10 is rachael ray dog food made in usa Ideas

Is Rachael Ray a good dog food?

In this review… The Dog Food Advisor takes a comprehensive look at Rachael Ray Nutrish Dog Food… and its 6 most popular sub-brands.

We’ll also reveal…

1. Is Rachael Ray Dog Food made in the United States?
2. Has Rachael Ray Dog Food been recalled?
3. Which flavors and recipes get our top ratings?

But first…

Which Rachael Ray Sub-Brand Is Best for You?

In the section below, you’ll find Rachael Ray’s six most popular sub-brands. We’ll also share what makes each different. So you can choose the food that best suits your dog.

A Quick Guide to Rachael Ray’s Sub-Brands

Still not sure which Rachael Ray sub-brand is right for you? This short video from Chewy can help.

Who Makes Rachael Ray Dog Food?

Rachael Ray Nutrish was purchased from Ainsworth Pet Nutrition in 2018 by Big Heart Pet Brands… a division of The J. M. Smucker Company of Orville, Ohio.

All dry foods are produced in the United States. Wet recipes are made in Thailand.

Has Rachael Ray Dog Food Been Recalled?

Here’s a list of all recalls since 2009 related to Rachael Ray dog products. Updates are added as soon as new recalls are posted.

No recalls noted

View a complete list of all dog food recalls here.

Get Free Lifesaving Recall Alerts

Get free recall alerts by email. Subscribe to The Dog Food Advisor’s recall notification list.

Is Rachael Ray a Good Dog Food?

Rating:

Rachael Ray Nutrish Dog Food earns The Advisor’s second-highest rating of 4 stars.

Individual Recipe Ratings

The Rachael Ray Nutrish product line includes 8 dry dog foods.

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

Use the following links to check prices and package sizes at an online retailer.

Product	Rating	AAFCO
Rachael Ray Nutrish Little Bites	4	A
Rachael Ray Nutrish Bright Puppy	4	A
Rachael Ray Nutrish Real Beef, Pea and Brown Rice	4	M
Rachael Ray Nutrish Real Chicken and Veggies	4	M
Rachael Ray Nutrish Turkey, Brown Rice and Venison	4	M
Rachael Ray Nutrish SuperMedleys Wellness Blend	4	M
Rachael Ray Nutrish SuperMedleys Vitality Blend	4	M
Rachael Ray Nutrish Large Breed	3.5	A

Recipe and Label Analysis

Rachael Ray Nutrish Real Chicken and Veggies 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.

Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken. Although it is a quality item, raw chicken contains up to 73% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost, reducing the meat content to just a fraction of its original weight.

After processing, this item would probably account for a smaller part of the total content of the finished product.

The second ingredient is chicken meal. Chicken meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken.

The third ingredient includes dried peas. Dried peas are a good source of carbohydrates. Plus they’re naturally rich in dietary fiber.

However, dried peas contain about 27% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

The next ingredient is soybean meal, a by-product of soybean oil production more commonly found in farm animal feeds.

Although soybean meal contains 48% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

The fifth ingredient is corn. Corn is an inexpensive and controversial cereal grain. And aside from its energy content, this grain is of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

For this reason, we do not consider corn a preferred component in any dog food.

The sixth ingredient is beet pulp. Beet pulp is a controversial ingredient, a high fiber by-product of sugar beet processing.

Some denounce beet pulp as an inexpensive filler while others cite its outstanding intestinal health and blood sugar benefits.

We only call your attention here to the controversy and believe the inclusion of beet pulp in reasonable amounts in most dog foods is entirely acceptable.

The seventh ingredient is chicken fat. This item is obtained from rendering chicken, a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.

Chicken fat is high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid essential for life. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing, chicken fat is actually a quality ingredient.

The eighth ingredient is pea starch, a paste-like, gluten-free carbohydrate extract probably used here as a binder for making kibble. Aside from its energy content (calories), pea starch is of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

The ninth ingredient lists corn gluten meal. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once corn has had most of its starchy carbohydrate washed out of it.

Although corn gluten meal contains 60% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that can’t be ignored when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

Other Notable Ingredients

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 Nutrish product.

With 4 notable exceptions…

First, this recipe contains alfalfa nutrient concentrate, a vitamin and mineral-rich extract made from alfalfa.

Even though it contains over 50% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And plant-based products like this can notably affect the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

Next, we find no mention of probiotics, friendly bacteria applied to the surface of the kibble after processing to help with digestion.

In addition, 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, this recipe contains menadione, a controversial form of vitamin K linked to liver toxicity, allergies and the abnormal break-down of red blood cells.

Since vitamin K isn’t required by AAFCO in its nutrient profiles, we question the use of this item in any canine recipe.

Nutrient Summary

Based on its ingredients alone, Rachael Ray Nutrish Dog Food appears to be an average dry dog food.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 29%, a fat level of 16% and estimated carbohydrates of about 48%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 29% and a mean fat level of 15%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 48% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 52%.

Which means this Rachael Ray product line contains…

Above-average protein. Near-average fat. And near-average carbs when compared to a typical dry dog food.

When you consider the protein-boosting effect of the dried peas, soybean meal, corn gluten meal and alfalfa, this looks like the profile of a kibble still containing a notable amount of meat.

Our Rating of Rachael Ray Dog Food

The Dog Food Advisor finds Rachael Ray to be an above-average, grain-inclusive kibble. The recipe uses a notable amount of fresh meat and named meat meal as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand 4 stars. Nutrish Peak and Nutrish Dish each get 4.5 stars.

Highly recommended.

What Do Others Say About Rachael Ray?

As of the time of this update…

Chewy customers rate Rachael Ray 4.5 out of 5 stars… and 92% say they would recommend it to others.

Here’s an actual user review…

Sample buyer review… “When the food arrived we knew something was different than the other foods we have used because both dogs immediately followed me into the pantry and sniffed the bag from top to bottom. They actually were drooling when I was putting the food into their bowls. I have not had to ‘enhance’ their meals and they don’t leave until their bowls are empty. For us that is well worth the price for this brand.”

Read more buyer reviews at Chewy.com

---

What Are Rachael Ray’s Best Recipes?

Based on the weighted average of their popularity and ratings, here are our 7 most recommended Rachael Ray flavors and recipes.

• Rachael Ray Nutrish Natural Chicken and Veggies Dry
• Rachael Ray Nutrish Natural Beef, Pea, and Brown Rice Dry
• Rachael Ray Nutrish Just 6 Natural Lamb Meal and Brown Rice Dry
• Rachael Ray Nutrish Zero Grain Natural Turkey and Potato Grain-Free Dry
• Rachael Ray Nutrish Peak Grain-Free Natural Open Range RecipeDry
• Rachael Ray Nutrish Dish Natural Chicken and Brown Rice Dry
• Rachael Ray Nutrish Natural Hearty Beef Stew Wet

---

More Rachael Ray Reviews

Here are more Rachael Ray dog food reviews published by The Dog Food Advisor on this website.

---

---

A Final Word

The Dog Food Advisor is privately owned. We do not accept money, gifts, samples or other incentives in exchange for special consideration in preparing our reviews.

However, we do receive a referral fee from online retailers (like Chewy or Amazon) and from sellers of perishable pet food when readers click over to their websites from ours. This helps cover the cost of operation of our free blog. Thanks for your support.

For more information, please visit our Disclaimer and Disclosure page.

Important FDA Alert

The FDA is investigating a potential link between diet and heart disease in dogs. Click here for details.

References

11/16/2021 Last Update