Purina Beneful
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FOOD COMPARISON: PURINA BENEFUL AND WELLNESS SUPER5MIX CHICKEN FORMULA
So many of our clients feed Iams, Purina, Purina One, Purina Beneful, Science Diet, and other foods that
are recommended to them, and which have slick advertising campaigns telling everyone how incredible
these foods are. This image gets in your mind, and makes it look like a great food choice… until you read
the label! We encourage you to read the front page of our food handout, which tells you how to
understand your pet’s food label. Once you learn what sounds good in an ingredient list, and what
actually is good, you’re better able to choose the right food for your pet.
Below, we compare Purina Beneful (a chicken-based food) and Wellness Super5Mix Chicken Formula, a
higher-quality chicken-based food. Questionable ingredients are in bold type, with explanation below.
PURINA BENEFUL ORIGINAL INGREDIENTS (Top 18 ingredients):
Ground Yellow Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Whole Wheat Flour, Beef Tallow,
Rice Flour, Beef, Soy Flour, Sugar, Sorbitol, Tricalcium Phosphate, Water, Animal Digest, Salt,
Phosphoric Acid, Potassium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Sorbic Acid, L-Lysine Monohydrochloride
Interpretation: “Ground Yellow Corn” is the entire ear of corn, including the cob but without the husk,
ground up. Corn is a leading source of allergies in dogs, but the #1 Ingredient in this food! The official
definition of “Chicken By-Product Meal” is as follows: “Consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of
the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of
feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.” Note that this
is an inconsistent ingredient, because of the multiple organs used and their constantly changing
proportions. They are cheaper and less digestible than chicken or chicken meal. Anything called a “by-
product” means it is not deemed fit for human consumption, and may even contain diseased or chemically
tainted tissue. “Corn Gluten Meal” is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of
the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran. Not only is this another corn fragment, it is added
to pet food to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats (think toxic waste!), which then holds waste
in, stressing the kidneys and liver. “Whole Wheat Flour” is at least a whole grain, though still highly
processed, but the fact is that wheat is also a leading cause of allergies in pets. “Beef Tallow” comes
from the tissue of cattle in the commercial process of rendering. Obviously, the only cattle in a rendering
plant are those deemed unfit for human consumption. Beef Tallow is a saturated fat used mainly to flavor
the food, to encourage the dogs to eat it. “Rice Flour” is a highly pre-processed ingredient from which
the naturally occurring vitamins have been leeched out. It is the soft, finely ground meal (mostly starch
and gluten of the endosperm) together with bits of rice bran and the “tail of the mill.” “Soy Flour” is
obtained by grinding the flakes that remain after removal of most of the oil from soybeans. Not only is it
a fragment, it is a poor quality protein filler used because it is so cheap. It is also believed that soybeans
are a leading cause of allergies in dogs. “Sugar” is just what it sounds like, the same refined sugar that
we’re supposed to avoid in our own diets. Why add it to our pets’ food??? “Animal Digest” comes from
the chemical or enzymatic treatment of “clean and undecomposed” animal tissue (in a rendering plant). It
says it cannot contain hair, horns, teeth, hooves or feathers, except in trace amounts. This can come
from any type of animal in a rendering plant, including road-kill, diseased or euthanized animals. “Salt” is
not something we should be adding to our pets’ food. “Potassium Chloride” is used as a salt substitute
and to replenish electrolytes, but it is also used in fertilizer and in massive doses for lethal injections!
Even though the un-bolded minerals listed sound like a good thing to add, if they are using quality
ingredients, why do they need to add a bunch of minerals, and how many of these are still viable after
going through the cooking process? Why are they needed? They sure don’t sound as tasty as whitefish
or blueberries!
WELLNESS SUPER5MIX CHICKEN FORMULA (Top 18 ingredients):
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Rice Ban (from brown rice),
Rye Flour, Canola Oil, Whitefish, Tomatoes, Natural Chicken Flavor, Flaxseed, Ground Millet, Carrots,
Apples, Spinach, Blueberries, Sweet Potatoes
Interpretation: There are essentially no objectionable ingredients in the top 18 in this food. The only
somewhat questionable ingredient is Natural Chicken Flavor, because it is not specific enough. Oatmeal
is a good carbohydrate source, rich in B vitamins, a high quality protein, and easy on the stomach. Brown
Rice is a superior carbohydrate source, much better than processed white rice (which loses key nutrients
during processing). Brown Rice is rich in B vitamins. By using Brown Rice, Barley, and Oatmeal, this food
avoids the wheat, corn, white rice (often just fragments) and soy commonly used, which are difficult to
digest and are leading allergens in pet food. Flaxseed is the whole ground seed, not a “meal” or
fragment of the seed. Flax Seed is rich in essential fatty acids and B vitamins. Whitefish is a specific high-
quality fish protein, high in essential fatty acids. As for the remaining ingredients on the list, they are
whole, natural foods, minimally processed. These help round out the variety of nutrition in the food.
Wellness also makes a Fish & Sweet Potato variety that is a good choice if you suspect your pet may
have allergies to ingredients in other foods.
So many of our clients feed Iams, Purina, Purina One, Purina Beneful, Science Diet, and other foods that
are recommended to them, and which have slick advertising campaigns telling everyone how incredible
these foods are. This image gets in your mind, and makes it look like a great food choice… until you read
the label! We encourage you to read the front page of our food handout, which tells you how to
understand your pet’s food label. Once you learn what sounds good in an ingredient list, and what
actually is good, you’re better able to choose the right food for your pet.
Below, we compare Purina Beneful (a chicken-based food) and Wellness Super5Mix Chicken Formula, a
higher-quality chicken-based food. Questionable ingredients are in bold type, with explanation below.
PURINA BENEFUL ORIGINAL INGREDIENTS (Top 18 ingredients):
Ground Yellow Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Whole Wheat Flour, Beef Tallow,
Rice Flour, Beef, Soy Flour, Sugar, Sorbitol, Tricalcium Phosphate, Water, Animal Digest, Salt,
Phosphoric Acid, Potassium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Sorbic Acid, L-Lysine Monohydrochloride
Interpretation: “Ground Yellow Corn” is the entire ear of corn, including the cob but without the husk,
ground up. Corn is a leading source of allergies in dogs, but the #1 Ingredient in this food! The official
definition of “Chicken By-Product Meal” is as follows: “Consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of
the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of
feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.” Note that this
is an inconsistent ingredient, because of the multiple organs used and their constantly changing
proportions. They are cheaper and less digestible than chicken or chicken meal. Anything called a “by-
product” means it is not deemed fit for human consumption, and may even contain diseased or chemically
tainted tissue. “Corn Gluten Meal” is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of
the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran. Not only is this another corn fragment, it is added
to pet food to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats (think toxic waste!), which then holds waste
in, stressing the kidneys and liver. “Whole Wheat Flour” is at least a whole grain, though still highly
processed, but the fact is that wheat is also a leading cause of allergies in pets. “Beef Tallow” comes
from the tissue of cattle in the commercial process of rendering. Obviously, the only cattle in a rendering
plant are those deemed unfit for human consumption. Beef Tallow is a saturated fat used mainly to flavor
the food, to encourage the dogs to eat it. “Rice Flour” is a highly pre-processed ingredient from which
the naturally occurring vitamins have been leeched out. It is the soft, finely ground meal (mostly starch
and gluten of the endosperm) together with bits of rice bran and the “tail of the mill.” “Soy Flour” is
obtained by grinding the flakes that remain after removal of most of the oil from soybeans. Not only is it
a fragment, it is a poor quality protein filler used because it is so cheap. It is also believed that soybeans
are a leading cause of allergies in dogs. “Sugar” is just what it sounds like, the same refined sugar that
we’re supposed to avoid in our own diets. Why add it to our pets’ food??? “Animal Digest” comes from
the chemical or enzymatic treatment of “clean and undecomposed” animal tissue (in a rendering plant). It
says it cannot contain hair, horns, teeth, hooves or feathers, except in trace amounts. This can come
from any type of animal in a rendering plant, including road-kill, diseased or euthanized animals. “Salt” is
not something we should be adding to our pets’ food. “Potassium Chloride” is used as a salt substitute
and to replenish electrolytes, but it is also used in fertilizer and in massive doses for lethal injections!
Even though the un-bolded minerals listed sound like a good thing to add, if they are using quality
ingredients, why do they need to add a bunch of minerals, and how many of these are still viable after
going through the cooking process? Why are they needed? They sure don’t sound as tasty as whitefish
or blueberries!
WELLNESS SUPER5MIX CHICKEN FORMULA (Top 18 ingredients):
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Rice Ban (from brown rice),
Rye Flour, Canola Oil, Whitefish, Tomatoes, Natural Chicken Flavor, Flaxseed, Ground Millet, Carrots,
Apples, Spinach, Blueberries, Sweet Potatoes
Interpretation: There are essentially no objectionable ingredients in the top 18 in this food. The only
somewhat questionable ingredient is Natural Chicken Flavor, because it is not specific enough. Oatmeal
is a good carbohydrate source, rich in B vitamins, a high quality protein, and easy on the stomach. Brown
Rice is a superior carbohydrate source, much better than processed white rice (which loses key nutrients
during processing). Brown Rice is rich in B vitamins. By using Brown Rice, Barley, and Oatmeal, this food
avoids the wheat, corn, white rice (often just fragments) and soy commonly used, which are difficult to
digest and are leading allergens in pet food. Flaxseed is the whole ground seed, not a “meal” or
fragment of the seed. Flax Seed is rich in essential fatty acids and B vitamins. Whitefish is a specific high-
quality fish protein, high in essential fatty acids. As for the remaining ingredients on the list, they are
whole, natural foods, minimally processed. These help round out the variety of nutrition in the food.
Wellness also makes a Fish & Sweet Potato variety that is a good choice if you suspect your pet may
have allergies to ingredients in other foods.