Purina Beyond Dog Food Review (Canned)

Mike Sagman

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Mike Sagman
Mike Sagman

Mike Sagman

Founder

Dr Mike Sagman is the creator of the Dog Food Advisor. He founded the website in 2008, after his unquestioning trust in commercial dog food led to the tragic death of his dog Penny.

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Updated: March 21, 2024

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Which Purina Beyond Recipes Get Our Best Ratings?

Purina Beyond canned dog food receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4.5 stars.

The Purina Beyond product line includes the 8 canned dog foods listed below.

Each recipe includes its AAFCO nutrient profile when available… Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Purina Beyond Beef, Potato and Green Bean Recipe Ground Entrée 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.


Purina Beyond Beef, Potato and Green Bean Recipe Ground Entrée

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

36.4%

Protein

27.3%

Fat

28.3%

CarbsCarbohydrates

Beef, beef broth, chicken, liver, potatoes, green beans, inulin, guar gum, salt, minerals [potassium chloride, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, potassium iodide], sodium selenite, carrageenan, choline chloride, vitamins [vitamin E supplement, niacin (vitamin B-3), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B-1), calcium pantothenate (vitamin B-5), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B-6), vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin supplement (vitamin B-2), vitamin A supplement, folic acid (vitamin B-9), vitamin D-3 supplement, biotin (vitamin B-7)]


Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 1.5%

Red denotes any controversial items

Estimated Nutrient Content
Method Protein Fat Carbs
Guaranteed Analysis 8% 6% NA
Dry Matter Basis 36% 27% 28%
Calorie Weighted Basis 28% 51% 22%

Ingredient 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 broth. Broths are of only modest nutritional value. Yet because they add both flavor and moisture to a dog food, they are a common component in many canned products.

The third ingredient is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.2

The fourth ingredient is 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’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.

The fifth ingredient lists potatoes. Potatoes can be considered a gluten-free source of digestible carbohydrates. Yet with the exception of perhaps their caloric content, potatoes are of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

The sixth ingredient includes green beans, a healthy vegetable notable for its vitamin, mineral and natural fiber content.

The seventh ingredient is inulin, a starch-like compound made up of repeating units of carbohydrates and typically sourced from chicory root.

Not only is inulin a natural source of soluble dietary fiber, it’s also a prebiotic used to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in a dog’s digestive tract.

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 Purina product.

With 3 notable exceptions

First, we find carrageenan, a gelatin-like thickening agent extracted from seaweed. Although carrageenan has been used as a food additive for hundreds of years, there appears to be some recent controversy regarding its long term biological safety.

The article, The Carrageenan Controversy, published in Scientific American, does a good job of addressing this topic.

Next, this recipe contains sodium selenite, a controversial form of the mineral selenium. Sodium selenite appears to be nutritionally inferior to the more natural source of selenium found in selenium yeast.

And lastly, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually associated with higher quality dog foods.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Purina Beyond canned dog food looks like an above-average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 36%, a fat level of 27% and estimated carbohydrates of about 28%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 39% and a mean fat level of 22%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 30% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 59%.

Which means this Purina product line contains…

Near-average protein. Near-average fat. And above-average carbs when compared to a typical canned dog food.

Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a wet dog food containing a moderate amount of meat.

Our Rating of Purina Beyond Canned Dog Food

Purina Beyond includes both grain-free and grain-inclusive canned dog foods using at least a moderate amount of named meats as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4.5 stars.

Highly recommended.

Related Topics

Readers interested in Purina wet dog food may also wish to check out these popular pages, too…

Purina Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Purina through December.

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

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More Purina Reviews

The following Purina dog food reviews are also posted on this website:

Sources

1, 2: Association of American Feed Control Officials

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