Purina Moist & Meaty Review

Ralston Purina began as an animal feed company in the 1890s. In 1898, Purina Chow was introduced as the first commercially produced pet food. Over the next 50 years, the company entered the international market and opened manufacturing facilities in various countries. The company continued to introduce other products and expand its business interests. There were several ownership changes throughout the years.

Nestlé acquired Ralston Purina in 2001 for $10.3 billion to become Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, one of the largest pet food manufacturers in the world. 

Nestlé is a multinational company that owns a wide range of brands ranging from pet food to cosmetics and health devices. Nestle is known for its candy portfolio but also owns Perrier, Carnation, Lean Cuisine, Haagen-Dazs, Alpo, Fancy Feast and Purina.

In its annual report, Nestle Purina Pet Care reported annual sales for 2022 as US$19.38 billion.

IS PURINA MOIST & MEATY A GOOD DOG FOOD?

With a score of 1.4/10, Purina Moist & Meaty is considered a very high risk dog food according to our evaluation criteria. All recipes score 0/10 for ingredient safety.

This is a line of soft dog food with 6 recipes. Soft or wet dog foods are traditionally lower in carbohydrates and are moderate to high in protein. However, Moist & Meaty has exceptionally high average carbohydrates of 55% as calculated on a dry matter basis, with average protein of 27%, much lower than expected.

Purina Moist & Meaty has quality and safety issues that haven’t been raised previously in these reviews. What is especially concerning is the use of high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup. Sugar is found in pet food to increase the palatability or as a preservative or humectant. It is a low quality ingredient that can cause unwanted gut changes, obesity and insulin spikes. High amounts can lead to leaky gut and inflammation. 

This high carbohydrate level is to be expected when these foods have high fructose corn syrup AND corn syrup as the 4th and 7th ingredients. When totaled by weight, the soy, wheat and corn syrups surpass the amount of animal protein named as the first ingredient. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates. Excessive carbohydrates are an indicator of low quality foods as they are used to keep costs down. Large amounts of starch and sugar can increase insulin levels, cause obesity and negatively impact gut balance.  

There aren’t any whole food sources like fruits and vegetables to provide naturally occurring nutrients so vitamins and minerals are added in synthetic form, something seen in all recipes in the Purina brand. 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. 

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. 

Soybean 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. Another quality concern is the use of plant protein in one recipe, the least expensive substitute for quality animal protein.  

All recipes in the Moist & Meaty line scores 0/10 for ingredient safety. Soft foods are moderately  processed but still involve several stages of heating that destroy nutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.

All recipes have ingredients known to have high pesticide or herbicide residues, and some that are 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 post a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils. GMO foods have limited safety studies and they lack nutrients compared to non GMO foods. 

All 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. Each recipe also includes ethoxyquin an artificial preservative that has been shown to have toxic effects and links to cancer.

All recipes have as many as 4 added colors and dyes that may be linked to health issues. They are often used to hide the grey color of rendered ingredients, and to make them look more appealing to consumers. These recipes use natural flavor which is often made of animal digest or MSG, both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.  

All recipes have ingredient splitting. That’s the practice of splitting ingredients into subcategories (like soy flour and soy grits, or high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup) to make them appear lower on the list. This can also move more desirable protein ingredients higher. 

It’s worth noting that when dog food labels say “with Real Chicken” or “with Cheddar Cheese” AAFCO requires those “with” ingredients to be only 3% of the product’s weight. 

Another AAFCO rule is that “a product does not need to have a huge amount of an ingredient which only provides flavor. A flavor designation in a product name (or elsewhere on a label) may be used as long as a listed ingredient provides the flavor …”  This flavor rule would apply to Moist & Meaty recipes labeled “Steak Flavor” and “Bacon & Egg Flavor.” In other words, it’s only flavor and doesn’t necessarily mean there’s steak or bacon & egg in the food. 

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.