Brand Scorecards

50 brands · 2,354 verified foods · 26 with FDA recall history

When people ask a vet how to judge a pet food brand, the answer is usually some version of the same questions, which WSAVA's pet food guidelines spell out: does the company employ a board-certified veterinary nutritionist, does it own the plants that make the food, does it substantiate its diets with real AAFCO feeding trials, does it publish how it tests ingredients and finished food, and does it publish peer-reviewed research. Those five questions are what this table answers.

Every cell is one of four states, and the honest one matters most: green means we found a source saying yes, red means we found a source saying no, and amber means the company does not disclose it. Amber is not a failing grade — it is a fact about the company's transparency, and 6 of 50 brands answer none of the five with a sourced yes. There is no overall score and no star rating, because the five criteria do not trade off against each other in any way we could justify weighting.

Brands by number of WSAVA criteria answered with a sourced yes. Updated September 29, 2026.
Brand Foods Nutritionist Owns plants Feeding trials Quality control Research Recalls
Hill's Science Diet 212 YesYesYesYesYes 3
Blue Buffalo 312 Yes—YesYesYes 1
Royal Canin 177 YesYesUndisclosedYesYes 2
Pedigree 70 YesYesUndisclosedYesYes 7
Purina Pro Plan 59 YesYesYesUndisclosedYes 3
Instinct 24 YesYesUndisclosedYesYes 2
Purina ONE 19 YesYesYesUndisclosedYes 3
Orijen 5 YesYesUndisclosedYesYes None on record
Acana 4 YesYesUndisclosedYesYes None on record
Freshpet 4 YesYesUndisclosedYesYes 2
Fromm 123 YesYesUndisclosedYesUndisclosed 3
Nutro 84 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedYesYes 2
Canidae 64 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedYesYes 1
Sheba 52 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedYesYes None on record
Fancy Feast 25 YesYesUndisclosedUndisclosedYes None on record
Friskies 18 YesYesUndisclosedUndisclosedYes None on record
Purina Beyond 7 YesYesUndisclosedUndisclosedYes None on record
Nom Nom 6 YesUndisclosedUndisclosedYesYes None on record
Cat Chow 5 YesYesUndisclosedUndisclosedYes None on record
Ollie 5 YesNoUndisclosedYesYes None on record
The Farmer's Dog 4 YesNoUndisclosedYesYes None on record
Beneful 3 YesYesUndisclosedUndisclosedYes None on record
Purina Dog Chow 3 YesYesUndisclosedUndisclosedYes None on record
Tiki Cat 169 Undisclosed—UndisclosedYesYes None on record
Wellness 163 UndisclosedYesYesUndisclosedUndisclosed 2
Merrick 105 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedUndisclosedYes 6
Iams 70 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedUndisclosedYes 8
Zignature 54 YesNoUndisclosedYesUndisclosed None on record
Nulo 33 YesNoUndisclosedUndisclosedYes None on record
Taste of the Wild 32 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedYesUndisclosed 1
Diamond Naturals 25 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedYesUndisclosed 1
Solid Gold 23 UndisclosedNoUndisclosedYesYes 1
Open Farm 20 YesNoNoYesUndisclosed None on record
Ziwi Peak 18 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedUndisclosedYes None on record
Stella & Chewy's 8 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedYesUndisclosed 2
Diamond 7 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedYesUndisclosed 7
Sundays for Dogs 4 YesNoNoYesUndisclosed None on record
Victor 3 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedYesUndisclosed 2
Diamond CARE 2 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedYesUndisclosed None on record
Fussie Cat 25 UndisclosedNoUndisclosedYesUndisclosed None on record
Natural Balance 22 Undisclosed—NoYesUndisclosed 5
Rachael Ray Nutrish 17 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedUndisclosedUndisclosed 1
9Lives 2 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedUndisclosedUndisclosed 2
Meow Mix 2 UndisclosedYesUndisclosedUndisclosedUndisclosed 1
Weruva 231 UndisclosedNoUndisclosedUndisclosedUndisclosed None on record
Dr. Elsey's 15 UndisclosedUndisclosedUndisclosedUndisclosedUndisclosed None on record
Smalls 10 UndisclosedNoUndisclosedUndisclosedUndisclosed None on record
Spot & Tango 4 Undisclosed—UndisclosedUndisclosedUndisclosed None on record
Kirkland Signature 3 UndisclosedNoUndisclosedUndisclosedUndisclosed 2
4health 2 UndisclosedNoUndisclosedUndisclosedUndisclosed 1

What "none on record" means

It means no FDA recall matched this brand in the records we hold — not that the brand has never had a problem. FDA recall notices name the recalling company, which is often a parent or a co-packer rather than the brand on the bag, so matching is imperfect and we say so on every brand page. Check the full recall feed if you want the unfiltered records, and read the methodology for how the join is made.

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