Blue Freedom Large Breed Adult Grain-Free Beef and Potatoes Recipe Dry Dog Food
The first five ingredients are Deboned Beef, Turkey Meal, Potato Starch, Peas, Potatoes. 2 of them are a named animal protein. We put the starch at 47.8%, above the 38.51% average across the foods we hold.
Protein runs low or starch runs high for this type of food. That does not make it unsafe, it just measures lower.
How we got to 43
Five things, one hundred points, and the reason for every one. We would rather show our working than ask you to trust a number.
26-32% dm reads typical mainstream.
Estimated, 6% ash assumed.
Count of named animal proteins.
Matched against the flag list.
Manufacturer, not recipe.
The numbers, without the water
Percentages on a bag include the water in the food, so a wet food always looks lower than a dry one. Taking the water out puts any two foods on the same footing. This one is 90% dry matter.
That is 9.3 points above average, so proportionally more of the bag is starch.
Everything on the label
Printed exactly as the manufacturer lists it, heaviest ingredient first. A dog food needs very little salt, so the 50 ingredients listed after salt are present in even smaller amounts. That is the salt divider, and it is why we only weigh the top of the list.
Deboned Beef, Turkey Meal, Potato Starch, Peas, Potatoes, Pea Starch, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Pea Protein, Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Pea Fiber, Natural Flavor, Dried Tomato Pomace, Tapioca Starch, Chicken Meal, Fish Oil (source of EPA-Eicosapentaenoic Acid), Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Dried Chicory Root, Salt*The Salt Divider. Ingredients are listed heaviest first, and a dog food needs very little salt, so everything after this point is present in an even smaller amount., Alfalfa Nutrient Concentrate, Calcium Carbonate, Taurine, Dicalcium Phosphate, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, Vitamin E Supplement, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, DL-Methionine, Garlic, L-Carnitine, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Sulfate, Vegetable Juice for color, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Blueberries, Cranberries, Barley Grass, Parsley, Turmeric, Dried Kelp, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Copper Sulfate, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), L-Lysine, Biotin (Vitamin B7), Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Sulfate, Chondroitin Sulfate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Dried Yeast, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, Dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Sodium Selenite, Oil of Rosemary
What those first ingredients actually are
The top of the list is most of the food by weight, so it is worth knowing what each one is. Green marks a named animal protein.
Beef
The clean flesh of cattle, used fresh. Like all fresh meats it is mostly water before cooking.
Turkey Meal
Turkey that has been cooked, dried and ground into a concentrated meal with most of the water removed.
Potato Starch
The starch extracted from potatoes.
Peas
The seed of the pea plant, used whole, split or dried as a carbohydrate and plant protein source.
Potatoes
The tuber of the potato plant, cooked and used as a grain-free carbohydrate.
How much of this to feed
A starting point, worked out from the resting energy formula vets use and this food's own calorie density. Every dog is different, so watch their weight and adjust. Your vet's advice beats a calculator.
How it compares
Same figures, same method, put next to another recipe from Blue and the archive average.
| Metric | This recipe | Blue Natural Veterinary Diet W+U… | Archive average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Score | 43 | 66 | -- |
| Protein, water out | 24.4% | 33.3% | -- |
| Starch, water out | 47.8% | 30.0% | 38.51% |
| Named in first five | 2 of 5 | 2 of 5 | -- |
Recall history
Recalls are matched to the manufacturer, not this exact recipe. A recall on a different product still tells you something about the plant it came from.
4 in the last three years, which costs this food points. Worth reading before you buy. See the recall log
Other flavors
More from Blue, scored the same way.