Is Your Pet's Food Ultra Processed?
How industrial processing affects pet food quality, which ingredients to watch for, and what less processed alternatives look like. A practical guide for dog and cat owners.
Important: Veterinary Disclaimer
This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute veterinary advice. Dogs, cats, and other pets have specific nutritional requirements that differ significantly from humans. Nutrient deficiencies in pets can cause serious health problems, including organ damage, within weeks or months.
Always consult a licensed veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist before making changes to your pet's diet. The information below is intended to help you ask better questions and make more informed choices -- not to replace professional veterinary guidance.
The Pet Food Processing Problem
If you have spent time learning about ultra-processed foods in the human diet, you may have started looking at your pet's food with new eyes. The parallels are striking. Most commercial pet food -- particularly dry kibble -- undergoes extreme industrial processing that would place it firmly in NOVA Group 4 (ultra-processed) if the same classification were applied to animal feed.
The pet food industry is a $60+ billion market in the United States alone, and it has followed many of the same trajectories as the human food industry: consolidation into a handful of major corporations, increasing reliance on industrial ingredients, extensive use of additives and flavor coatings, and marketing language that often obscures what is actually in the bag or can.
A growing number of pet owners are asking the same question they ask about their own food: does the level of processing matter? While the research on ultra-processed food and pet health is far less developed than the human research, the underlying concerns about nutrient degradation, additive exposure, and whole-food displacement apply across species.
Why Pet Owners Are Paying Attention
$60B+
US pet food market annually
95%
Of commercial pet food is extruded or canned
30-50+
Typical ingredient count in mass-market kibble
How Pet Food Is Made
Understanding how pet food is manufactured helps explain why processing level matters. The dominant production methods involve significant heat, pressure, and chemical treatment that fundamentally alter the original ingredients.
Extrusion (Kibble)
Kibble is produced through a process called extrusion, which is essentially the same technology used to manufacture breakfast cereals, puffed snacks, and industrial pellets. Raw ingredients are ground into a slurry, mixed with water and steam, then forced through an extruder at temperatures of 150-200 degrees Celsius (300-400 degrees Fahrenheit) under extreme pressure. The mixture is pushed through a die that shapes the kibble pieces, then rapidly dried in an oven.
This process destroys many heat-sensitive nutrients, including certain B vitamins, vitamin C, and specific amino acids like taurine and lysine. It also denatures proteins, altering their structure and potentially reducing digestibility. To compensate, manufacturers spray the finished kibble with a synthetic vitamin and mineral premix, plus a "digest" or fat coating to make the otherwise unappetizing pellets palatable to animals.
Processing level: Extreme. The original ingredients are unrecognizable in the final product.
Canning (Wet Food)
Canned pet food involves mixing ingredients, filling cans or pouches, sealing them, and then heat-sterilizing (retorting) at temperatures around 121 degrees Celsius (250 degrees Fahrenheit). While still an industrial process, canning generally subjects ingredients to lower temperatures than extrusion and retains more moisture, which is particularly beneficial for cats.
Processing level: Moderate to high. Ingredients are more recognizable, and nutrient retention is generally better than extrusion.
Raw, Freeze-Dried & Dehydrated
Raw pet food is sold frozen or refrigerated and undergoes minimal thermal processing. Freeze-drying removes moisture through sublimation (freezing then vacuum-drying) without high heat, preserving more nutrients and enzymes than any thermal process. Dehydrated food uses low temperatures (typically under 70 degrees Celsius) over longer periods to remove moisture.
Processing level: Minimal to moderate. Ingredients are typically recognizable, and nutrient profiles are closer to whole-food sources.
Key takeaway: The same meat, grain, and vegetable ingredients can produce wildly different products depending on how they are processed. A chicken breast and a chicken-flavored kibble piece share almost nothing in common nutritionally, despite both being labeled as "chicken." Processing is the variable that determines nutrient availability, digestibility, and additive load. The same principle applies to human ultra-processed foods.
Common UPF Ingredients in Pet Food
Many of the same industrial additives found in human ultra-processed foods appear on pet food labels. Some are unique to the pet food industry. Here are the most common ones to recognize when reading your pet's food label.
| Ingredient | What It Is | Concern |
|---|---|---|
| Meat by-products / by-product meal | Rendered parts excluding muscle meat (organs, bones, blood, intestines). Quality varies wildly. | Medium |
| Corn gluten meal / wheat gluten | Cheap plant protein used to boost protein percentages on the label without adding meat. | Medium |
| Artificial colors (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2) | Synthetic dyes added purely for human appeal. Dogs are dichromatic; cats have limited color vision. The pet cannot see the difference. | High |
| BHA / BHT | Synthetic antioxidant preservatives. BHA is listed as a possible carcinogen by some agencies. Often present in fat sources used in pet food even when not listed on the final label. | High |
| Propylene glycol | Humectant used in soft/semi-moist treats and food to maintain chewy texture. Banned in cat food by the FDA due to toxicity risk, but still permitted in dog food and treats. | High |
| Animal digest | A flavor coating made by chemically hydrolyzing animal tissue. Sprayed onto kibble after extrusion to make it palatable. The source animal is often unspecified. | Medium |
| Corn / wheat / soy (as primary ingredients) | Cheap fillers that provide calories but are not biologically optimal for carnivores or omnivores like dogs. Often appear multiple times via ingredient splitting. | Medium |
| Menadione (vitamin K3) | A synthetic vitamin K supplement banned from human food and supplements but still commonly used in pet food. Can cause liver toxicity at high doses. | Medium |
The artificial color paradox: Dogs are dichromatic (they see roughly in blue and yellow tones), and cats have similarly limited color perception. Artificial dyes in pet food serve absolutely no purpose for the animal -- they exist solely to make the product look appealing to the human buying it. If a pet food contains Red 40 or Yellow 5, it is a clear signal that marketing considerations outweigh nutritional ones. The same principle applies to artificial colors in human food.
Reading Pet Food Labels
Pet food labels are regulated by AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials), but the rules differ from human food labeling in important ways. Understanding these differences helps you see past marketing claims.
Key Label Terms Decoded
Better Indicators
- "Chicken" (named protein first) -- Whole meat listed first means it is the primary ingredient by weight before cooking. However, whole meat is ~70% water, so after cooking, the actual meat content may be lower than it appears.
- "Chicken meal" -- Rendered and dried chicken with moisture removed. Despite sounding worse, it actually contains more protein per gram than whole chicken because the water has been removed. A quality protein source.
- "Human grade" -- Must be produced in a human-food-certified facility with human-grade ingredients. One of the more meaningful marketing claims, as it requires USDA verification.
- Mixed tocopherols (vitamin E) -- Natural preservative. A good sign that the manufacturer avoids synthetic preservation.
Warning Signs
- "Meat meal" or "animal meal" (unnamed) -- The protein source is unspecified, which means it can come from any animal. Named sources ("chicken meal") are always preferable.
- "Chicken by-product meal" -- Rendered from parts other than clean meat: necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, intestines. Lower quality and less digestible than named meat or meat meal.
- Ingredient splitting -- Listing "ground corn, corn gluten meal, corn bran" separately so each appears lower on the label than the combined corn total would rank.
- "With flavors of..." -- AAFCO "flavor" rule requires only a detectable amount. "Beef flavor" dog food may contain almost no actual beef.
The AAFCO Naming Rules
AAFCO has specific rules about how product names correspond to ingredient content. These rules reveal a lot about what is actually in the bag.
| Product Name | Required % of Named Ingredient | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| "Chicken Dog Food" | 95% | Must be 95% chicken (excluding water for processing) |
| "Chicken Dinner / Entree / Platter" | 25% | Only 25% needs to be chicken. The qualifier word is the giveaway. |
| "Dog Food with Chicken" | 3% | Only 3% chicken required. The word "with" signals minimal content. |
| "Chicken Flavor Dog Food" | 0% | No minimum. Must only contain enough to be "detectable." Often achieved with digest sprays. |
Label-reading tip: The same skills that help you read human food labels apply here. Look past the front of the package and go straight to the ingredient list. If you want to build your label-reading skills for both human and pet food, our how to read food labels guide covers the foundational principles.
Less Processed Alternatives
A growing market of less processed pet food options has emerged in recent years. Each comes with trade-offs in cost, convenience, safety, and nutritional completeness. Here is an honest look at the main alternatives to conventional kibble.
Freeze-Dried Raw
Whole ingredients are frozen and then vacuum-dried, preserving nutrients without high heat. Reconstituted with water before serving. Retains more vitamins, enzymes, and amino acids than any thermal process.
- Pros: Minimal processing, long shelf life, nutrient-dense
- Cons: Expensive (3-5x kibble cost), limited availability
- Processing level: Low
Raw Frozen Diets
Uncooked meat, bones, organs, and vegetables sold frozen. The least processed commercial option, but carries real pathogen risks.
- Pros: Minimal processing, closest to ancestral diet
- Cons: Salmonella/E. coli risk, requires freezer space, most expensive option, FDA advises against
- Processing level: Minimal
Fresh Prepared (Gently Cooked)
Brands like The Farmer's Dog, JustFoodForDogs, and Nom Nom use whole ingredients cooked at lower temperatures than extrusion. Typically delivered frozen or refrigerated on a subscription basis.
- Pros: Recognizable ingredients, lower processing, formulated to AAFCO standards
- Cons: Expensive (2-5x kibble), requires refrigeration, shorter shelf life
- Processing level: Low to moderate
Dehydrated Food
Whole ingredients dried at low temperatures (under 70 degrees Celsius) to remove moisture. Reconstituted with warm water before serving. A middle ground between raw and kibble.
- Pros: Good nutrient retention, lightweight, long shelf life
- Cons: Moderate cost, requires preparation time
- Processing level: Low to moderate
A Warning About Homemade Diets
Preparing your pet's food at home gives you full control over processing and ingredients, but it carries serious nutritional risks. Studies consistently show that the majority of homemade pet food recipes -- including many published in books and on veterinary websites -- are nutritionally incomplete or unbalanced.
Dogs and cats have specific requirements for calcium, phosphorus, taurine (critical for cats), and other micronutrients that are difficult to meet without expert formulation. If you want to prepare homemade food, work with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist (DACVN) to create a balanced recipe specific to your pet's species, breed, age, and health status.
Cost reality: Less processed pet food typically costs 2-5 times more than conventional kibble, which puts it out of reach for many pet owners. This is a legitimate barrier, not a failure of commitment. The recommendations in the next section offer practical ways to reduce processing even when budget is a constraint.
Practical Recommendations
You do not need to overhaul your pet's entire diet overnight. Even small changes can reduce the overall processing load. Here are actionable steps sorted by impact and accessibility.
Choose Named Proteins First
Look for a specific, named animal protein as the first ingredient: "chicken," "salmon," "beef" -- not "meat meal," "animal by-products," or "poultry by-product meal." Named proteins indicate a more transparent, higher-quality sourcing approach.
Minimize the Ingredient List
Just as with human food, shorter ingredient lists generally signal less processing. Compare products within the same category: if one kibble has 15 ingredients and another has 45, the shorter list is usually the better choice. Avoid products where the ingredient list reads like a chemistry textbook.
Reject Artificial Colors and Flavors
This is the easiest line to draw. Any pet food containing artificial colors (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2) is prioritizing shelf appeal over your pet's health. Your dog or cat literally cannot see those colors. Similarly, "artificial flavors" signal that the base ingredients are not palatable on their own. There are plenty of options at every price point that avoid both.
Add Whole Foods to Kibble
If switching away from kibble entirely is not practical, you can reduce the overall processing load by adding whole foods as toppers or mix-ins. Lightly steamed vegetables (green beans, carrots, sweet potato), plain cooked eggs, a spoonful of plain canned pumpkin, or small amounts of cooked lean meat can add nutrition and variety. Keep additions to 10-20% of the total diet to avoid unbalancing the formulation, and confirm safe foods with your veterinarian.
Look for Natural Preservatives
Choose products preserved with mixed tocopherols (vitamin E), rosemary extract, or citric acid instead of BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin. Natural preservatives mean shorter shelf life, so buy appropriately sized bags and store properly. This single swap eliminates some of the most concerning synthetic additives in the pet food supply.
Brands That Tend to Use Fewer Additives
Without endorsing specific brands, certain categories of pet food companies tend toward shorter ingredient lists and fewer synthetic additives. These include:
- Limited ingredient diet (LID) brands -- Designed for pets with sensitivities, these formulas intentionally minimize ingredient count.
- Fresh/refrigerated pet food companies -- The subscription-model brands that ship fresh or frozen meals typically use recognizable whole-food ingredients.
- Smaller, independent manufacturers -- Often more transparent about sourcing and processing methods than large conglomerates.
Always verify by reading the actual ingredient list, regardless of brand reputation or marketing claims.
The mixing strategy: Many veterinary nutritionists consider a "rotational" or "mixed" feeding approach reasonable -- for example, kibble as a base with fresh food toppers, or alternating between kibble and canned food. This reduces reliance on any single heavily processed product while keeping costs manageable. Use our product search to research the processing level of specific human food ingredients you might consider adding.
A Note on Pet Nutrition Science
It is important to acknowledge the limitations of current knowledge. The research on ultra-processed food and health is largely focused on humans. While the general principles of nutrient degradation through extreme processing, additive exposure, and whole-food displacement are reasonable to consider across species, pet nutrition science has significant gaps compared to human nutrition research.
Different Nutritional Needs
Cats are obligate carnivores who require specific nutrients (taurine, arachidonic acid, preformed vitamin A) that they cannot synthesize from plant sources. Dogs are omnivores but with different amino acid, vitamin, and mineral requirements than humans. What constitutes a "healthy" diet for a human does not translate directly to a dog or cat. For example, grapes, onions, garlic, xylitol, and chocolate are toxic to dogs despite being safe (or even healthy) for humans.
Limited Long-Term Studies
There are no pet-food equivalents of the large-scale human cohort studies (like the NIH feeding trial or the Harvard Nurses' Health Study) that have driven the ultra-processed food conversation. Most pet nutrition research is industry-funded and focuses on meeting minimum nutrient thresholds rather than comparing processing methods. The absence of strong evidence does not mean processing does not matter -- it means we do not yet have rigorous data specific to companion animals.
The Veterinary Perspective
Most conventional veterinarians recommend commercial pet food (often specific brands) because it is formulated to meet AAFCO standards for complete and balanced nutrition. This is a reasonable position given the risks of nutritional deficiencies from improperly formulated homemade or alternative diets. A growing number of integrative and holistic veterinarians advocate for less processed options, but this remains a minority position within the profession.
Do Not Apply Human UPF Rules Directly
The NOVA classification system was designed for human food. Applying it directly to pet food without adaptation would be misleading. Some ingredients that are concerning in human food (like organ meats or bone meal) are actually nutritionally appropriate for dogs and cats. Conversely, some "healthy" human foods are dangerous for pets. Use ultra-processed food awareness as a lens for asking better questions, not as a rigid framework to impose on pet nutrition.
The Bottom Line for Pet Owners
Understanding ultra-processed food principles can help you make more informed choices about your pet's diet. But this awareness should complement -- not replace -- veterinary guidance. Before making any significant dietary changes:
- Consult your veterinarian about your specific pet's needs, health conditions, and life stage
- Make changes gradually to avoid digestive upset (transition over 7-10 days)
- Ensure nutritional completeness regardless of processing level -- a nutritionally incomplete raw diet is worse than a nutritionally complete kibble
- Monitor your pet's health through regular veterinary checkups including bloodwork
Frequently Asked Questions
Is kibble bad for dogs?
Kibble is not inherently dangerous, and millions of dogs live long, healthy lives eating it. However, the extrusion process used to manufacture kibble subjects ingredients to extremely high temperatures (150-200 degrees Celsius) and pressures that can degrade heat-sensitive nutrients like certain vitamins, amino acids, and fatty acids. Manufacturers compensate by adding synthetic vitamin and mineral premixes after cooking. The concern is less about immediate harm and more about the cumulative effect of a lifetime diet built entirely on heavily processed food. Many veterinary nutritionists recommend high-quality kibble brands that use named protein sources, minimal fillers, and no artificial colors or preservatives. If budget or lifestyle requires kibble, choosing one with a short, recognizable ingredient list is a meaningful improvement over brands with 40+ ingredients.
Are raw diets safer than kibble?
Raw diets are less processed than kibble, but they are not automatically safer. Raw meat carries real risks of bacterial contamination from Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli -- which can affect both pets and the humans who handle the food. The FDA, AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), and most veterinary organizations advise against raw diets due to these pathogen risks. Additionally, homemade raw diets are frequently nutritionally incomplete unless carefully formulated by a veterinary nutritionist. Commercial raw diets from reputable manufacturers undergo pathogen testing and are formulated to meet AAFCO standards, which reduces but does not eliminate these risks. Raw feeding is a personal choice that should be made with full awareness of both the processing trade-offs and the food safety considerations.
Should I feed my cat wet or dry food?
Both wet and dry cat food are processed, but they differ in important ways. Wet (canned) food typically undergoes less extreme processing than extruded kibble and provides significantly more moisture, which is important because cats evolved as desert animals and often do not drink enough water on their own. Chronic low-grade dehydration from dry-food-only diets is associated with increased risk of kidney disease and urinary tract problems in cats. From a processing standpoint, canned food often has shorter ingredient lists and fewer artificial additives than kibble, though this varies widely by brand. Many veterinarians recommend a combination of wet and dry food, or primarily wet food, especially for cats prone to urinary issues. Check the ingredient list regardless of format -- a high-quality dry food with five named ingredients is preferable to a low-quality canned food loaded with by-products and thickeners.
Are grain-free pet foods less processed?
Not necessarily. Grain-free pet foods simply replace grains (corn, wheat, rice) with other carbohydrate sources like potatoes, sweet potatoes, lentils, peas, or chickpeas. The overall level of processing is typically identical -- these products still go through extrusion, contain synthetic vitamin premixes, and often include the same additives as grain-containing formulas. In fact, the FDA issued a warning in 2019 about a potential link between grain-free diets and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a serious heart condition, in dogs. The investigation is ongoing, but the suspected mechanism involves legume-heavy formulations (peas, lentils, chickpeas) interfering with taurine absorption. Grain-free is a marketing distinction, not a processing distinction. Unless your pet has a diagnosed grain allergy (which is rare in dogs and cats), there is no established benefit to grain-free food, and there may be risks.
How do I read a pet food ingredient label?
Pet food labels follow AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) guidelines. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight before cooking. Look for a named animal protein as the first ingredient -- "chicken" or "salmon" rather than "meat meal" or "animal by-products." Be aware of ingredient splitting, where manufacturers list multiple forms of the same filler separately (ground corn, corn gluten meal, corn bran) so that each appears lower on the list than the combined total would warrant. Check for artificial colors (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2) -- these serve no nutritional purpose and pets are largely colorblind. Avoid BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin as preservatives when possible. The term "meal" (as in "chicken meal") actually means a concentrated, rendered protein source and is not inherently bad -- it contains more protein by weight than whole chicken, which is mostly water. "By-product meal" is the lower-quality version. The AAFCO statement on the label tells you whether the food meets minimum nutritional standards.
Continue Learning
What Are Ultra-Processed Foods? →
Understand the science and classification behind ultra-processing in the human food supply
Ingredients to Avoid →
A category-by-category guide to the most common UPF additives in human food
How to Read Food Labels →
Master label reading with practical tips that apply to both human and pet food
Disclaimer: All tools and data visualizations are provided for educational and informational purposes only. They are not intended as health, medical, or dietary advice. Product formulations change frequently — always check the actual label for current ingredients and nutrition facts before making purchasing decisions. Consult healthcare professionals for personalized dietary guidance.