Nutro Limited Ingredient Diet Dog Food Review (Dry)

Nutro Limited Ingredient Diet product range is made up of six recipes which each receive the Dog Food Advisor’s rating, 3 stars.

The table below shows each recipe in this range including our rating and the AAFCO nutrient profile: Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Nutro Limited Ingredient Diet Grain Free Adult Salmon and Lentils was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Ingredients Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is salmon. Although it is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, raw salmon contains up to 73% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost, reducing the meat content to just a fraction of its original weight.

After processing, this item would probably account for a smaller part of the total content of the finished product.

The second ingredient is salmon meal. Because it is considered a meat concentrate, fish meal contains almost 300% more protein than fresh fish itself.

Fish meal is typically obtained from the “clean, dried, ground tissue of undecomposed whole fish and fish cuttings” of commercial fish operations.¹

The third ingredient is dried potato, a dehydrated item usually made from the by-products of potato processing. In most cases, dried potato can contain about 10% dry matter protein which can have a slight affect on our estimate of the total meat content of this recipe.

The fourth ingredient includes lentils. Lentils are a quality source of carbohydrates. Plus (like all legumes) they’re rich in natural fiber.

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

The next ingredient lists chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans. Like peas, beans and lentils, the chickpea is a nutritious member of the fiber-rich legume (or pulse) family of vegetables.

However, chickpeas contain about 22% protein.

The sixth item is dried sweet potato, a dehydrated item usually made from the by-products of potato processing. In most cases, dried sweet potato can contain about 10% dry matter protein which can have a slight affect on our estimate of the total meat content of this recipe.

The seventh ingredient is canola oil. Unfortunately, canola can be a controversial item. That’s because it can sometimes (but not always) be derived from genetically modified rapeseed.

Yet others cite the fact that canola oil can be a significant source of essential omega-3 fatty acids.

In any case, plant-based oils like canola are less biologically available to a dog than fish oil as a source of quality omega-3 fats.

The eighth ingredient is potato starch. Potato starch is a gluten-free carbohydrate of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

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

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

With five notable exceptions…

First, we find potato protein, the dry residue remaining after removing the starchy part of a potato.

Even though it contains over 80% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

We find beet pulp is included which is a controversial ingredient, a high fiber by-product of sugar beet processing.

Some denounce beet pulp as an inexpensive filler while others cite its outstanding intestinal health and blood sugar benefits.

We only call your attention here to the controversy and believe the inclusion of beet pulp in reasonable amounts in most dog foods is entirely acceptable.

Next, we find no mention of probiotics, friendly bacteria applied to the surface of the kibble after processing to help with digestion.

In addition, 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.

Finally, this food contains Sodium Selenite which appears to be nutritionally inferior to the more natural source of selenium found in selenium yeast.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Nutro Limited Ingredient Diet Grain Free Dog Food looks like an above-average dry product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 24.4%, a fat level of 15.6% and estimated carbohydrates of about 52%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 23% and a mean fat level of 15.4%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 53.7% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 67%.

Which means this Nutro product line contains…

Below-average protein. Near-average fat. And above-average carbs when compared to other dry dog foods.

When you consider the protein-boosting effect of the dried potatoes, lentils, chickpeas and potato protein, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing just a moderate amount of meat.

Nutro Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Nutro through July 2024.

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

Our Rating of Nutro Limited Ingredient Diet Grain Free Dog Food

Nutro Limited Ingredient Diet is a grain-free dry dog food using a moderate amount of named meat meals as its dominant source of animal protein, thus receiving 3 stars.

Recommended with Reservations

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