What Goes Into Pedigree Dog Food?

We love reading labels and so should you!

All types of dog food made by Pedigree ® are specially designed to ensure they are nutritionally balanced and complete to offer healthy and enjoyable meals for dogs at every life stage and for every lifestyle.

Meat and animal derivatives

This refers to the animal-based ingredients in pet food that contain high levels of essential nutrients including various vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

Inorganic matter

This is a measure of the mineral content present in dog food. Minerals are added during the manufacturing process to ensure that the recipe provides complete and balanced nutrition for your dog.

Vegetable derivatives

This 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. sugar beet pulp is known to assist a dog's digestive system in working effectively.

Cereals

Cereals such as wheat, corn and rice are a good source of carbohydrates. These offer your dog the energy as well as the fibre it requires for smooth functioning of its digestive tract. Pedigree® products include vegetable derivatives and cereals to optimise the transit time of food through the gut thus allowing for the necessary absorption of nutrients.

Flavours & sugar

Sugar is a perfectly safe ingredient that at moderate levels has no detrimental effects on dogs. Sugar is added in very small amounts in snacks and treats (less than a few grams) and is used to maintain product stability similar to human food. The flavours we use, whether natural or artificial all have a rigorous record of safety testing and we use (if required) only those which are approved and routinely used in human foods.

Salt

Salt is present in our products to ensure the essential nutrients like sodium and chloride are present at the required levels. Salt is not a flavour enhancer for dogs and is not added to increase palatability. Scientific studies show there is no link between high salt intake and high blood pressure or kidney disease in healthy dogs. All pet foods have salt as per nutritional recommendations from nutritional authorities like NRC or AAFCO.

Additives/Preservatives

Some dogs enjoy our dog food so much that they will only eat our dog food and refuse other brands. This has led to myths that our pet-foods must contain addictive substances, such as caffeine. This is untrue. Like with human foods, the use of preservatives in pet food is strictly regulated and authorised on the grounds of safety, technical need and efficacy. The authorisation process is rigorous and dog food preservatives are regularly reviewed to ensure safety. The preservatives may be used to protect the nutritional value and goodness of a product or to enhance its nutritional profile. Some manufacturers may add biological antioxidants e.g. vitamins C and E to pet foods to help promote good health and combat free radical damage to the body.