Brand Scorecards
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.
| Brand | Foods | Nutritionist | Owns plants | Feeding trials | Quality control | Research | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hill's Science Diet | 212 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 |
| Blue Buffalo | 312 | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1 |
| Royal Canin | 177 | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | 2 |
| Pedigree | 70 | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | 7 |
| Purina Pro Plan | 59 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | 3 |
| Instinct | 24 | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | 2 |
| Purina ONE | 19 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | 3 |
| Orijen | 5 | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | None on record |
| Acana | 4 | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | None on record |
| Freshpet | 4 | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | 2 |
| Fromm | 123 | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | 3 |
| Nutro | 84 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | 2 |
| Canidae | 64 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | 1 |
| Sheba | 52 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | None on record |
| Fancy Feast | 25 | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Yes | None on record |
| Friskies | 18 | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Yes | None on record |
| Purina Beyond | 7 | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Yes | None on record |
| Nom Nom | 6 | Yes | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | None on record |
| Cat Chow | 5 | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Yes | None on record |
| Ollie | 5 | Yes | No | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | None on record |
| The Farmer's Dog | 4 | Yes | No | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | None on record |
| Beneful | 3 | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Yes | None on record |
| Purina Dog Chow | 3 | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Yes | None on record |
| Tiki Cat | 169 | Undisclosed | — | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | None on record |
| Wellness | 163 | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | 2 |
| Merrick | 105 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Yes | 6 |
| Iams | 70 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Yes | 8 |
| Zignature | 54 | Yes | No | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | None on record |
| Nulo | 33 | Yes | No | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Yes | None on record |
| Taste of the Wild | 32 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | 1 |
| Diamond Naturals | 25 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | 1 |
| Solid Gold | 23 | Undisclosed | No | Undisclosed | Yes | Yes | 1 |
| Open Farm | 20 | Yes | No | No | Yes | Undisclosed | None on record |
| Ziwi Peak | 18 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Yes | None on record |
| Stella & Chewy's | 8 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | 2 |
| Diamond | 7 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | 7 |
| Sundays for Dogs | 4 | Yes | No | No | Yes | Undisclosed | None on record |
| Victor | 3 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | 2 |
| Diamond CARE | 2 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | None on record |
| Fussie Cat | 25 | Undisclosed | No | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | None on record |
| Natural Balance | 22 | Undisclosed | — | No | Yes | Undisclosed | 5 |
| Rachael Ray Nutrish | 17 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | 1 |
| 9Lives | 2 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | 2 |
| Meow Mix | 2 | Undisclosed | Yes | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | 1 |
| Weruva | 231 | Undisclosed | No | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | None on record |
| Dr. Elsey's | 15 | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | None on record |
| Smalls | 10 | Undisclosed | No | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | None on record |
| Spot & Tango | 4 | Undisclosed | — | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | None on record |
| Kirkland Signature | 3 | Undisclosed | No | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | 2 |
| 4health | 2 | Undisclosed | No | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | 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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