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

Taste of the Wild: Facts, Recalls & Verified Foods

Taste of the Wild is made by Diamond Pet Foods (Schell & Kampeter, Inc.), founded 2007 — it scores green on 2 of 5 WSAVA-aligned criteria we track (0 red, 3 undisclosed), 1 FDA recall on record, and 0 of the 32 Taste of the Wild foods we've verified carry an AAFCO feeding-trial statement.

· 32 Taste of the Wild 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.

2 of 5 criteria confirmed yes · 0 confirmed no · 3 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 Undisclosed

Same Diamond Pet Foods formulation program; no named ACVN/ECVCN Diplomate or PhD nutritionist disclosed.

source & quote
“Our foods are developed using our proprietary formulation technology and a team of experts and scientists incorporating the latest research from many disciplines: veterinary medicine, companion animal nutrition, food microbiology, as well as food production and food science.”
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✓ Owns its manufacturing Owns its plants

Made in Diamond-owned plants (two in California, plus Missouri, Arkansas, South Carolina, Kansas).

source & quote
“Taste of the Wild's dog foods and cat foods are made in six facilities here in the United States that are owned by Diamond Pet Foods.”
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? Runs AAFCO feeding trials Claims trials, no label shows one

says 'when necessary'; does not say AAFCO protocol or which foods. The labels we hold: 0 feeding-trial statements. None of the 32 AAFCO statements we read on its labels says "animal feeding tests".

source & quote
“we conduct feeding trials when necessary for nutritional content and palatability.”
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✓ Publishes its quality-control testing Yes — sourced

covers: process testing (general); maker Diamond Pet Foods publishes detail (mycotoxin, microbiological, test-and-hold) at diamondpet.com/about/quality-assurance/.

source & quote
“We test and monitor our manufacturing process: pre-production, production, and post-production.”
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? Publishes peer-reviewed research None found

PubMed lists no animal or pet paper with Diamond Pet Foods in an author address. Not proof no research exists — only that none is indexed under that company name.

source
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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 Taste of the Wild

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

Diamond Pet Foods (Schell & Kampeter, Inc.)

source
“Taste of the Wild is owned and manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods, which was founded in 1970.”
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Founded

2007

source
“The Taste of the Wild brand was founded by Diamond Pet Foods in 2007”
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Headquarters

Meta, Missouri, USA

source
“They purchased a former milling company in the town of Meta, Missouri (population 220), and the Diamond company was born.”
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The cost

What Taste of the Wild costs, against everything else we have priced

The median Taste of the Wild dry food we have priced works out at $1.29 per 1,000 kcal, against $2.17 for the median dry food we have priced — so it sits about 1.7x below 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: 33.3% dry-matter protein against a median of 32.2%.

Taste of the Wild foods by cost per 1,000 kcal

25 priced Taste of the Wild foods, cheapest verified calories first.
FoodFormProtein (DM)Cost / 1,000 kcalBuy
Taste of the Wild Ancient Prairie Canine Recipe with Roasted Bison & Roasted Venison dry 35.6% $1.19 Check price
Taste of the Wild Ancient Wetlands Canine Recipe with Roasted Fowl dry 35.6% $1.24 Check price
Taste of the Wild Wetlands Canine Recipe dry 35.6% $1.24 Check price
Taste of the Wild High Prairie Canine Recipe with Roasted Bison & Roasted Venison dry 35.6% $1.25 Check price
Taste of the Wild High Prairie Canine Recipe dry 35.6% $1.25 Check price
Taste of the Wild Appalachian Valley Small Breed Canine Recipe dry 35.6% $1.27 Check price
Taste of the Wild Ancient Stream Canine Recipe with Smoke-Flavored Salmon dry 33.3% $1.28 Check price
Taste of the Wild Ancient Mountain Canine Recipe with Roasted Lamb dry 27.8% $1.28 Check price
Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain Canine Recipe with Roasted Lamb dry 27.8% $1.29 Check price
Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain Canine Recipe dry 27.8% $1.29 Check price
Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Canine Recipe dry 27.8% $1.29 Check price
Taste of the Wild Pine Forest Canine Recipe dry 31.1% $1.29 Check price
Taste of the Wild Southwest Canyon Canine Recipe dry 32.2% $1.29 Check price
Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Recipe with Roasted Bison & Roasted Venison dry 31.1% $1.29 Check price
Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Recipe dry 31.1% $1.29 Check price
Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Puppy Recipe dry 30.0% $1.31 Check price
Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline Recipe dry 46.7% $1.68 Check price
Taste of the Wild Canyon River Feline Recipe dry 35.6% $1.68 Check price
Taste of the Wild Lowland Creek Feline Recipe dry 40.0% $2.60 Check price
Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Canine Recipe With Salmon in Gravy wet 41.7% $8.91 Check price
Taste of the Wild Southwest Canyon Canine Recipe With Beef in Gravy wet 50.0% $8.98 Check price
Taste of the Wild High Prairie Canine Recipe With Bison in Gravy wet 44.4% $9.22 Check price
Taste of the Wild Wetlands Canine Recipe With Fowl in Gravy wet 44.4% $9.23 Check price
Taste of the Wild Canyon River Feline Recipe with Trout and Salmon in Gravy wet 44.4% $21.60 Check price
Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline Recipe with Salmon and Roasted Venison in Gravy wet 44.4% $22.11 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 Taste of the Wild actually puts in its food

The ingredients this brand reaches for most across its 32 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. Taste of the Wild recall page →

05/05/2012 Official FDA notice →

All Taste of the Wild dry pet food with a '2' or '3' in the 9th position of the production code and an 'X' in the 10th or 11th position (best-before Dec 9, 2012 - Apr 7, 2013); part of the nine-brand Gaston, SC plant recall

Potential Salmonella contamination at the Gaston, SC plant; the plant's output was linked to a multistate outbreak of human Salmonella Infantis infections

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 Taste of the Wild's labels

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

Foods verified

32

25 dog · 7 cat

Feeding-trial validated

0

of 32 (0%)

Formulated to meet

32

AAFCO paper calculation

Label transparency

59%

avg. fields disclosed

dry 25 (78%)
wet 7 (22%)

The foods

Foods from Taste of the Wild we've verified

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

FoodFormAAFCO
Taste of the Wild High Prairie Canine Recipe with Roasted Bison & Roasted Venison dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Canine Recipe with Smoke-Flavored Salmon dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain Canine Recipe with Roasted Lamb dry Formulated Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Recipe with Roasted Bison & Roasted Venison dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Ancient Mountain Canine Recipe with Roasted Lamb dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Ancient Prairie Canine Recipe with Roasted Bison & Roasted Venison dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Ancient Stream Canine Recipe with Smoke-Flavored Salmon dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Ancient Wetlands Canine Recipe with Roasted Fowl dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Appalachian Valley Small Breed Canine Recipe dry Formulated Taste of the Wild High Prairie Canine Recipe With Bison in Gravy wet Formulated Taste of the Wild High Prairie Canine Recipe dry Formulated Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Recipe dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Canine Recipe With Salmon in Gravy wet Formulated Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Canine Recipe dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Puppy Recipe dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Pine Forest Canine Recipe dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain Canine Recipe With Lamb in Gravy wet Formulated Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain Canine Recipe dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Southwest Canyon Canine Recipe With Beef in Gravy wet Formulated Taste of the Wild Southwest Canyon Canine Recipe dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Wetlands Canine Recipe With Fowl in Gravy wet Formulated Taste of the Wild Wetlands Canine Recipe dry Formulated Taste of the Wild PREY Angus Beef Recipe for Dogs dry Formulated Taste of the Wild PREY Trout Recipe for Dogs dry Formulated Taste of the Wild PREY Turkey Recipe for Dogs dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Canyon River Feline Recipe dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Canyon River Feline Recipe with Trout and Salmon in Gravy wet Formulated Taste of the Wild Lowland Creek Feline Recipe dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline Recipe dry Formulated Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline Recipe with Salmon and Roasted Venison in Gravy wet Formulated
2 more Taste of the Wild foods on this site, not shown here. Search "Taste of the Wild" in the cost calculator →