Highly Recommended
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Our Verdict
Vital Essentials frozen raw dog food receives the Advisor’s top rating of 5 stars.
The Vital Essentials product line includes the 5 raw frozen dog foods listed below.
Each recipe includes its AAFCO nutrient profile: Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.
| Product line | Rating | AAFCO |
|---|---|---|
| Vital Essentials Beef Entree | 5 | U |
| Vital Essentials Duck Entree | 4.5 | U |
| Vital Essentials Rabbit Entree | 5 | U |
| Vital Essentials Chicken Entree | 5 | U |
| Vital Essentials Turkey Entree | 5 | U |
Recipe and Label Analysis
Vital Essentials Beef Entree was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.
Vital Essentials Frozen Raw Beef Entree
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Protein
Fat
CarbsCarbohydrates
Beef, beef liver, beef heart, beef lung, beef kidney, beef fat, beef tripe, herring oil, vitamin E supplement, zinc amino acid complex, iron amino acid complex, copper amino acid complex, manganese amino acid complex
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 2%
Red denotes any controversial items
| Estimated Nutrient Content | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
| Guaranteed Analysis | 14% | 8% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 54% | 31% | 7% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 40% | 55% | 5% |
Ingredients Analysis
The first ingredient in this dog food is 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
Beef is naturally rich in all ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
The second ingredient is beef liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.
The third ingredient is beef heart. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing to us humans, heart tissue is pure muscle — all meat. It’s naturally rich in quality protein, minerals and complex B vitamins, too.
The fourth ingredient is beef lung, a protein-rich organ meat that’s also low in fat.
The next ingredient is beef kidney, an organ meat low in fat and rich in protein and essential minerals.
The sixth ingredient is beef fat. Beef fat (or tallow) is most likely obtained from rendering, a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.
Although it may not sound very appetizing, beef fat is actually a quality ingredient.
The seventh ingredient is beef tripe. Tripe usually consists of the first three chambers of a cud-chewing animal’s stomach. As unappetizing as it may seem to us humans, tripe is favored by dogs. The meat itself can sometimes includes the stomach’s contents, too.
The eighth ingredient is herring oil, which is naturally rich in the prized EPA and DHA type of omega-3 fatty acids. These two high quality fats boast the highest bio-availability to dogs and humans.
Depending on its level of freshness and purity, herring oil should be considered a commendable addition.
From here, the list goes on to include a few 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 Vital Essentials product.
Nutrient Analysis
Based on its ingredients alone, Vital Essentials raw frozen dog food looks like an above-average raw product.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 54%, a fat level of 31% and estimated carbohydrates of about 7%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 55% and a mean fat level of 27%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 10% for the overall product line.
And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 52%.
Which means this Vital Essentials product line contains…
Above-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical raw dog food.
Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a raw product containing an abundance of meat.
Vital Essentials Dog Food Recall History
The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Vital Essentials through November 2024.
You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.
Our Rating of Vital Essentials Dog Food
Vital Essentials is a grain-free raw dog food using a generous amount of named meats and organs as its source of animal protein, thus receiving 5 stars.
Compare Vital Essentials Dog Food
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A Final Word
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