Rating: 
Purina One canned dog food receives the Advisor’s above-average rating of 3 stars stars.
The Purina One product line lists seven canned dog foods… each claimed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for adult maintenance.
- Purina One Wholesome Turkey and Barley
- Purina One Wholesome Beef and Brown Rice
- Purina One Wholesome Chicken and Brown Rice
- Purina One Wholesome Lamb and Long Grain Rice
- Purina One Wholesome Beef and Barley Tender Cuts
- Purina One Wholesome Lamb and Brown Rice Tender Cuts
- Purina One Wholesome Chicken and Brown Rice Tender Cuts
Purina One Wholesome Beef and Brown Rice Dog Food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Purina One Wholesome Beef and Brown Rice Entree
Canned Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Water sufficient for processing, beef, chicken, liver, meat by-products, brown rice, oat meal, spinach, egg product, carrots, potatoes, potassium chloride, guar gum, carrageenan, salt, choline chloride, locust bean gum, calcium carbonate, zinc sulfate, calcium phosphate, vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin supplement, vitamin A supplement, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement, potassium iodide, biotin, sodium selenite
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 6.8%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first ingredient in this dog food lists water… which (of course) adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most canned dog foods.
The second ingredient includes beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.1
The third ingredient is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.1
Beef and chicken are both naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
The fourth item lists meat by-products… slaughterhouse waste. This is what’s left of slaughtered animals after all the prime cuts have been removed.
In a nutshell, meat by-products are the unsavory leftovers of processing considered by many “unfit for human consumption”.
With the exception of hair, horns, teeth and hooves, this stuff can include heads, ovaries or developing fetuses.1
What’s worse, this particular item is anonymous. It doesn’t even specify the source animal. So, this meat can come from almost anywhere… even diseased or dying livestock.
Although meat by-products can be high in protein, we do not consider a generic ingredient like this a quality item.
The fifth ingredient lists liver. Normally, liver can be considered a quality component. However, in this case, the source of the liver is not identified.
For this reason, it is impossible to judge the quality of this item.
The sixth item is brown rice… a complex carbohydrate that (once cooked) is fairly easy to digest.
The seventh item is oatmeal… a whole-grain product made from coarsely ground oats. Oatmeal is naturally rich in B-vitamins, fiber and is also (unlike many other grains) gluten-free.
Guar gum is a gelling or thickening agent found in many wet pet foods. Refined from dehusked guar beans, guar gum can add a notable amount of dietary fiber to any product.
Carrageenan is made from seaweed and likely used here as yet an additional thickener.
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 one exception…
We note 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 One Canned Dog Food
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Purina One appears to be only an 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 36%, a fat level of 32% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 24%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 40% and an average fat level of 23%. Together, these figures suggest an overall carbohydrate content of 30% for the full product line.
Near-average protein. Average fat. And near-average carbs when compared to a typical canned dog food.
Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this is the profile of a wet food containing a moderate amount of meat.
However, we believe it is unfortunate Purina One chooses to include generic meat by-products and lower-quality minerals in these otherwise reasonable recipes.
Bottom line?
Purina One canned dog food is a meat-based wet product using an average amount of poultry, beef or lamb as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand 3 stars.
Recommended.
Those looking for a better wet food from the same company may wish to see our review of Purina Pro Plan Selects Canned 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 brand… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.
Notes and Updates
12/04/2009 Original review
07/13/2010 Updated
09/10/2011 Updated (product lineup changes)
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.