Rating: 
Purina Healthy Morsels dog food gets the Advisor’s lowest rating of one star.
Although Purina Healthy Morsels appears to be an adult dry dog food, we found no AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements for this product on the Purina website.
Purina Healthy Morsels
Dry Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Whole grain corn, whole grain wheat, meat and bone meal, corn gluten meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of vitamin E), soybean meal, lamb, brewers rice, lamb meal, water, propylene glycol, sugar, phosphoric acid, animal digest, salt, potassium chloride, sorbic acid (a preservative), dried peas, dried carrots, l-lysine monohydrochloride, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, added color (red 40, yellow 5, blue 2), zinc sulfate, zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese sulfate, manganese proteinate, vitamin A supplement, vitamin B-12 supplement, calcium carbonate, calcium pantothenate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.7%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first two ingredients are corn and wheat. Now, contrary to what you may have heard, corn and wheat aren’t necessarily bad ingredients.
However, although there’s no way to know for sure here, the corn and wheat used in making many pet foods can be similar to the kind used to make feed for livestock.
And that can sometimes be problematic.
What’s more, corn and wheat are commonly linked to canine food allergies1.
For this reason, we rarely consider these two grains to be preferred components in any dog food.
The third ingredient lists meat and bone meal… a dry “rendered” product of slaughterhouse waste. It’s made from what’s left of a slaughtered animal after all the prime cuts have been removed.
In a nutshell, this is the stuff that’s considered “unfit for human consumption”… heads, hooves, miscellaneous organs. You name it.
What’s worse, this item is anonymous… generic. It doesn’t even specify the source animal.
Whenever you see the phrase “meat and bone meal” in any product you can be sure you’re looking at a dog food made with one of the most inferior meat ingredients you can buy.
On the brighter side, meat and bone meals are meat concentrates and contain nearly 300% more protein than fresh meat.
The fourth item is corn gluten meal. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once corn has had most of its starchy carbohydrate (the good stuff) washed out of it.
Compared to meat, glutens are inferior grain-based proteins low in many of the essential amino acids dogs need to sustain life.
This inexpensive plant-based ingredient can significantly boost the total protein content reported in this dog food.
The fifth ingredient is animal fat. Animal fat is a generic by-product of “rendering”… the same high-temperature process used to make meat meals.
Since there’s no mention of a specific animal, this stuff could come from almost anywhere… restaurant grease, slaughterhouse waste, diseased cattle… even euthanized pets.
We do not consider generic animal fat a quality ingredient.
The sixth ingredient is soybean meal. Soybean meal is actually a useful by-product. It’s what remains of soybeans after all the oil has been removed.
Soybean meal contains 48% protein. However, compared to meat, this is an inferior plant-based protein.
The seventh item is lamb. Although it is a quality item, raw lamb contains about 80% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost… reducing the meat content to just 20% of its original weight.
After processing, this item would probably occupy an even lower position on the list.
The eighth ingredient is brewers rice. Brewers rice represents the small grain fragments left over after milling whole rice.
This is an inexpensive cereal grain by-product and not considered a quality ingredient.
The ninth ingredient is lamb meal. Like meat and bone meal, this is another protein-rich meat concentrate.
Purina Healthy Morsels contains the controversial food moisturizer, propylene glycol. Propylene glycol has been banned by the FDA for use in making cat food.
But it can still be found to this day in lower quality dog foods.
Sugar is always an unwelcome addition to any dog food. Sugar has a high glycemic index… which means it can negatively affect the blood sugar level of any animal soon after it is eaten.
Animal digest is a chemically hydrolyzed concoction of unspecified body parts… from unspecified animals. Animal digest is usually sprayed onto the surface of a dry kibble to improve its taste.
Later on, we notice three items described as added color. We’re always disappointed to find artificial coloring in any dog food.
Coloring is used to make the product more appealing to you… not your dog. After all, do you really think your dog cares what color his food is?
From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.
But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to have much of an effect on the overall rating of this product.
With four notable exceptions…
First, we find no evidence of probiotics… friendly bacteria applied to the surface of the kibble after processing.
Next, garlic oil may be a controversial item. We say “may be” here because we are not certain of the oil’s chemical relationship to raw garlic itself.
In rare cases, garlic has been linked to Heinz body anemia in dogs.2
Most of the professional literature we surveyed did not provide any conclusive warnings regarding the use of garlic… especially in small amounts (as it is here).
We note this food contains chelated minerals… minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.
Unfortunately, Purina Healthy Morsels also contains menadione… a controversial form of vitamin K linked to liver toxicity, allergies and the abnormal break-down of red blood cells.
Purina Healthy Morsels Dog Food
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Purina Healthy Morsels dog food appears to be a below-average kibble.
But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 24%, a fat level of 14% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 54%.
Below-average protein. Average fat. And above-average carbs… as compared to a typical dry dog food.
Yet when you consider the plant-based protein-boosting effect of the corn gluten meal, this appears to be the profile of a kibble containing only a modest amount of meat.
Bottom line?
Purina Healthy Morsels dog food is a grain-based kibble using only a limited amount of meat and bone meal as its main source of animal protein… thus earning the brand one star.
Not recommended.
Those looking for a better kibble from the same company may wish to check out our review of Purina Pro Plan Selects dry dog food.
A Final Word
This review is designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. However, our rating system is not intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in specific health benefits for your pet.
For a better understanding of how we analyzed this product, please be sure to read our article, “The Problem with Dog Food Reviews”
Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.
Have an opinion about this dog food… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.
Notes and Updates
12/22/2009 Original review
07/27/2010 Review updated
- White, S., Update on food allergy in the dog and cat, World Small Animal Veterinary Association, Vancouver, 2001 ↩
- Yamato et al, Heinz Body hemolytic anemia with eccentrocytosis from ingestion of Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum) and garlic (Allium sativum) in a dog, Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association 41:68-73 (2005) ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.