Eukanuba Medium Breed Adult
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FOOD COMPARISON: EUKANUBA AND WELLNESS SUPER5MIX CHICKEN (CANINE)
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 Eukanuba Medium Breed Adult (a chicken-based food) and Wellness Super5Mix
Chicken Formula, a higher-quality chicken-based food. Questionable ingredients are in bold type, with
explanation below.
EUKANUBA MEDIUM BREED ADULT INGREDIENTS (Top 18 ingredients):
Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain
Barley, Fish Meal, Chicken Fat, Brewers Rice, Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar
removed), Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Vitamins, Flax Meal,
Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Calcium Carbonate
Interpretation: 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 Meal” has no official definition under pet food
manufacturing guidelines, so could be anything, including the corn, cob, gluten, etc. In addition, corn is a
carbohydrate that is extremely difficult for dogs to digest and use, and is a leading cause of allergies.
“Whole Grain Sorghum” is another carbohydrate source. While it is a plus that they use whole grain
sorghum rather than some fragment of the grain, it is still very low in digestibility. “Fish Meal” denotes a
generic source. What kind of fish? Some are healthier than others. It is better to list a specific protein
source such as salmon meal or Menhaden fish meal, rather than the generic “fish meal.” “Brewer’s Rice”
is officially defined as “the dried extracted residue of rice resulting from the manufacture of wort (liquid
portion of malted grain) or beer.” Brewer’s Rice is a low-quality rice fragment that is missing many of the
nutrients found in the whole rice kernels. What, exactly, is “Natural Chicken Flavor?” It’s the 9th
ingredient, so there must be rather a lot of it. Manufacturers don’t want to tell you, if you care to ask, but
in reality it is usually some blood product or condensed organ broth. Maybe natural, but necessary?
“Beet Pulp” is a source of sweetening and fiber. This says they remove the sugar, so that makes it
somewhat less objectionable. The official definition for “Dried Egg Product” is “USDA inspected whole
eggs without the shell in a dehydrated form.” These egg products are often those seen as unfit for
human consumption. “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! “Salt” is not something we should be
adding to our pets’ food. “Vitamins” sound like a good thing to add (and the bag lists 14 of them!), but if
they are using quality ingredients, why do they need to add a bunch of vitamins, and how many of these
vitamins are still viable after going through the cooking process? “Sodium Hexametaphosphate” is
another substance used industrially, and it is another form of salt. Some studies indicate it may help
decrease plaque buildup (it is an ingredient in human toothpaste), but why add another salt to your pet’s
food? As for “Calcium Carbonate,” it is a source of calcium, but that is what raw bones are for! Calcium
Carbonate is also an ingredient in many antacids.
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, for the reasons listed above. 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 Eukanuba Medium Breed Adult (a chicken-based food) and Wellness Super5Mix
Chicken Formula, a higher-quality chicken-based food. Questionable ingredients are in bold type, with
explanation below.
EUKANUBA MEDIUM BREED ADULT INGREDIENTS (Top 18 ingredients):
Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain
Barley, Fish Meal, Chicken Fat, Brewers Rice, Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar
removed), Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Vitamins, Flax Meal,
Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Calcium Carbonate
Interpretation: 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 Meal” has no official definition under pet food
manufacturing guidelines, so could be anything, including the corn, cob, gluten, etc. In addition, corn is a
carbohydrate that is extremely difficult for dogs to digest and use, and is a leading cause of allergies.
“Whole Grain Sorghum” is another carbohydrate source. While it is a plus that they use whole grain
sorghum rather than some fragment of the grain, it is still very low in digestibility. “Fish Meal” denotes a
generic source. What kind of fish? Some are healthier than others. It is better to list a specific protein
source such as salmon meal or Menhaden fish meal, rather than the generic “fish meal.” “Brewer’s Rice”
is officially defined as “the dried extracted residue of rice resulting from the manufacture of wort (liquid
portion of malted grain) or beer.” Brewer’s Rice is a low-quality rice fragment that is missing many of the
nutrients found in the whole rice kernels. What, exactly, is “Natural Chicken Flavor?” It’s the 9th
ingredient, so there must be rather a lot of it. Manufacturers don’t want to tell you, if you care to ask, but
in reality it is usually some blood product or condensed organ broth. Maybe natural, but necessary?
“Beet Pulp” is a source of sweetening and fiber. This says they remove the sugar, so that makes it
somewhat less objectionable. The official definition for “Dried Egg Product” is “USDA inspected whole
eggs without the shell in a dehydrated form.” These egg products are often those seen as unfit for
human consumption. “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! “Salt” is not something we should be
adding to our pets’ food. “Vitamins” sound like a good thing to add (and the bag lists 14 of them!), but if
they are using quality ingredients, why do they need to add a bunch of vitamins, and how many of these
vitamins are still viable after going through the cooking process? “Sodium Hexametaphosphate” is
another substance used industrially, and it is another form of salt. Some studies indicate it may help
decrease plaque buildup (it is an ingredient in human toothpaste), but why add another salt to your pet’s
food? As for “Calcium Carbonate,” it is a source of calcium, but that is what raw bones are for! Calcium
Carbonate is also an ingredient in many antacids.
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, for the reasons listed above. 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.