Which Orijen Freeze-Dried Recipes Get
Our Best Ratings?
Orijen Freeze-Dried Dog Food (USA) receives the Advisor’s mid-tier rating of 3.5 stars.
The Orijen Freeze-Dried product line includes 3 freeze-dried, raw dog foods.
Each recipe below includes its AAFCO nutrient profile when available… Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.
| Product | Rating | AAFCO |
|---|---|---|
| Orijen Freeze-Dried Tundra | 3 | A |
| Orijen Freeze-Dried Original | 3.5 | A |
| Orijen Freeze-Dried Regional Red | 3 | A |
Recipe and Label Analysis
Orijen Freeze Dried Original recipe 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.
Orijen Freeze Dried Original
Freeze-Dried Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Chicken ground with bone, chicken liver, turkey, whole herring, eggs, pea fiber, turkey liver, turkey heart, flounder, chicken heart, whole pumpkin, collard greens, carrots, whole apples, salt, dried kelp, zinc proteinate, potassium chloride, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, mixed tocopherols (preservative), vitamin E supplement
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 5.2%
Red denotes controversial item
| Estimated Nutrient Content | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
| Guaranteed Analysis | 40% | 34% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 42% | 35% | 15% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 29% | 60% | 11% |
Ingredient Analysis
The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken with ground bone. 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 ground bone is an excellent source of natural calcium.
The second ingredient is chicken liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.
The third ingredient is turkey. Turkey is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of turkey”.2
Turkey is also naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
The fourth ingredient is herring, a fatty marine fish naturally high in protein as well as omega 3 fatty acids, essential oils needed by every dog to sustain life.
The fifth ingredient includes eggs. Eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.
The sixth ingredient lists 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.
The seventh ingredient is turkey liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial inclusion.
The eighth ingredient is turkey heart. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing, heart tissue is pure muscle — all meat. It’s naturally rich in quality protein, minerals and complex B vitamins, too.
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 affect the overall rating of this Champion Petfoods product line.
With 3 notable exceptions…
First, pumpkin is a nutritious addition high in complex carbohydrates, beta-carotene and dietary fiber.
Next, we note the use of collard greens. Due to their notable vitamin and mineral content, collards boast a high nutrient Completeness Score3 of 81.
And lastly, 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.
Nutrient Analysis
Based on its ingredients alone, Orijen Freeze-Dried Dog Food (USA) looks like an above-average raw product.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 42%, a fat level of 35% and estimated carbohydrates of about 15%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 39% and a mean fat level of 36%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 17% for the overall product line.
And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 91%.
Which means this Orijen product line contains…
Near-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical raw product dog food.
Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a raw dog food containing a notable amount of meat.
However, with 60% of the total calories in our example coming from fat versus just 29% from protein, some recipes may not be suitable for every animal. In addition, this same finding also prevents us from awarding the brand a higher rating.
Our Rating of Orijen Freeze Dried Dog Food
Orijen Freeze-Dried is a grain-free raw dog food using a notable amount of named meats and organs as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 3.5 stars.
Recommended.
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Orijen Dog Food Recall History
The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Champion Petfoods through June 2023.
No recalls noted.
You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.
Get Free Recall Alerts
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More Champion Petfoods Reviews
The following Champion dog food reviews are also posted on this website:
- Acana Classics Dog Food Review | Canada (Dry)
- Acana Dog Food Review (Dry)
- Acana Heritage Dog Food Review | Canada (Dry)
- Acana Highest Protein Dog Food Review | Canada (Dry)
- Acana Regionals Dog Food Review (Dry)
- Acana Singles Dog Food Review (Dry)
- Acana Singles Dog Food Review | Canada (Dry)
- Orijen Dog Food Review (Dry)
- Orijen Dog Food Review | Canada (Dry)
A Final Word
The Dog Food Advisor does not accept money, gifts, samples or other incentives in exchange for special consideration in preparing our reviews.
However, we do receive a referral fee from online retailers (like Chewy or Amazon) and from sellers of perishable pet food when readers click over to their websites from ours. This helps cover the cost of operation of our free blog. Thanks for your support.
For more information, please visit our Disclaimer and Disclosure page.
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- Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
- Adapted by the Dog Food Advisor and based upon the official definition for chicken published by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, Official Publication, 2008 Edition ↩
- Completeness Score is a measure of a food’s relative nutrient content and is computed by NutritionData.com from the USDA’s National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference ↩
06/14/2022 Last Update
