Beneful Dog Food 2022 Review, Rating & Recalls

Beneful Dog Food brand is a well-known brand that does wet dog food, dry dog food, and dog treats owned by Purina, which is in turn owned by Nestle. It is one of the most affordable brands, albeit every now and then some of the products stand at a lower quality. Still, consumers love an affordable product.

They claim to be the fourth most popular dog food brand on the market, yet their online ratings show they might actually be less popular than they claim. Read on to learn more about Beneful dog food and our rating, reviews, and recall info with this guide!

We’ll also cover…

1. Is Beneful dog food made in the United States?
2. Has Beneful dog food been recalled?
3. Which flavors and recipes have the healthiest nutrients?

But first…

Which Beneful Dog Food Sub-Brand Is Right for You?

Here are Beneful Dog Food’s 5 most popular sub-brands. 

Image	Product	Features	Price
	Beneful Originals Dry Dog Food with Farm-Raised Beef No artificial preservatives, colors or flavors With accents of spinach, peas and carrots Made with farm-raised beef	8.3	Check Price
	Purina Beneful Healthy Weight with Farm-Raised Chicken Dry Dog Food Weight-management dog food recipe Contains 10% less calories than Purina Beneful Originals with Farm-Raised Beef Made with U.S. farm-raised chicken	8.1	Check Price
	Purina Beneful Dry Dog Food, Playful Life With Real Beef & Egg New recipe with #1 real beef, egg, accented with blueberries and spinach High-quality protein made in tender and crunchy bites Available in 14lb bag	8.4	Check Price
	Purina Beneful High Protein Chicken & Beef Dry Dog Food No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives Recipe with chicken and beef blend Made with natural ingredients	8.1	Check Price
	Purina Beneful Natural Superfood Blend With Salmon Dry Dog Food Natural salmon is the #1 ingredient Has superfoods like chia seeds, cranberries and accents of kale No animal by-product meal	8.5	Check Price

Beneful Dog Food Brand – Overview

Much like Beneful’s price tag, Beneful’s popularity remains on the lower end of average.

Do People Like Beneful Dog Food? Why Or Why Not?

It has been standing at a mid-tier rating of 3 stars. The company’s rating likely dropped after a 2015 class-action lawsuit regarding the use of propylene glycol and mycotoxins as potentially poisonous (also even possibly deadly) ingredients in Beneful products.

Propylene glycol is a chemical used in automobile antifreeze that is an especially toxic ingredient to animals. The case was dismissed even though the FDA did confirm their products do contain the chemical and mycotoxins in question. The FDA also confirmed these are harmful to animals.

Beneful also has a history of recalls on their products: the Beneful Prepared Meals, Beneful Chopped Blends, and Pro Plan Savory Meals 10 oz wet dog food cans in March 2016 for the lack of the recommended amount of vitamins and minerals on their products and the 3.5-pound bags of Purina One Beyond in August 2013 due to possible contamination of salmonella. This likely means that Beneful’s credibility is likely still damaged and it has affected their score. Unfortunately, however, they are not the only brand with a history of recalls.

The Purina Beneful Dog Food has been found to be a below-average dry product. On average, their brand features a protein content of 29%, a mean fat level of 15%, a carbohydrate content of 49%,  and a fat-to-protein ratio of about 50% for the overall product line. These statistics translate to the content of near-average protein, near-average fat, and near-average carbs when they are compared to other dry dog foods. They are a low-average quality product, but as mentioned earlier, they are also a budget-friendly option if you are in need of a cheaper option.

They also sometimes list meat products as their main ingredient when in reality, there is not nearly as much of that ingredient inside. Beneful Dog Food also has a lower amount of protein than Purina One, however, this is not a very significant difference that would be noticeable. They have the same amount of protein for their wet dog food products.

What Are Some Of Beneful Dog Food’s Products?

Both Beneful Dog Food and Purina have several different product lines. They have both dry dog food and wet dog food products featuring beef, chicken, salmon, and sometimes lamb. They also have different types of dog treat products. Here are some Beneful Dog Food products as well as other product lines:

Beneful Dry Dog Food Recipes:

• Beneful Grain-Free Dry Dog Food with Farm-Raised Chicken
• Beneful Healthy Puppy Dry Dog Food with Farm-Raised Chicken
• Beneful Healthy Weight Dry Dog Food with Farm-Raised Chicken
• Beneful IncrediBites Small Dog Dry Food with Farm-Raised Beef
• Beneful IncrediBites Small Dog Dry Food with Farm-Raised Chicken
• Beneful Originals Dry Dog Food with Farm-Raised Chicken
• Beneful Originals Dry Dog Food with Farm-Raised Beef
• Beneful Playful Life Dry Dog Food with Farm-Raised Beef
• Beneful Protein-Rich Dry Dog Food With Natural Lamb and Venison
• Beneful Superfood Blend Dry Dog Food with Salmon

Incredibites Wet Dog Food Recipes:

• With Beef, Tomatoes, Carrots, and Wild Rice
• With Chicken, Tomatoes, Carrots, and Wild Rice
• With Salmon, Tomatoes, Carrots, and Wild Rice

Chopped Blends Wet Dog Food Recipes:

• With Beef, Carrots, Peas, and Barley
• With Chicken, Carrots, Peas, and Wild Rice
• With Turkey, Sweet Potatoes, Brown Rice, and Spinach
• With Salmon, Sweet Potatoes, Brown Rice, and Spinach
• With Chicken, Liver, Peas, Brown Rice, and Sweet Potatoes
• With Lamb, Brown Rice, Carrots, Tomatoes, and Spinach

Medleys Wet Dog Food Recipes:

• Tuscan Style Medley with Beef, Carrots, Rice, and Spinach
• Romana Style Medley with Chicken, Carrots, Pasta, and Spinach
• Mediterranean Style Medley with Lamb, Tomatoes, Brown Rice, and Spinach

Prepared Meals Wet Dog Food Recipes:

• Beef Stew with Peas, Carrots, Rice, and Barley
• Chicken Stew with Rice, Carrots, Peas, and Barley
• Simmered Beef Entrée with Carrots, Barley, Wild Rice, and Spinach
• Simmered Chicken Medley with Green Beans, Carrots, and Wild Rice
• Beef & Chicken Medley with Green Beans, Carrots, and Wild Rice
• Roasted Chicken Recipe with Pasta, Carrots, and Spinach
• Roasted Turkey Medley with Corn, Wild Rice, Peas, and Barley
• Savory Rice & Lamb Stew with Peas, and Carrots

Dog Treats:

• Dog Bones
• Dog Chews
• Dog Dental Chews & Treats
• Dog Jerky & Strips
• Rawhides & Roll Hides

What is Inside Some Of Beneful Dog Food’s Products?

It is more than important for every responsible dog owner to know what they are feeding their loving companion. Of course, every dog is different, and different breeds have different needs, which is why it is important to not only know what is in your dog’s food but if that is what your furry friend needs.

Not to worry, since there is plenty of expert advice available to you and your pet. In this section, we will give you a dog food review. We will give you a fill ingredient list and find out what exactly Beneful is putting in their products, and whether they could be harmful, or simply unnutritious for your best friend, so you can give only the best pet food to them. You are able to find all of these products on Amazon.

Purina Beneful IncrediBites with Real Chicken

Purina Beneful IncrediBites with Real Chicken is made with chicken, whole grain corn, barley, whole grain wheat, soybean meal, rice, poultry by-product meal, beef fat, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, glycerin, egg and chicken flavor, oatmeal, salt, calcium carbonate, natural flavor, dried sweet potatoes, dried spinach, vitamins, and minerals.

Beneful has a tendency to put something in their products that is indigestible and absolutely unnutritious for dogs of all ages. It is corn gluten meal, and it is not useful at all. It seems that the reason it is included at all in their food is that it is filling, which makes their food cheaper to produce.

Now, if you are on this website, then we can assume this is not a standard you will be satisfied with. However, you are always able to supplement your pet’s food with a little extra home-cooked meal or store-bought supplements every now and then. The kibble on this product is also appealing to dogs of all ages.

Purina Beneful High Protein Chicken & Beef

Purina Beneful High Protein Chicken & Beef is a product for dogs that need quite a lot of protein in their diet, whether they exercise often, they are older and need more strength, they are younger and need to grow, or they are new mothers or mothers to be.

This product features chicken, whole grain corn, whole grain wheat, corn gluten meal, beef fat, canola meal, soybean meal, chicken by-product meal, oatmeal, natural flavor, mono And dicalcium phosphate, glycerin, barley, brewers rice, beef, calcium carbonate, salt, malted barley flour, dried sweet potatoes, dried spinach, potassium chloride, vitamins, minerals, choline, and chloride.

It features around 26% protein content which is not a very good percentage. This is because the beef, which is advertised in the name of the product, is actually a ridiculously low percentage. This is very deceiving on the part of Beneful. Also, much like many of this company’s products, it contains corn gluten meal.

This is often used as a meat substitute and a plant-based protein source yet it does not add any real nutritional content to the meal. In the specific product, brewer’s rice is also used, which are just the milled fragments of rice kernels. They also provide very little nutritional value. It also includes whole-grain corn, which is hard for dogs to digest.

Purina Beneful Incredibites For Small Dogs With Real Beef:

Purina Beneful Incredibites For Small Dogs With Real Beef is made with beef, chicken by-product meal, whole grain corn, barley, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, beef fat, whole grain wheat, rice, glycerin, egg and chicken flavor, oatmeal, calcium carbonate, mono and dicalcium phosphate, salt, natural flavor, potassium chloride, dried carrots, dried peas, iron oxide (it provides color), vitamins, minerals, choline, and chloride. The protein level stands at 27% and there are no added sugars.

The issue with this product is that most of the mixture is composed of grains and not composed of meat. Some of these are good grains yet some of these grains are bad. An example of a good grain that is included is barley that provides fiber for digestion and abundant micronutrients like selenium and copper. At the same time, an example of a bad grain included is whole grain corn. The whole grain corn is not only low in nutritional value, but it is also not grounded so it is not easily digested by dogs.

Purina Beneful Grain-Free With Farm-Raised Chicken:

Purina Beneful Grain-Free With Farm-Raised Chicken is made with chicken, pea starch, cassava root flour, chicken meal, soybean germ meal, soybean meal, canola meal, beef fat, dried beet pulp, natural flavor, soybean oil, salt, blueberries, dried pumpkin, dried spinach, potassium chloride, mono And dicalcium phosphate, choline, chloride, calcium carbonate, minerals, and vitamins. The protein level stands at 24%, which is quite low. This product does not feature nearly enough meat content, even though it still meets the requirements of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).

What this product does have is a decent amount of other types of content, such as carbohydrates and fiber. Pea starch is flour made from a yellow field pea and it provides a great alternative to grains when it comes to carbohydrate content. It is similar in nutritional value to sweet potatoes. Carbohydrates are important to give your dog energy, only second on the list to protein.

This is why it is also important to know what kind of carbohydrates you are giving your dog. Cassava root flour also has significant amounts of dietary fiber that helps with your dog’s digestion. Unlike other products on this list, the Purina Beneful Grain-Free With Farm-Raised Chicken is made without any allergenic products and is absolutely free from gluten, fillers, wheat, corn, artificial anything, additives, and animal by-products meals. We consider that to be an improvement from the previous dog food products we have seen.

Beneful Originals With Real Salmon:

Beneful Originals With Real Salmon is made with salmon, whole grain corn, barley, rice, whole grain wheat, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, beef fat, oatmeal, soybean meal, poultry by-product meal, glycerin, egg and chicken flavor, mono And dicalcium phosphate, soybean oil, poultry and pork digest, calcium carbonate, salt, potassium chloride, dried sweet potatoes, dried green beans, dried carrots, minerals, iron oxide (it provides artificial colors), vitamins, choline chloride, and L-lysine monohydrochloride. The total protein content is 24%, which again, is quite low.

As we have mentioned before, corn (both present as whole grain corn and corn gluten meal in this recipe) is hard for dogs to digest. It is also one of the most common food allergies for dogs so if you are worried your dog might be sensitive to certain foods, you should definitely avoid recipes that include corn. This recipe does, however, meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials). The manufacturer has also claimed that the recipe has recently been updated and approved as of 2016 to keep up with Beneful’s new commitment to quality proteins, although protein level is still low.

Purina Beneful Healthy Weight With Real Chicken:

Purina Beneful Healthy Weight With Real Chicken is made with chicken, chicken by-product meal, whole grain corn, soybean hulls, barley, whole grain wheat, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, rice, poultry by-product meal, glycerin, egg and chicken flavor, beef fat, poultry and pork digest, oatmeal, calcium carbonate, salt, dried apples, dried carrots, dried green beans, mono and dicalcium phosphate, potassium chloride, choline chloride, iron oxide (added for color), minerals, vitamins, and L-lysine monohydrochloride. The protein level stands at 25 percent as well as 10 percent fewer calories in the Healthy Weight line as compared to the Purina Beneful Originals Beef recipe. There are no added sugars in this recipe either.

While this product is an improvement in terms of protein level (the protein level is actually what the Association of American Feed Control Officials prescribes for adult dogs), it still does contain whole grain corn and corn gluten meal, which is both hard for dogs to digest and provides very little nutritious value.

Purina Beneful Chopped Blends With Turkey, Sweet Potatoes, Brown Rice & Spinach:

Purina Beneful Chopped Blends With Turkey, Sweet Potatoes, Brown Rice & Spinach is made with turkey broth, turkey, wheat gluten, sweet potatoes, liver, brown rice, meat by-products, corn starch-modified, spinach, salt, soy flour, tricalcium phosphate, minerals, choline chloride, and vitamins.

This is a wet dog food that Beneful produces. Wet dog foods, in general, offer meat that is less processed. At the same time, the sealed cans can also keep the food fresher for longer, which reduces the risk for preservatives or binders. This product stands at 76 percent moisture level, which is ideal.

The biggest issue with this product is its inclusion of “meat by-products”. While most animal by-products are safe according to the Pet Nutrition Alliance, this is an unnamed meat source. It is absolutely something to distrust, and it is a significant lack of transparency by Beneful. This product, however, unlike most of the others mentioned, does not include either whole-grain corn or corn gluten meal which is unnutritious, allergenic, and hard for dogs to digest.

This recipe is low in cholesterol, saturated fat, and has amino acids, which are traits shared by the best dog foods. They have sweet potatoes, which are low in fat but high in fiber, brown rice, which contains fiber, vitamin D, and carbs, and liver, which provides vitamin A. It also has turkey instead of chicken. Turkey has less allergenic potential than chicken and it also provides protein, carb, and fat content, and its zinc, potassium, and vitamin B6 and B12 levels are higher.