Review of Nutro Cuts in Gravy Dog Food

Nutro Cuts in Gravy Dog Food receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4.5 stars.

The Nutro Cuts in Gravy product line includes the 4 grain-free dog food cups listed below.

Each recipe includes its AAFCO nutrient profile when available… Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Nutro Cuts in Gravy Tender Chicken, Sweet Potato and Pea Stew was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.

Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.¹

Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The next two items include chicken and pork broths. Broths are of only modest nutritional value. Yet because they add both flavor and moisture to a dog food, they are a common component in many canned products.

The fourth ingredient is chicken liver, an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The fifth item is sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are a gluten-free source of complex carbohydrates in dog food. They are naturally rich in dietary fiber and beta carotene.

The next ingredient includes peas. Peas are a quality source of carbohydrates. And like all legumes, they’re rich in natural fiber.

However, peas contain about 25% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

The seventh ingredient is animal plasma. Plasma is what remains of blood after the blood cells themselves have been removed. In most cases, plasma can be considered a nutritious addition.

However, since there’s no mention of a specific animal in the name of this particular ingredient, this item could be sourced from any species. And that fact can make it difficult to isolate the cause of a dog’s food-based allergy.

For this reason, we do not consider generic animal plasma a quality ingredient.

The eighth ingredient is tapioca starch, a gluten-free, starchy carbohydrate extract made from the root of the cassava plant.

The ninth ingredient is pea fiber, a mixture of both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber derived from pea hulls. Aside from the usual benefits of fiber, this agricultural by-product provides no other nutritional value to a dog.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other inclusions.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this Nutro product.

With 2 notable exceptions…

First, we note the inclusion of sodium hexametaphosphate, a man-made industrial polymer with no known nutritive value.

HMP is used in making soap, detergents, water treatment, metal finishing and most likely here to decrease tartar build-up on the teeth.

Although some might disagree, we’re of the opinion that food is not the place for tartar control chemicals or any other non-nutritive substances.

And lastly, with the exception of magnesium, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually associated with higher quality dog foods.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Nutro Cuts in Gravy dog food looks like an above-average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 44%, a fat level of 19% and estimated carbohydrates of about 28%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 44% and a mean fat level of 20%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 27% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 45%.

Which means this Nutro product contains…

Above-average protein. Below-average fat. And near-average carbs when compared to a typical wet dog food.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the peas, this looks like the profile of a wet product containing a significant amount of meat.

Our Rating of Nutro Cuts in Gravy Dog Food

Nutro Cuts in Gravy is a grain-free wet dog food using a significant amount of named meats as its main source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4.5 stars.

Highly recommended.

Nutro Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 related to Nutro.

• Nutro Dog Treats Recall of December 2015 (12/13/2015)
• Nutro Dog Food Recall (10/4/2009)

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.

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More Nutro Brand Reviews

The following Nutro dog food reviews are also posted on this website:

• Nutro Dog Food Review
• Nutro Hearty Stew Dog Food Review (Canned)
• Nutro Limited Ingredient Diet Dog Food Review (Canned)
• Nutro Limited Ingredient Diets Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Nutro Pate Dog Food Review (Cups)
• Nutro Premium Loaf Dog Food Review (Canned)
• Nutro Puppy Food Review (Cups)
• Nutro Ultra Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Nutro Ultra Grain-Free Dog Food Review (Tubs)
• Nutro Wholesome Essentials Dog Food Review (Dry)