Is Royal Canin good? Owner, recalls and label facts
Royal Canin is made by Mars, Incorporated (Mars Petcare), has 2 FDA recalls on record (latest May 11, 2007), and 0 of the 177 Royal Canin food labels we checked say the food passed AAFCO feeding tests. Its median dry dog food costs $2.79 per 1,000 calories, about 1.4 times the median dry dog food we priced.
Keep Royal Canin, or switch?
Keep it if your pet does well on it: no current FDA recall says to stop.
Royal Canin Medium Adult: check price →$109.99 for 40 lb on Amazon
Switch if cost is the reason. The closest label match from another maker:
Rachael Ray Nutrish Real Chicken & Veggies Recipe
Check price on Amazon →Matched to Royal Canin Medium Adult: protein 26% vs 26%, fat 14% vs 13% (dry matter). $0.85 vs $1.68 per 1,000 calories. Ask your vet before changing a food your vet prescribed.
Amazon prices as of 2026-10-19. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
- Who makes it
- Mars, Incorporated (Mars Petcare) source
- FDA recalls
- 2 on record, latest May 11, 2007 details
- AAFCO feeding tests
- 0 of 177 labels we checked
- Cost
- $2.79 per 1,000 calories (median dry dog), about $3.25 a day for a 50 lb dog
- WSAVA questions
- sourced "yes" on 4 of 5 see each
Royal Canin questions, answered
Who makes Royal Canin?
Mars, Incorporated (Mars Petcare). Headquarters: Aimargues, France. Founded 1968.
Has Royal Canin been recalled?
Yes, 2 times on record. The latest was May 11, 2007: Trace amounts of a melamine derivative from imported rice protein concentrate. We found no newer FDA recall as of October 19, 2026.
Does Royal Canin do AAFCO feeding trials?
0 of the 177 Royal Canin labels we checked say "animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures". The rest say "formulated to meet" AAFCO nutrient levels, which is a recipe calculation, not a feeding test.
Does Royal Canin meet WSAVA guidelines?
WSAVA does not approve brands. It lists questions to ask a maker. Royal Canin has a sourced "yes" on 4 of the 5 we check: qualified nutritionist on staff; owns its manufacturing; publishes its quality-control testing; publishes peer-reviewed research.
Does Royal Canin have a vet nutritionist on staff?
Yes — sourced. Official Royal Canin US page explicitly states board-certified veterinary nutritionists and PhD nutritionists on staff.
How much does Royal Canin cost?
Its median dry dog food costs $2.79 per 1,000 calories, about 1.4 times the median dry dog food we priced. For a 50 lb adult dog that is about $3.25 a day. The cheapest per calorie we found is Royal Canin Medium Adult Dry Dog Food at $1.68 per 1,000 calories.
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.
Official Royal Canin US page explicitly states board-certified veterinary nutritionists and PhD nutritionists on staff.
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Owns/operates its own plants; Mars opened a new $450M Royal Canin factory in Lewisburg, Ohio in 2025 (confirmed via mars.com press release).
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Ambiguous: Royal Canin's answer to WSAVA's feeding-trial question says 'nutrient profiles and/or feeding trials' and does not say which retail foods had AAFCO feeding trials. every one says 'formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles' and none carries an 'animal feeding tests' statement.
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covers: ingredient testing, finished-product analysis; same page: NIRS ingredient checks and mycotoxin testing. Royal Canin US answers to WSAVA's questions.
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195 PubMed papers (animal/pet filtered) list Royal Canin in an author address; we checked 195 and 189 really name the company. A floor, not a total.
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 Royal Canin
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
view source →
Founded
1968
source
view source →
The cost
What Royal Canin costs, against everything else we have priced
The median Royal Canin dry food we have priced works out at $3.55 per 1,000 kcal, against $2.17 for the median dry food we have priced — so it sits about 1.6x 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: 30.0% dry-matter protein against a median of 32.2%.
Royal Canin foods by cost per 1,000 kcal
What Royal Canin actually puts in its food
The ingredients this brand reaches for most across its 177 verified foods, counted once per recipe. Each links to what the ingredient is, what the evidence says, and how common it is industry-wide.
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Taurine (supplemental)
In 165 of 177 Royal Canin foods (93%).
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Fish oil (EPA + DHA omega-3)
In 158 of 177 Royal Canin foods (89%).
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Wheat Gluten
In 143 of 177 Royal Canin foods (81%).
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Brewers Rice
In 141 of 177 Royal Canin foods (80%).
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By-Product Meal (Meat / Poultry By-Product Meal)
In 137 of 177 Royal Canin foods (77%).
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Mixed tocopherols (natural vitamin E)
In 119 of 177 Royal Canin foods (67%).
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Rosemary extract
In 116 of 177 Royal Canin foods (66%).
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Beet Pulp
In 111 of 177 Royal Canin foods (63%).
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. Royal Canin recall page →
Eight Sensible Choice dry dog foods and seven Kasco dry dog and cat foods (Royal Canin USA brands)
Trace amounts of a melamine derivative from imported rice protein concentrate
Royal Canin Veterinary Diet dry foods (Canine Early Cardiac EC 22, Canine Skin Support SS21, Feline Hypoallergenic HP23) and Royal Canin Sensible Choice dry dog foods made with rice protein concentrate; other Royal Canin diets not affected
Melamine derivative found in imported rice protein concentrate (2007 melamine event); no confirmed illnesses in pets
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 Royal Canin's labels
Computed directly from the official-label data we've extracted for this brand — never estimated.
Foods verified
177
113 dog · 64 cat
Feeding-trial validated
0
of 177 (0%)
Formulated to meet
174
AAFCO paper calculation
Label transparency
52%
avg. fields disclosed
The foods
Foods from Royal Canin we've verified
Every one links to its own Verified Label — guaranteed analysis, AAFCO statement, and (where priced) cost per day.