known as Menadione) which is added due to the lack or loss of Vitamin K in the food processing. Menadione supplements are banned by the FDA because of their potential toxicity in human use and can be found as 10+ different names on a label. While low amounts have been found to be safe, the consistent repetitive nature of a dogs diet results in the long-term exposure that should be considered.

1. Poultry and Pork Digest
2. Animal digest is produced by chemically breaking down animal tissue into a liquid that can be used as an added flavoring. It makes it more likely your dog will like the food. However, this is a controversial ingredient because it's a heavily processed animal ingredient that may contain lower-quality ingredients.

‍Country of Origin

Purina is made in the United States. That’s a very good thing because it means the company has to follow strict dog food safety standards when making the food. We generally recommend buying dog foods made in the USA, Canada, Europe, New Zealand or Australia for that reason.

Meat & Fat Quality

The meats in this dog food have a mixed quality. Some are clearly labeling which animal they come from, including Beef,  Chicken By-Product Meal, and Beef Fat. Others make that unclear, for example, Poultry By-Product Meal as well as Poultry and Pork Digest, which are less transparent as to their animal sources. There are no added oils, so the fat comes from the other animal and plant ingredients.

Artificial Preservatives

This food has no controversial artificial preservatives. If you’d like to know more about this topic: 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

There are no artificial colors in this food, excellent.

Artificial Flavors

The food uses Egg and Chicken Flavor, an artificial flavor. We describe above why that’s not a good thing.