Nutro Adult Small Bites Lamb & Sweet Potato Recipe

11 ingredients in this list are ones we hold sourced evidence on , and 3 of them are genuinely contested rather than merely unpopular online.

• Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) · ingredient 3ContestedA pulse (legume), also called garbanzo bean, used in grain-free foods for plant protein and carbohydrate. Chickpeas are among the pulses (with peas and lentils) cited in the FDA's open 2018 investigation into diet-associated canine DCM.
• Potato · ingredient 4ContestedA starchy tuber used as the carbohydrate base in many grain-free foods (it is a vegetable, not a cereal grain). The FDA's open 2018 investigation into diet-associated canine DCM listed potatoes 'in various forms' as main ingredients of interest alongside pulses such as peas and lentils.
• Lentils · ingredient 6ContestedA pulse (legume) common in grain-free formulas as a protein and carbohydrate source. Lentils are named alongside peas in the FDA's open 2018 investigation into diet-associated canine DCM; the agency grouped 'peas and/or lentils,' which appeared in 93% of reported products.
• 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 8Well 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.