Across the 2,120 UK dog foods we rank, the meats named most often are chicken (40%), fish of any kind (23%) and turkey (23%). Beyond meat, the ingredients named most often are beet pulp (43%), peas (33%), yeast (30%) and rice (29%). Every share is counted from the ingredient list and additives on the label, in our data of 5 October 2026.
The list starts with chicken in 27% of foods. Added vitamins, minerals or trace elements are listed by 88% of foods, and by 20% of raw foods. A typical dry food names 16 ingredients, a wet food 8 and a raw food 6. Below we explain each ingredient and show how the mix changes between dry, wet, raw and fresh food.
The 25 most common ingredients
The table gives the share of foods that list each ingredient. Names that mean the same thing are counted together, so “dried sugar beet pulp” and “beet fibre” both count as beet pulp. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight.[1] “In the first five” is the share of foods that list it among their first five ingredients, where the largest amounts are.
| Ingredient | All foods | In the first five | Dry | Wet | Raw | Fresh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beet pulp | 43% | 9.7% | 72% | 8.6% | 3.5% | 13% |
| Chicken | 40% | 37% | 42% | 38% | 34% | 17% |
| Peas | 33% | 22% | 40% | 31% | 5% | 22% |
| Yeast | 30% | 2.2% | 46% | 12% | 4.3% | 0% |
| Rice | 29% | 26% | 43% | 18% | 1.2% | 8.7% |
| Carrot | 29% | 13% | 24% | 38% | 24% | 43% |
| Linseed (flaxseed) | 28% | 1.6% | 48% | 5% | 0% | 0% |
| Chicory root (inulin) | 27% | 1.3% | 30% | 26% | 6.2% | 61% |
| Seaweed | 26% | 1.9% | 25% | 27% | 26% | 30% |
| Yucca | 25% | 0.5% | 32% | 20% | 5% | 30% |
| Glucosamine | 24% | 0.4% | 35% | 12% | 0.4% | 39% |
| Maize (corn) | 23% | 21% | 42% | 0.5% | 0% | 0% |
| Turkey | 23% | 21% | 25% | 22% | 16% | 26% |
| Broth, stock and gravy | 22% | 9.5% | 25% | 28% | 0% | 0% |
| Poultry fat | 21% | 10% | 38% | 0.9% | 0% | 0% |
| Sweet potato | 21% | 18% | 26% | 16% | 1.9% | 35% |
| Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) | 21% | 0% | 36% | 3.8% | 0% | 0% |
| Potato | 20% | 18% | 27% | 16% | 2.3% | 0% |
| Salmon oil | 20% | 4.1% | 24% | 16% | 16% | 35% |
| Chondroitin | 19% | 0.8% | 26% | 11% | 0.8% | 39% |
| Apple | 18% | 3.5% | 22% | 11% | 11% | 13% |
| Animal fats | 18% | 10% | 32% | 0.8% | 0% | 0% |
| Egg | 17% | 2.1% | 25% | 7.4% | 6.6% | 26% |
| Fish oil | 17% | 0.6% | 27% | 6.1% | 2.3% | 0% |
| Hydrolysed protein | 16% | 2.8% | 29% | 0.3% | 0% | 0% |
Foods counted: 2,120 (dry 1,171, wet 639, raw 258, fresh 23, air-dried and freeze-dried 29). Fresh food (23 foods) is a small group, so read its percentages loosely.
Being on the list is not the same as being a large part of the food. Beet pulp is in 43% of foods but in the first five of only 9.7%. Extras are the clearest case. The 6 in this table, such as yeast, chicory root (inulin) and yucca, are in the first five of no more than 2.2% of foods.
What each ingredient is and what it provides
These lines cover the ingredients named most often. The catalogue of feed materials is the legal list of ingredient names and descriptions. Using it is voluntary, but a name in the catalogue may only be used for a material that matches its entry.[5] [10] Where there is an entry, we use its description. For what an ingredient provides we use WikiVet’s glossary of common pet food ingredients, which was reviewed in April 2017 and is endorsed by Mars Petcare.[8] We state only what these sources say about the make-up of an ingredient.
Meat, fish, eggs and organs
- Named meat and fish (chicken 40%, fish of any kind 23%, turkey 23%, beef 15%, lamb 14% and duck 6.7%). The meat of the named animal, often with organs and other parts, supplies protein, fat, vitamins and minerals.[8] For fish, the catalogue means whole fish or parts of fish, fresh, frozen, cooked, acid treated or dried.[5] As our methodology explains, “chicken” can mean any part of the bird. The animals section shows the forms.
- Egg: 17% of foods. Whole hen’s eggs, with or without shells. The catalogue also lists dried egg.[5] Eggshell on its own is counted apart from egg.
Grains and starchy vegetables
- Rice: 29% of foods. The grain of the rice plant, whole, broken or milled to flour.[5] A digestible source of carbohydrate, protein and fibre.[8]
- Maize (corn): 23% of foods. The grain of Zea mays.[5] Maize is also called corn, and is usually finely ground. It provides carbohydrate, mainly starch, and some fibre.[8]
- Sweet potato: 21% of foods. The tuber of the sweet potato, a starchy root vegetable.[5]
- Potato: 20% of foods. The tuber of the potato, often dried into flakes.[5] A starchy vegetable.
- Wheat: 12% of foods. The grain of wheat.[5] Wheat is often milled to flour, which provides carbohydrate, mainly starch. In wet food, cereal flour can help give chunks their texture.[8]
Peas, pulses and plant proteins
- Peas: 33% of foods. The seeds of the pea plant.[5] Peas are rich in protein and some essential amino acids.[8] Our grain-free guide covers peas and lentils.
- Plant protein (pea, potato, rice): 13% of foods. A category name for plant products with the protein concentrated to at least 50% crude protein in the dry matter.[10] The catalogue lists pea protein, potato protein and rice protein.[5]
Fibre
Fats, oils and seeds
- Linseed (flaxseed): 28% of foods. The seed of the flax plant, whole, flattened or ground.[5] A rich source of omega-3 fatty acids.[8]
- Poultry fat: 21% of foods. Fat from poultry, such as chicken, turkey or duck, usually obtained when poultry meal is made. It provides energy, essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins.[8]
- Salmon oil: 20% of foods. Oil from salmon, a fish oil. A source of omega-3 fatty acids.[5][8]
- Animal fats: 18% of foods. Fat from land animals, such as pork or beef fat.[5] Provides energy, essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins.[8]
- Fish oil: 17% of foods. Oil obtained from fish or parts of fish.[5] A source of omega-3 fatty acids.[8]
Fruit, vegetables and herbs
- Carrot: 29% of foods. The root of the carrot, fresh or dried.[5] Fruit and vegetables are included to add variety.[8]
- Seaweed: 26% of foods. Dried and crushed seaweed, mainly brown algae.[5] Labels that say kelp are counted here. Dried seaweed is a natural source of iodine.[8]
- Apple: 18% of foods. Apple, often as pomace: the pulp and skins left after juicing, dried or pressed.[5]
- Cranberry: 15% of foods. Cranberries, whole or dried, or cranberry extract. Fruit is included to add variety.[8]
Extras, usually listed late
- Yeast: 30% of foods. A category name for yeasts whose cells have been killed and dried.[10] The catalogue lists brewers’ yeast as yeast grown mostly on plant material, such as molasses or cereals.[5]
- Chicory root (inulin): 27% of foods. Chicory root, or inulin, a fructan (a plant carbohydrate) that the catalogue says is extracted from chicory roots and other plants.[5] WikiVet lists inulin as a prebiotic.[8]
- Yucca: 25% of foods. Yucca schidigera. The catalogue lists it as pulverised Mojave yucca, or as juice pressed from the stems.[5]
- Glucosamine: 24% of foods. An amino sugar. The catalogue says it is produced from the shells of crustaceans and other arthropods, or by fermenting grain such as corn or wheat.[5] Hydrolysed crustaceans are counted here.
- Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS): 21% of foods. Fructo-oligosaccharides, or FOS, are made from beet sugar by an enzyme process.[5] Labels often call them a prebiotic.
- Chondroitin: 19% of foods. Chondroitin sulphate, extracted from tendons, bones and other animal tissues containing cartilage and soft connective tissues.[5]
- Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS): 13% of foods. Mannan-oligosaccharides, or MOS, are short chains of sugars. Labels often call them a prebiotic.
Broths, digests and hydrolysed protein
- Broth, stock and gravy: 22% of foods. Meat or vegetable stock, broth or gravy: the liquid part of the recipe. Gravies named for an animal, such as chicken gravy, are counted here and not under the animal.
- Hydrolysed protein: 16% of foods. Protein broken into smaller pieces, peptides and amino acids, by hydrolysis of animal by-products, then often dried.[5] Hydrolysed cartilage and hydrolysed liver are counted here.
Which animals are in dog food, and in what form
Across these foods, 88% name at least one animal as meat, meal, organ or fish. In 21% an animal ingredient goes by a general name, and in 8% the label never says which animal. “Meat and animal derivatives” is a category name, which the law allows in place of listing each ingredient.[7][10] The other general names below are ingredient names that do not say which animal.
- Poultry (bird not named): 10% of foods. The label says poultry, not which bird. It includes poultry meal, poultry meat and dried or dehydrated poultry protein. A poultry ingredient can be a mix of chicken, turkey, duck or goose parts.[8]
- Meat meal and animal protein (animal not named): 5% of foods. Whole animals or parts of land animals, heated, dried and ground. Some of the fat may have been taken out.[5] This group holds “meat meal”, “animal protein” and plain “poultry protein”, which do not say which animal.
- Meat and animal derivatives: 3.7% of foods. A category name for the meat, organs and other tissues of warm-blooded land animals. It can stand in for listing each one.[7][10]
- Meat and animal by-products: 2.6% of foods. Close in meaning to “meat and animal derivatives”. The catalogue describes animal by-products as whole or parts of warm-blooded land animals, fresh, frozen, cooked, acid treated or dried.[5]
| Animal | All foods | Dry | Wet | Raw | Fresh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 40% | 42% | 38% | 34% | 17% |
| Fish of any kind | 23% | 30% | 15% | 15% | 22% |
| Turkey | 23% | 25% | 22% | 16% | 26% |
| Beef | 15% | 5.6% | 22% | 40% | 30% |
| Other fish | 14% | 19% | 7.7% | 9.7% | 17% |
| Lamb | 14% | 12% | 14% | 21% | 17% |
| Salmon | 12% | 15% | 8.8% | 6.2% | 17% |
| Duck | 6.7% | 6.5% | 5.6% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Pork | 5.9% | 5.8% | 6.9% | 4.3% | 0% |
| Venison | 2.8% | 1.6% | 3.8% | 5% | 8.7% |
| Kangaroo, horse, goat, buffalo or ostrich | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.6% | 1.9% | 0% |
| Rabbit | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 2.3% | 0% |
| Game birds | 0.4% | 0.2% | 1.1% | 0% | 0% |
| Goose | 0.2% | 0% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0% |
The form matters as much as the animal, and the words on the list show it. Ingredients are weighed as they go into the mix, so “chicken” or “fresh chicken” is meat before cooking.[10] Words such as “dried”, “powder” or “meal” show that an ingredient went in dehydrated or concentrated, and it is listed at that weight.[10] A meal is made by heating, drying and grinding whole animals or parts of them, and some of the fat may be taken out.[5][8] Our score reads these forms too. How the score reads meat.
| Animal | Foods that name it | Fresh, raw or plain | Dried | Meal or protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 839 | 79% | 19% | 14% |
| Fish of any kind | 491 | 68% | 14% | 37% |
| Turkey | 481 | 59% | 23% | 23% |
| Beef | 323 | 86% | 3.1% | 7.4% |
| Lamb | 290 | 76% | 5.5% | 20% |
| Duck | 143 | 78% | 13% | 13% |
| Pork | 126 | 63% | 1.6% | 36% |
| Venison | 60 | 93% | 5% | 3.3% |
The form columns show how often each form is named among the foods that name the animal. A food can name more than one form, so a row can add up to more than 100%. A food that names the animal only in brackets after a general name, such as “meat and animal derivatives (4% beef)”, counts as naming it but has no form. Chicken is named as fresh, raw or plain in 79% of the foods that name it, and as a meal or protein in 14%. To leave an animal out, use the “free from” filter in the food directory.
How ingredients differ between dry, wet, raw and fresh food
The kind of food shapes what is on the list. The table shows how long a typical list is, what it starts with and what it names most often.
| Type | Foods | Typical number of ingredients | List starts with | Named most often |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry | 1,171 | 16 | chicken 28%, salmon 8.6%, poultry (bird not named) 8.3% | beet pulp 72%, linseed (flaxseed) 48%, yeast 46%, rice 43%, chicken 42% |
| Wet | 639 | 8 | chicken 27%, turkey 14%, beef 13% | chicken 38%, carrot 38%, peas 31%, broth, stock and gravy 28%, seaweed 27% |
| Raw | 258 | 6 | chicken 22%, beef 21%, lamb 10% | beef 40%, liver 35%, chicken 34%, seaweed 26%, carrot 24% |
| Fresh | 23 | 11 | turkey 26%, beef 17%, chicken 17% | chicory root (inulin) 61%, turmeric 61%, carrot 43%, chondroitin 39%, glucosamine 39% |
| Air-dried and freeze-dried | 29 | 11 | chicken 38%, beef 21%, turkey 14% | apple 90%, sweet potato 79%, carrot 72%, chicory root (inulin) 62%, pumpkin 52% |
Fresh food (23 foods) and air-dried and freeze-dried food (29 foods) are small groups, so read their percentages loosely. What sets each kind apart is easier to see against the others.
| Kind of food | Ingredient | In this kind | In all the others |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry | Beet pulp | 72% | 7.8% |
| Dry | Linseed (flaxseed) | 48% | 4.4% |
| Dry | Maize (corn) | 42% | 0.3% |
| Wet | Linseed oil | 16% | 2% |
| Wet | Carrot | 38% | 25% |
| Wet | Derivatives of vegetable origin | 14% | 2.6% |
| Raw | Liver | 35% | 5.8% |
| Raw | Beef | 40% | 12% |
| Raw | Heart | 18% | 1.5% |
| Fresh | Turmeric | 61% | 6.7% |
| Fresh | Chicory root (inulin) | 61% | 26% |
| Fresh | Ginger | 35% | 4.1% |
These are shares of foods that name an ingredient, not amounts. Our score compares all four types on one scale, and how UK dog foods score shows the results by type.
Vitamins, minerals and amino acids
A complete food meets a dog’s daily nutritional needs when it is fed as directed.[7] The FEDIAF nutritional guidelines set out the basic nutrient levels dogs need, and FEDIAF members follow them.[9] Added vitamins, minerals and amino acids are how many recipes reach those levels.[8]
88% of foods list an added vitamin, mineral or trace element: 97% of dry foods, 98% of wet foods and 20% of raw foods. We count only what the label states.
| Named on the label | All foods | Dry | Wet | Raw | Fresh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin D3 | 78% | 89% | 86% | 13% | 61% |
| Vitamin E | 68% | 80% | 69% | 14% | 74% |
| Vitamin A | 65% | 89% | 44% | 7% | 70% |
| Vitamin C | 17% | 27% | 6.6% | 2.7% | 0% |
| Zinc | 79% | 88% | 90% | 11% | 74% |
| Manganese | 72% | 82% | 80% | 7% | 74% |
| Iodine | 72% | 84% | 75% | 8.5% | 74% |
| Copper | 71% | 87% | 65% | 11% | 74% |
| Iron | 55% | 72% | 41% | 11% | 61% |
| Selenium | 44% | 68% | 15% | 7% | 39% |
| Taurine | 15% | 23% | 7.2% | 0% | 0% |
| L-carnitine | 13% | 20% | 3.9% | 0.4% | 30% |
| Methionine | 4% | 6% | 1.1% | 0% | 30% |
Additives: antioxidants, preservatives, colourants and flavourings
Feed law sorts additives by the job they do. Preservatives protect feed from spoilage by micro-organisms. Antioxidants prolong storage life by protecting against oxidation. Colourants add or restore colour. Flavouring compounds increase smell or palatability.[4] An additive cannot be used unless it is authorised.[3] The Food Standards Agency publishes the register for Great Britain.[6]
On a pet food label these four groups can be shown by group name alone, such as “antioxidants”. The maker must give the names on request.[2] So some labels name the additive and some do not.
| Named on the label | All foods | Dry | Wet | Raw | Fresh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tocopherols (vitamin E extracts used as antioxidants) | 18% | 31% | 0.9% | 0% | 30% |
| Rosemary extract | 8.7% | 15% | 1.4% | 0% | 0% |
| Ascorbyl palmitate | 1.2% | 2.1% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Citric acid | 1.6% | 2.8% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, propyl gallate or TBHQ | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Preservatives (group name or named) | 8.5% | 15% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0% |
| Colourants (group name or named) | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0% | 0% |
| Flavourings and palatability enhancers | 4.4% | 7.4% | 0.6% | 0% | 0% |
| Carrageenan | 0.6% | 0% | 1.9% | 0% | 0% |
| Gums (guar, locust bean, cassia, xanthan, gellan or acacia) | 3.3% | 0% | 11% | 0% | 0% |
| Lecithin | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0% | 0% |
| Probiotic cultures | 3.9% | 6.4% | 1.1% | 0% | 0% |
| Beta-carotene | 7.8% | 14% | 0.9% | 0% | 0% |
- Antioxidants. 35% of foods mention them. 56% of those name the antioxidant and 44% say only “antioxidants”. Tocopherol extracts from vegetable oils (a form of vitamin E) are named most often, in 18% of foods. Rosemary extract follows, in 8.7%. The Great Britain register lists tocopherol extracts, alpha-tocopherol and ascorbyl palmitate as antioxidants, and citric acid as a preservative.[6]
- Rosemary extract is a plant extract. The Great Britain register lists it as a flavouring compound, so a label may put it under flavourings rather than antioxidants.[6]
- Preservatives. 8.5% of foods mention preservatives, by group name or by naming one: 15% of dry foods and 0.6% of wet foods.
- Synthetic antioxidants. WikiVet describes BHA and BHT as synthetic antioxidant preservatives.[8] We counted foods that name BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, propyl gallate or TBHQ. No food in our data names any of them.
- Colourants. 6 foods (0.3%) mention a colourant, either by group name or by naming one.
- Flavourings. 4.4% of foods mention a flavouring or palatability enhancer.
- Gums and thickeners. 11% of wet foods name a gum such as guar, locust bean, cassia or xanthan, against 0% of dry foods. Gums are used to thicken gravies and give chunks structure.[8] Carrageenan, a gelling agent from seaweed, is named in 12 foods.
What our score does with ingredients
How common an ingredient is plays no part in a score. The score reads each list for how much meat is declared and what kind. It looks for signs of heavy processing. It works out starch from the analysis, so potato, peas and tapioca count like wheat. Each declared ingredient and additive is also matched against our ingredient knowledge base of 219 entries. The rules are on the methodology page. Pages may earn affiliate commission, which never changes a score or a ranking.
To read a label yourself, see how to read a dog food label. For the meat in a recipe, see how much meat is in dog food and chicken, lamb, beef or fish.
How we counted
- Foods. The 2,120 complete, scored foods the site ranks, as at 5 October 2026. Prescription diets and complementary foods such as toppers are left out.
- Names. We split each ingredient list into names with the same reader the score uses, drop amounts and brackets, and set vitamins, minerals and other additives aside. The one exception is an animal named in brackets after a general name, such as “meat and animal derivatives (min. 10% beef)”, which counts as named. “Typical number of ingredients” is the middle value of those names.
- Grouping. Names that mean the same thing count together, using our knowledge base (version 2.4.0). A name it does not know counts under its own name.
- Animals. A name counts towards every animal it mentions as meat, meal, protein, organ or whole fish, so “chicken and turkey meal” counts for both. Fats, oils, digests, broths, flavours, hydrolysates, eggs and joint extras have their own lines, so “chicken fat” is poultry fat, not chicken.
- Forms. Fresh or raw, dried, and meal or protein, as the score reads them. The form is read from the name as written, so “Turkey (dried turkey 28%)” counts as the plain name.
- Vitamins and additives. Found by searching the whole label, ingredients and additives together, for the name or its group word. Claims such as “no artificial colours” are ignored.
- Shares. A share is the foods that name an ingredient divided by the foods in that group. It says nothing about the amount.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 767/2009, Article 17, legislation.gov.uk
- Regulation (EC) No 767/2009, Annex VII (labelling of additives in pet food), legislation.gov.uk
- Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003, Article 3 (placing on the market, processing and use), legislation.gov.uk
- Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003, Annex I (additive groups), legislation.gov.uk
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 68/2013, Catalogue of feed materials, Part C, legislation.gov.uk
- Authorised Regulated Food and Feed Products for Great Britain: feed additive authorisations, Food Standards Agency
- Pet food labelling (fact sheet FS39, June 2024), UK Pet Food
- Common Ingredients Used In Pet Food (reviewed April 2017), WikiVet
- Nutritional Guidelines for Complete and Complementary Pet Food for Cats and Dogs (2025), FEDIAF
- Code of Good Labelling Practice for Pet Food (October 2019), FEDIAF
This guide is general information, not veterinary advice. Spotted an error? Tell us.