Food scores are based on ingredient quality and safety. For more information, view our evaluation criteria.
With an average score of 6.3, ACANA’s Premium Chunks & Pate canned dog foods are considered a moderate risk dog food. The food averages about 44% protein and 19% carbohydrate on a dry matter basis, which is fairly high. Excessive carbohydrate is in indicator of low quality foods and often used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.
ACANA’s canned food line ranks a bit higher than the dry foods since there is less processing required for canned foods. This typically means less nutrient loss, but it’s disappointing to see the canned foods have both vitamins and minerals added. This typically indicates lower quality ingredients. The food also loses ingredient safety points for natural flavor, which is often either animal digest or MSG, which are low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.
The food safety score is quite decent since these foods don’t contain a lot of high pesticide starches. However, there are some high pesticide foods further down the ingredient list, along with natural flavor, which is often either animal digest or MSG, which are low quality ingredients with limited safety studies. Finally, the food does not provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio, which is a concern since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.
Overall, the canned foods score higher, thanks to less processing and fewer high pesticide ingredients.
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