MERRICK BACK COUNTRY CANNED Dog FOOD Review

With a score of 6.8/10, this is considered a moderate risk dog food. Back Country Canned is Merrick’s highest scoring wet dog food. These foods are made in-house at one of Merrick’s three plants. 

There are 8 recipes that average 50% protein and average 11% carbohydrates as calculated on a dry matter basis, which is good to see in a canned food. Several recipes including the Lamb Dinner, Chicken Dinner and Banquet Stew have especially low carbohydrates of about 6%. Keeping carbohydrate levels low helps maintain insulin levels, manage weight and support gut health.  

This line loses significant ingredient quality points for excessive added vitamins and minerals. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed raw ingredients. Ideally, these nutrients should come from whole food sources. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from vitamin premixes. 

It’s also worth noting that the line contains sodium selenite as a source of selenium. Dogs need selenium, and it’s usually added in very small amounts. However some research suggests that sodium selenite may be associated with potential toxicity, so selenium yeast is the preferred form of this mineral.  

Points are also lost for using seed oil like canola oil. These oils are highly processed and are inflammatory as they’re rich in omega-6 fatty acids, which can cause systemic and gut inflammation.

The ingredient safety score for this line is low, with many concerns. Canned foods, though less processed than kibble, are still highly processed and lose points. Canned foods are heated before and during canning, which will cause significant losses in some active enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species. 

It’s good to see that only one recipe has peas which are known to have a high pesticide/herbicide residue, but it’s in the top 5 ingredients. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers pose a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils. Foods with the largest reported amount of residue are penalized, including crops that are known to be spray-dried with glyphosate. Potatoes are a known GMO food which appear in the top 5 ingredients of one recipe. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, carry increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off.

Finally, points are lost as natural flavor is used in most recipes to make processed food more palatable. But natural flavor is often either MSG or animal digest, both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.

These foods don’t specify whether the fish is farmed or wild caught. Farmed fish is less nutritious than wild caught fish and doesn’t contain the same healthy fatty acid balance. 

Merrick doesn’t state the omega6:omega-3 ratio in their foods. While this is true of most foods, AAFCO allows a very inflammatory limit of 30:1. Diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation and disease.