MERRICK GRAIN FREE CANNED DOG FOOD Review

With a score of 5.6/10, this is considered a moderate risk dog food. Grain Free Canned is made in house at one of Merrick’s three plants. 

There are 24 recipes that average 44% protein and average 20% carbohydrates as calculated on a dry matter basis, which is high for a wet dog food. But these foods have a wide range of carbohydrates from 4% to 30%. These are also grain free foods but they contain potatoes and sweet potatoes which are high in starch. Excessive carbohydrate is an indicator of low quality foods as it’s often used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut bacteria.  

These recipes lose ingredient quality points for the extensive list of 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. 

The line also loses ingredient quality points for including plant protein and seed oil. Plant proteins are a low cost substitute for quality animal protein. Animal sources of protein are preferred because they contain a wider array of amino acids and are more digestible. Seed oils like canola, safflower and sunflower are highly processed and are inflammatory as they’re rich in omega-6 fatty acids, which can cause systemic and gut inflammation. Several recipes also include molasses which is sugar ingredient.

The ingredient safety score 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. 

There are a few recipes that use high pesticide ingredients like peas and apples 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 ingredient that appears in the top 5 ingredients. 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 each recipe to make processed food more palatable. But natural flavor is often either MSG or animal digest, both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.

Several recipes also use ingredient splitting. This is when ingredients are split into sub-categories (like potatoes and potato protein) to move certain ingredients higher or lower on the ingredient list. This is often used to disguise the amount of lower quality ingredients in the food, such as corn, potatoes or peas, and moves desirable ingredients, like proteins, higher.

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.