Rating: 
Purina Moist and Meaty dog food gets the Advisor’s lowest rating of one star.
The Purina Moist and Meaty product line includes five semi-moist dog foods. Each pouched formula meets AAFCO nutrient profiles for adult maintenance.
- Purina Moist and Meaty Chicken Dinner
- Purina Moist and Meaty Chopped Burger
- Purina Moist and Meaty with Lamb and Rice
- Purina Moist and Meaty Less Active Formula
- Purina Moist and Meaty Burger with Cheddar Cheese
Purina Moist and Meaty Burger with Cheddar Cheese Dog Food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Purina Moist and Meaty Burger with Cheddar Cheese
Semi-Moist Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Beef by-product, soy grits, soy flour, high fructose corn syrup, wheat flour, water, corn syrup, beef, phosphoric acid, calcium carbonate, salt, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of vitamin E), sorbic acid (a preservative), dried cheese powder (predominantly cheddar cheese), calcium propionate (a preservative), dl-methionine, choline chloride, added color (yellow 6, red 40, yellow 5 and other color), zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, ethoxyquin (a preservative), vitamin E supplement, manganese sulfate, niacin, vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), sodium selenite
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.5%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first ingredient in this food lists beef by-products… otherwise known as slaughterhouse waste. This is what’s left of a slaughtered cow after all the prime cuts have been removed.
In a nutshell, beef by-products are all those unsavory leftovers of meat processing frequently deemed “unfit for human consumption”.
With the exception of hair, horns, teeth and hooves, this stuff can include almost anything else… heads, ovaries, developing fetuses… you name it.1
Although this item does contain all the amino acids a dog needs, we do not consider beef by-products a quality component.
The second ingredient lists soy grits… soybeans which have been toasted and broken into small pieces.
The third ingredient includes soy flour… a high-protein by-product of soybean processing.
Soy protein has a low biological value compared to meat. Yet both soy grits and soy flour are capable of boosting the reported protein content of any dog food.
The fourth item is high fructose corn syrup (or HFCS). HFCS is a corn-based sugary mixture commonly used to make soft drinks, cookies and candy. Sugar is an empty nutrient… just as unhealthy for dogs as it is for humans.
The fifth ingredient lists wheat. Now, contrary to what you may have heard, wheat isn’t necessarily a bad ingredient.
On the other hand, although there’s no way to know for sure here, the 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, wheat is commonly linked to canine food allergies2.
For these reasons, we rarely consider wheat a preferred component in any dog food.
Following water, we find corn syrup. Corn syrup consists mainly of glucose… a sugar capable of causing an unhealthy rise in a dog’s blood sugar.
Yes, more sugar.
The eighth ingredient is beef. Although it is a quality item, raw beef 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. So, this item likely contributes little to the nutritional content of this food.
Later on, we find 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.
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 three notable exceptions…
First, this recipe includes the controversial preservative ethoxyquin. Ethoxyquin has been “implicated in birth defects, stillborn puppies, liver failure, infertility and cancer”.3
Unfortunately, Purina Moist and Meaty also contains menadione… a controversial form of vitamin K linked to liver toxicity, allergies and the abnormal break-down of red blood cells.
And finally, the minerals here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.
Purina Moist and Meaty Dog Food
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Purina Moist and Meaty appears to be a below-average dog food.
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 27%, a fat level of 10% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 55%.
All six products present the same nutrient percentages as our chosen example.
Below-average protein and fat. And above-average carbohydrates… when compared to a typical dog food in our overall database.
Yet when you consider the plant-based protein-boosting effect of the soy ingredients, this appears to be the profile of a semi-moist product containing only a modest amount of meat.
What’s worse, it’s difficult to ignore this line’s exceptional collection of Red Flag ingredients.
Bottom line?
Purina Moist and Meaty is a plant-based semi-moist product using only a modest amount of beef by-product or chicken as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand one star.
Not recommended.
Those looking for a better product from the same company may wish to visit 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
12/21/2009 Original review
07/30/2010 Review updated
- Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
- White, S., Update on food allergy in the dog and cat, World Small Animal Veterinary Association, Vancouver, 2001 ↩
- Brigola, Sandra, “Pet Food – Our Pets Are Dying for It”, VonHapsburg Danes ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.