Tender & True produces 3 lines of dog food: dry, freeze-dried and canned with a total of 14 recipes. The company produces organic and non-GMO recipes as well as recipes with conventionally farmed ingredients for dogs and cats. 

Tender & True recipes are poultry-based and fish-based. The company sources and supplies its own ingredients, and states that it has a long relationship with growers and fisheries. However, it doesn’t state the countries of origin for its ingredients.

Tender & True is the first pet food manufacturer to obtain Global Animal Partnership (GAP) certification for all of its poultry recipes. To achieve this, producers need to meet about 100 different standards to achieve a Step 1 GAP certification that places importance on animal welfare. Poultry has been certified to Step 2 and Step 3 and described as humanely raised in an enhanced environment with outdoor access, so their producers are going beyond the basic requirements.

The salmon and whitefish used are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This label is a symbol of sustainability and certifies fish was caught by a responsible fishery that ensures healthy oceans and safeguards seafood supplies for the future. This fish is wild caught so it’s more nutritious than farmed fish and has a better fatty acid balance. 

In 2014, Tender & True launched its organic pet food. Only pet food products that contain at least 95% organic ingredients can display the USDA organic seal a certified organic food. The company offers 3 organic dry recipes, 1 organic freeze dried recipe and 2 organic canned recipes.

It’s good to see organic recipes which mean the risk of pesticide/herbicide residues is minimal and also that GMO crops have not been used. That’s usually noteworthy in recipes with ingredients that include fruits and vegetables that are heavily sprayed. However, the 13 dry and canned recipes, including organic, don’t include produce and the micronutrients they provide. The result is an excessive list of added vitamins and minerals in these recipes. 

This is unfortunate as synthetic ingredients aren’t as bioavailable as those that are naturally obtained. When vitamins come from whole food sources, they 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. 

Tender & True notes that its recipes are grain-free however, that doesn’t mean they are low in carbohydrates. In fact, both the dry and canned recipes have high levels of carbohydrates from ingredients such as chickpeas, tapioca, potato, peas, rice and sweet potato. However, the freeze-dried line has very low carbohydrate content, which is good to see.

Some recipes contain processed, inflammatory seed oils, and plant proteins that are an inexpensive substitute for quality animal protein. Other quality concerns include unnamed animal protein, which is a sign of low quality. These recipes contain fish oil that can be made from any type of fish or poultry. Unnamed animal ingredients are often a less expensive ingredient that can be made from rendered waste of many proteins. 

With respect to ingredient safety, the freeze-dried recipe scores 10/10. The dry recipes score lower for being ultra processed which causes a loss of nutrients from various stages of heating. Canned foods have less processing but still lose nutrients from heating.  

The organic recipes don’t contain ingredients with high pesticide/herbicide residues or GMOs. However, the other recipes in the dry and canned lines have GMO and high pesticide/herbicide ingredients in the top 5. All recipes brand-wide use natural flavor, and some contain rice, which can contain arsenic. 

Tender & True 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 limit of 30:1. 

The average score of each Tender & True line is listed below. Click on any line to view the individual foods and scores.