Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused Great Plains Red Dog Food

7 ingredients in this list are ones we hold sourced evidence on , and 1 of them is genuinely contested rather than merely unpopular online.

• Pea protein · ingredient 7ContestedA concentrated protein fraction extracted from peas, used to raise a food's protein content without added meat. As a pea-derived pulse ingredient it falls within the group of legume ingredients examined in the FDA's open 2018 investigation into diet-associated canine DCM; metabolomic work has flagged pea-related compounds, but causation has not been shown.
• Named Muscle Meat (e.g., Deboned Chicken, Beef, Salmon) · ingredient 1Well supportedA named fresh muscle meat identifies both the species and that it is clean flesh (AAFCO defines 'meat' as the clean flesh of a specified slaughtered mammal, and 'poultry' as clean flesh and skin). Naming the species is what lets an owner verify a protein for allergy avoidance.
• Named Meat/Poultry Meal (e.g., Chicken Meal, Lamb Meal) · ingredient 2Well supportedA rendered, water- and fat-reduced concentrate from a named species (AAFCO, e.g., 'chicken meal'). Because most moisture is removed it is a dense protein source (poultry meals commonly around 57-69% crude protein) and it names the species for allergy avoidance.
• Mixed tocopherols (natural vitamin E) · ingredient 23Well supportedA blend of vitamin E forms (alpha-, beta-, gamma-, delta-tocopherol) used as a natural-source antioxidant to slow fat rancidity, commonly chosen as an alternative to synthetic preservatives. EFSA concluded that tocopherol-rich extracts are safe for all animal species and the consumer and are efficacious antioxidants in feed.
• Flaxseed (ALA omega-3) · ingredient 12NeutralA plant source of the short-chain omega-3 ALA. Dogs convert ALA to the long-chain omega-3s inefficiently: a controlled feeding study (Dunbar 2010) found flaxseed raised serum EPA but produced no measurable DHA.
• Tapioca · ingredient 15NeutralA nearly pure starch extracted from the cassava root, used as a carbohydrate base and binder in grain-free foods (it is a root starch, not a cereal grain). Because it is almost entirely starch with little protein, tapioca contributes essentially no amino acids and is not implicated in the taurine hypothesis; it was not a highlighted ingredient in the FDA's DCM investigation, which focused on pulses and potatoes.