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Natural Balance: Facts, Recalls & Verified Foods
Natural Balance is made by Ethos Pet Brands (co-owned by L Catterton and Nexus Capital Management), founded 1989 — it scores green on 1 of 5 WSAVA-aligned criteria we track (1 red, 2 undisclosed), 5 FDA recalls on record, and 0 of the 22 Natural Balance foods we've verified carry an AAFCO feeding-trial statement.
· 22 Natural Balance food labels checked
The scorecard
WSAVA-aligned criteria
The World Small Animal Veterinary Association's nutrition guidelines suggest questions to ask any pet food maker before you buy. Here are this brand's answers, each with its source, or marked undisclosed when we could not confirm one.
1 of 5 criteria confirmed yes · 1 confirmed no · 2 undisclosed. Undisclosed is common, especially for smaller brands — it means we couldn't confirm an answer from a public source, not that the answer is unfavorable.
References a 'PhD small animal nutritionist' but names no individual and states no DACVN/ACVN credential.
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Company-owned plant (Brownwood, TX) AND external co-packers = mixed.
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says: recipes meet AAFCO profiles by formulation/analysis, not life-stage feeding trials. Feeding studies are third-party palatability and digestibility only. Judgment call: not an explicit 'we do not do AAFCO feeding trials'.
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covers: pathogen testing (Salmonella, STEC listed on page), toxin/mycotoxin testing. Brand own page. FAQ (naturalbalanceinc.com/faq/) also says regular testing for nutrient content, microbiological safety (e.g., Salmonella), toxins, oxidation, plus packaging/shelf-life evaluations and ingredient validation (all five WSAVA elements).
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PubMed lists no animal or pet paper with Natural Balance Pet Foods / Ethos Pet Brands in an author address. Not proof no research exists — only that none is indexed under that company name.
source
These five checks come from WSAVA's guidelines on selecting pet foods — not our own opinion score. WSAVA does not approve or list brands. See how all 50 brands we track answer WSAVA's questions → · Our methodology →
The company
Who makes Natural Balance
Ownership and history, each sourced independently — private-label and co-packed brands often hide the actual manufacturer behind the name on the bag.
Parent company
Ethos Pet Brands (co-owned by L Catterton and Nexus Capital Management)
source
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Founded
1989
source
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The cost
What Natural Balance costs, against everything else we have priced
None of the 22 Natural Balance foods we have verified is currently price-matched to a live retail listing, so we will not state a cost per 1,000 kcal for this brand. The composition figures below are verified regardless.
The safety record
FDA recall history
From the FDA's Animal & Veterinary recall list, last checked 2026-11-11, plus older FDA notices we added by hand. Natural Balance recall page →
Natural Balance L.I.D. Green Pea & Chicken dry cat food, 5 lb and 10 lb bags, one lot
Potential Salmonella contamination
Natural Balance Ultra Premium Chicken & Liver Pate canned cat food, 5.5 oz, one lot
Elevated choline chloride
Certain dry dog and cat food formulas (including Sweet Potato & Venison, Lamb Meal & Brown Rice, and Sweet Potato & Bison; specific lot codes with best-before dates through March 2013)
Precautionary recall of formulas manufactured at the co-packer's Gaston, SC plant (the 2012 Gaston Salmonella event); no animal illnesses reported and no recalled product tested positive
Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Chicken dry dog food, 5 lb and 28 lb bags (best by June 17, 2011)
Potential Salmonella contamination
Natural Balance Venison dog foods (canned, dry, treats) and dry Venison & Green Pea cat food, all date codes
Melamine (from rice protein concentrate)
The FDA's online recall list is complete for recent years but leaves out many notices from before about 2023. We add older FDA recall notices by hand when we find them.
The labels
What we've verified from Natural Balance's labels
Computed directly from the official-label data we've extracted for this brand — never estimated.
Foods verified
22
0 dog · 22 cat
Feeding-trial validated
0
of 22 (0%)
Formulated to meet
22
AAFCO paper calculation
Label transparency
47%
avg. fields disclosed
The foods
Foods from Natural Balance we've verified
Every one links to its own Verified Label — guaranteed analysis, AAFCO statement, and (where priced) cost per day.