Purina Beneful Dog Food Reviews

Beneful is a Purina brand with 6 lines of dog food. There are 4 lines of dry dog foods with 7 recipes, and 2 lines of wet dog foods with 9 recipes. Four of the 6 Beneful dry dog food lines are considered very high risk dog foods. Six of the dry recipes score 0/10 for ingredient safety, which is disturbing. This is due to ultra processing, use of high pesticide/herbicide and GMO foods in the top 5 ingredients,  and a number of concerns that include natural flavors and rice.

There are 2 lines of Beneful wet dog food. Chopped Blends is considered moderate risk, and Prepared Meals is considered a high risk dog food. The wet foods score better than the dry foods as they are moderately processed, but still have high carbohydrate levels.

All recipes have an extensive list of added vitamins and minerals. Their website states Beneful recipes are “accented with real vegetables” but upon a closer look at the labels, these are glam ingredients listed below the salt, which means they are present in very small quantities, so have negligible nutritional value. The recipes are supplemented with 23 synthetic vitamins and minerals to balance the foods to AAFCO requirements. It’s preferred that vitamins come from whole food sources that include the full spectrum of cofactors, which makes them safe and bioavailable. While a couple of added vitamins are acceptable, five or more implies the food is of poor nutritional value. 

The single Grain Free recipe does not mean it has low carbohydrates. In fact, the recipe includes several starches like pea, cassava root, soybean meal and canola meal. In all dry recipes, carbohydrates are considerably higher than protein. 

Average carbohydrates as calculated in the dry recipes never dip below an average of 38%. Wet foods generally have lower carbohydrates but these wet foods are much higher than we’d like to see with a range of 27% to 32%, as calculated on a dry matter basis.  

Other quality concerns is the use of 3 or 4 plant proteins in most dry recipes. These are the least expensive substitute for quality animal protein and also raise carbohydrate levels. The wet foods include unnamed animal products like meat by-products. Using an unspecified protein is also a less expensive and lower quality source of protein or fat. You want to see beef, salmon or chicken, not animal, fish or poultry.  

It’s concerning that most of the dry food recipes score 0/10 for ingredient safety. Dry foods are ultra processed, with several stages of heating that causes a loss of nutrients. Wet foods are less processed but still involve several stages of heating.

When it comes to ingredient safety, all lines include ingredients known to have high pesticide or herbicide residues, and some known to be genetically modified (GMO). These are important safety concerns, especially when they appear in the top 5 on the ingredient list, meaning they’re included in higher amounts. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers pose a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils. GMO foods have limited safety studies and they lack nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. 

Another safety concern is rice as it can be contaminated with arsenic, which is linked to chronic health issues. Many dry recipes contain menadione, a synthetic form of vitamin K that is not required in dog food. It may be linked to immune system dysfunction, oxidative damage to cells, liver toxicity, and allergic reactions.

Purina doesn’t state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their recipes. While this is true of most companies, it’s a concern because AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.

The average score of Purina Beneful sub-brands are listed below. Click on any line to view the individual foods and scores.