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Facts About PEDIGREE® Dog Food

Here you’ll find the facts about what we put into our dog food and how we choose each ingredient to suit your dog's needs.

Mongrel

Meat and animal derivatives

The total meat and animal derivatives content is up to 65% for our wet foods and up to 39% for our dry foods.

‘Meat and animal derivatives' is a legal term that describes the non-flesh parts of an animal and includes organs such as liver, kidneys and heart.

These parts of the animal contain high levels of essential nutrients including various vitamins and minerals. They are often rich sources of amino acids. For example, liver contains a sulphur amino acid called taurine, which helps to keep your dog's eyes and heart healthy.

The meat and animal derivatives we use in PEDIGREE® dog food always comes from animals passed fit for human consumption in compliance with EU regulations.

Inorganic matter

‘Inorganic matter’ is a legal term that all pet foods are required to declare on the label. It is simply a measure of the mineral content. Minerals are added during the manufacture of pet food to ensure that the recipe provides complete and balanced nutrition for your dog.

Vegetable derivatives

“Derivatives of vegetable origin” describes ingredients that come from plants. They are a good source of protein, and at the right levels, they can provide benefits for dogs, e.g. beet pulp to help keep your dog's digestive system working effectively.

Cereals

Cereals such as wheat, corn and rice are a source of carbohydrate. Scientific research shows that the cereals in our food are beneficial, as a source of energy from carbohydrates, as well as fibre to promote a healthy digestive tract.

We include vegetable derivatives and cereals in our products to optimise the transit time of food through the gut. This supports the necessary absorption of nutrients through the digestive tract.

Flavours & sugar

We do not use artificial flavours in any of our products. Low levels of natural sugars are produced during the manufacturing process of some of our products, but we do not physically add sucrose or 'table sugar' to make the food taste nicer. Interestingly, dogs do not taste sugar in the way we do, so adding extra sugar would not make the food more palatable for them anyway.

Salt

Dogs have evolved to eat meat-based diets that are naturally rich in sodium, an essential mineral found in salt. A small amount of salt in your dog's diet is essential in complete and balanced nutrition to keep your dog's metabolism healthy. We ensure that the salt in all our dog food never exceeds the recommended requirement as determined by the Waltham Petcare Science Institute. Dogs do not taste salt in the way we do, so it does not make the food more palatable.

Additives

All of the ingredients in our petfood are there for a purpose: to provide nutrition, safety or enjoyment. Our wet and dry foods are fortified with vitamins and minerals to ensure that your dog is getting a complete and balanced diet, and we do not use fillers in any of our products. Any preservatives in our dry foods are approved as safe under EU regulations, and are there to ensure product safety during storage. Our canned and pouch products do not need preservatives as they are protected through sterilisation and sealing during the production process. We always comply with legislation thus ensuring safety of our products and transparency with our consumers.

Q & A

Animal Derivatives are a good source of protein and other essential nutrients for dogs.

‘Meat and animal derivatives' are the parts of an animal not classed as ‘flesh’ or ‘meat’ (striated muscle) and include organs such as the liver, kidneys and the heart.

Petfood that is complete and balanced must provide all the essential nutrients needed by your dog, which in nature they obtain from eating the whole animal.

These parts of the animal contain high levels of essential nutrients including various vitamins and minerals. They are often rich sources of amino acids. For example, liver contains a sulphur amino acid called taurine, which helps to keep your dog's eyes and heart healthy

The use of Meat & Animal Derivatives is highly regulated and we only use materials that meet specific quality standards. All the meat & animal derivatives we use in PEDIGREE® dog food comes from animals that have been passed fit for human consumption.

The meat and animal derivatives available to us to use depends on the season, and also on our supply chain, since we use those materials not required for the human food chain.  This means that we vary some of the meat and animal derivatives in our recipes depending on what's available on the day, to help us ensure that your pet gets the right nutrition and the best quality food every time. On the label, we always state the variety that is guaranteed, but in addition to this, recipes can also contain other meat and animal derivatives, such as chicken, turkey, lamb or tripe.

The total Meat and Animal Derivative content in our food is much higher than 4%

We only use high quality ingredients in our products

We do not use fillers in our products. All ingredients in our products are there for good reason

Our main meal products are 100% Complete and Balanced

Our foods do not cause diarrhoea when introduced and fed according to feeding instructions

Food Allergies

Our dental care products are scientifically proven to help support healthy gums and teeth

Our Treats