Purina Purina Beyond Simply Dry DOG FOOD Review

With a score of 2/10, Purina Beyond Simply Dry is considered a very high risk dog food based on our criteria. There are 2 recipes that average 26% protein and 36% carbohydrate as calculated. 

This recipe doesn’t use corn, wheat, or soy but it still has a high level of carbohydrates from the use of starches like rice, barley, canola, oat meal and peas. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates but starch is required for extrusion in dry foods. Excessive carbohydrate is an indicator of lower food quality as it can be used to reduce manufacturing cost. Foods that are high in carbohydrates can increase insulin levels, increase the risk of obesity and cause unwanted changes to the gut microbiome. 

Purina labels this as a limited ingredient line. With that in mind, it should be noted that the first 5  or 6 ingredients are proteins and grains followed by a few processed ingredients and an extensive list of synthetic vitamins and minerals, plus some amino acids, to provide nutrients. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from added vitamin premixes, so it’s preferable that most or all vitamins and minerals come from real foods. 

High on the ingredient list are plant proteins, a less expensive substitute for quality animal protein. You want to see animal sources because they’re more digestible and contain a wider array of amino acids than plant based protein sources.

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. 

Sunflower oil is an inflammatory seed oil that is highly processed and may contain trans fats. Studies show that ultra processed foods are linked to a higher rate of all-cause mortality in humans.  

It’s also worth noting this recipe includes added probiotics, with CFU (colony forming units) guaranteed. 

On the ingredient safety side, both of these recipes score 0/10 which is concerning. This is an ultra processed line of dog food which costs a loss in points across the line. The individual ingredients in dry dog foods are heated several times during processing, which can cause a significant loss of enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.

These recipes also use ingredients known to contain higher pesticide/herbicide residues, like barley and peas, in the top 5 ingredients. Crops that are spray-dried with Roundup contain more glyphosate/herbicide residue than other crops, even genetically modified ones. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases.  

Canola meal is a GMO crop listed in the top 5 ingredients of these recipes. 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, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off. 

Both recipes contain natural flavor, which is added to make processed food more palatable. But natural flavor is often either MSG or animal digest, both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies. 

Rice costs ingredient safety points because of potential arsenic contamination. This is a significant concern with rice since it naturally absorbs arsenic that can contaminate the water it’s grown in. Arsenic is linked to chronic health issues. 

Lastly, these 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. 

The concerns below don’t cost points but should be noted.

There is ingredient splitting in these recipes. That’s the practice of splitting ingredients into subcategories to make them appear lower on the list. This can also move more desirable protein ingredients higher.  

Purina doesn’t provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio, which is a concern since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.