Review of Nutro Pate Dog Food Cups

Nutro Pate Dog Food receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4.5.

The Nutro Pate product line includes the 2 wet dog food cups 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

Nutro Pate Tender Beef Recipe Grain Free was selected to represent both products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.

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 chicken 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

Chicken is also naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by canines to sustain life.

The fourth ingredient is beef liver, an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The fifth ingredient is dried egg product, a dehydrated form of shell-free eggs. Quality can vary significantly. Lower grade egg product can even come from commercial hatcheries — from eggs that have failed to hatch.

In any case, eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

The sixth ingredient is potassium chloride, a nutritional supplement sometimes used as a replacement for the sodium found in table salt.

The seventh ingredient is tomato, a nutrient rich vegetable consisting of about 72% carbohydrates.

The eighth ingredient is calcium carbonate, likely used here as a dietary mineral supplement.

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 Nutro product.

With 4 notable exceptions…

First, we find dried yams, a dehydrated item usually made from the by-products of potato processing. In much of North America, the word yam can be used interchangeably with the term sweet potatoes.

In most cases, dried yam can contain about 10% dry matter protein which can have a slight affect on our estimate of the total meat content of this recipe.

Next, carrageenan is 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.

In addition, with the exception of magnesium, 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.

And lastly, we note the use of sodium hexametaphosphate, a man-made industrial polymer with no known nutritive value.

HMP is used in making soap, detergents, water treatment, metal finishing and most likely here to decrease tartar build-up on the teeth.

Although some might disagree, we’re of the opinion that food is not the place for tartar control chemicals or any other non-nutritive substances.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Nutro Pate Dog Food looks like an above-average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 52%, a fat level of 27% and estimated carbohydrates of about 13%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 49% and a mean fat level of 30%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 14% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 61%.

Which means this Nutro product line contains…

Above-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical wet dog food.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the dried yams, this still looks like the profile of a moist dog food containing a significant amount of meat.

Our Rating of Nutro Pate Dog Food

Nutro Pate in cups is a grain-free moisture-rich dog food using a significant amount of named meats as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4.5 stars.

Highly recommended.

Nutro Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 related to Nutro.

• Nutro Dog Treats Recall of December 2015 (12/13/2015)
• Nutro Dog Food Recall (10/4/2009)

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

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More Nutro Brand Reviews

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

• Nutro Cuts in Gravy Dog Food Review (Cups)
• Nutro Dog Food Review
• Nutro Limited Ingredient Diet Dog Food Review (Canned)
• Nutro Limited Ingredient Diet Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Nutro Natural Choice Hearty Stew Dog Food Review (Canned)
• Nutro Premium Loaf Dog Food Review (Canned)
• Nutro Puppy Food Review (Cups)
• Nutro Ultra Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Nutro Ultra Grain-Free Dog Food Review (Tubs)
• Nutro Wholesome Essentials Dog Food Review (Dry)