Unrated

PeopleFud cooked frozen dog food receives the Advisor’s top rating of 5 stars.

The PeopleFud product line includes three cooked frozen dog foods.

However, since we’re unable to locate AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements for these dog foods on the product’s web page, it’s impossible for us to report specific life stage recommendations for these recipes.

The following is a list of recipes available at the time of this review.

• Stu’s Beef Stew
• Gunther’s Gluten Free Beef Stew
• Maverick’s Grain Free Bison Stew

Gunther’s Gluten Free Beef Stew was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

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.²

Beef is naturally rich in all ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The second 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 third ingredient is beef stock. Broths are nutritionally empty. But because they add both flavor and moisture to a dog food they are a common addition component in many canned products.

The fourth ingredient is carrots. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.

The fifth ingredient is vegetable stock, another broth similar to the one previously discussed.

The sixth ingredient includes beans, legumes naturally high in dietary fiber and other healthy nutrients.

However, beans contain about 25% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

The seventh ingredient is sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are a gluten-free source of complex carbohydrates in a dog food. They are naturally rich in dietary fiber and beta carotene.

The eighth ingredient is potato. 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 ninth ingredient is green beans, a healthy vegetable notable for its vitamin, mineral and natural fiber content.

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 product.

With four notable exceptions…

First, we note the inclusion of buckwheat flour. Buckwheat is a carb-heavy fruit similar to rhubarb and notable for its gluten-free seeds.

Contrary to popular belief, buckwheat is not a true cereal grain.

Next, flaxseed is one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

In addition, garlic can be a controversial item. Although most experts favor the ingredient for its numerous health benefits, garlic (in rare cases) has been linked to Heinz body anemia in dogs.³

However, the limited professional literature we surveyed provided no definitive warnings regarding the use of garlic — especially when used in small amounts (as it likely is here).

And lastly, we find no added vitamins or minerals on the ingredients list. We would assume these essential nutrients are provided by the food ingredients in the recipe.

PeopleFud Cooked Frozen Dog Food
The Bottom Line

Judging by its ingredients alone, PeopleFud looks like an above-average wet dog food.

But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 40%, a fat level of 18% and estimated carbohydrates of about 35%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 40% and a mean fat level of 20%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 32% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 49%.

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

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the beans and flaxseed, this looks like the profile of a wet product containing a notable amount of meat.

In addition, we note both the Gunther and Maverick products are completely grain free.

Unfortunately, since we find no added vitamins or minerals and no AAFCO statements, we have some reservations as to whether or not these products are nutritionally “complete and balanced”.

Bottom line?

PeopleFud is a meat-based cooked frozen dog food using a notable amount of beef and bison as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.

Enthusiastically recommended.

Notes and Updates

10/19/2010 Original review