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Brand facts & recall history · checked 2026-10-19

Orijen: Facts, Recalls & Verified Foods

Orijen is made by Mars, Incorporated (Mars Petcare), founded 2005 — it scores green on 4 of 5 WSAVA-aligned criteria we track (0 red, 1 undisclosed), no FDA recalls on record, and 0 of the 5 Orijen foods we've verified carry an AAFCO feeding-trial statement.

· 5 Orijen 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.

4 of 5 criteria confirmed yes · 0 confirmed no · 1 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.

✓ Qualified nutritionist on staff Yes — sourced

Champion's own About page claims 'Ph.D.-level nutrition experts' on staff. No individual is named and the specific field of the PhD is not stated; the 'Ph.D.-level' wording is the company's own characterization.

source & quote
“our Ph.D.-level nutrition experts and veterinarians craft them into safe, quality foods in our state-of-the-art kitchens”
view source →
✓ Owns its manufacturing Owns its plants

Champion states foods are crafted in 'our' kitchens; Orijen is manufactured in Alberta, Canada and Kentucky, USA by Champion (its own DogStar/NorthStar kitchens) per en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orijen.

source & quote
“our Ph.D.-level nutrition experts and veterinarians craft them into safe, quality foods in our state-of-the-art kitchens”
view source →
? Runs AAFCO feeding trials Claims trials, no label shows one

Champion's linked bulletin (AAFCO Feeding Trials.pdf) says 'All lead ORIJEN and ACANA formulations have successfully completed and passed our enhanced AAFCO feeding trials' - lead formulas, not every product. The labels we hold say 'formulated to meet'. None of the 5 AAFCO statements we read on its labels says "animal feeding tests".

source & quote
“We've custom designed an enhanced AAFCO canine and feline feeding trial”
view source →
✓ Publishes its quality-control testing Yes — sourced

covers: contaminant (heavy metal) testing of finished products; same page says QA testing runs from ingredient receipt to shipping. Champion Petfoods (maker of ORIJEN and ACANA).

source & quote
“We systematically test ORIJEN and ACANA products for commonly known naturally occurring heavy metals at third-party accredited laboratories”
view source →
✓ Publishes peer-reviewed research Yes — sourced

18 PubMed papers (animal/pet filtered) list Champion Petfoods (maker of ORIJEN and ACANA) in an author address; we checked 18 and 18 really name the company. A floor, not a total.

source
view 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 Orijen

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

Mars, Incorporated (Mars Petcare)

source
“Mars Petcare, part of Mars, Incorporated, today announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Champion Petfoods.”
view source →

Founded

2005

source
“Orijen is a premium brand of dog food and cat food introduced in 2005”
view source →

Headquarters

Alberta, Canada

source
“Champion Petfoods, led by its trusted brands ORIJEN and ACANA, was founded in Alberta, Canada.”
view source →

The cost

What Orijen costs, against everything else we have priced

The median Orijen dry food we have priced works out at $2.71 per 1,000 kcal, against $2.17 for the median dry food we have priced — so it sits about 1.2x above the market. Cost per 1,000 kcal is the only basis that survives different bag sizes and moisture levels; per pound this comparison would mean nothing. On composition the gap is usually smaller than the price gap implies: 43.2% dry-matter protein against a median of 32.2%.

Orijen foods by cost per 1,000 kcal

5 priced Orijen foods, cheapest verified calories first.
FoodFormProtein (DM)Cost / 1,000 kcalBuy
Original dry 43.2% $2.42 Check price
Puppy dry 43.2% $2.54 Check price
Senior dry 43.2% $2.71 Check price
Regional Red dry 43.2% $3.16 Check price
Six Fish Recipe dry 45.5% $3.17 Check price

“Check price” goes to a retailer and may earn us a commission. It does not affect the ranking, which is computed purely from verified cost per calorie. Full disclosure.

What Orijen actually puts in its food

The ingredients this brand reaches for most across its 5 verified foods, counted once per recipe. Each links to what the ingredient is, what the evidence says, and how common it is industry-wide.

The safety record

FDA recall history

From the FDA's Animal & Veterinary recall list, last checked 2026-10-19, plus older FDA notices we added by hand. Orijen recall page →

We found no FDA recall for Orijen on the FDA's recall list or in the older FDA notices we added by hand. That is not a guarantee; see the note below.

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 Orijen's labels

Computed directly from the official-label data we've extracted for this brand — never estimated.

Foods verified

5

5 dog

Feeding-trial validated

0

of 5 (0%)

Formulated to meet

5

AAFCO paper calculation

Label transparency

87%

avg. fields disclosed

dry 5 (100%)

The foods

Foods from Orijen we've verified

Every one links to its own Verified Label — guaranteed analysis, AAFCO statement, and (where priced) cost per day.

FoodFormAAFCO
Original dry Formulated Six Fish Recipe dry Formulated Regional Red dry Formulated Puppy dry Formulated Senior dry Formulated