What's actually in Pedigree?
We analyzed Pedigree Complete Nutrition Adult Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable. The first five ingredients are ground whole grain corn, meat and bone meal, soybean meal, animal fat (preserved with BHA and citric acid), and corn gluten meal.
Ground whole grain corn — not a protein, not particularly nutritious for dogs — is the very first ingredient. That means corn is the most abundant component in this food by weight. Meat and bone meal at number two is one of the lowest-quality protein sources in commercial pet food: it's an unnamed, rendered mix from unspecified animals. You don't know what species it came from. Soybean meal at number three is a new addition to the top of the ingredient list — another plant protein used to inflate the crude protein percentage on the label without delivering the complete amino acid profile dogs get from animal sources. Animal fat preserved with BHA and citric acid at number four still raises preservative concerns (more on that below), though citric acid as a co-preservative is an improvement over the old BHT pairing. Corn gluten meal at number five is yet another plant protein filler. Chicken by-product meal — the only named animal protein on the bag — has dropped to number eight, meaning by the time you reach any named animal ingredient, you're already seven items deep. Shop on Amazon →
The good stuff
We're reaching here, but: there is some whole chicken further down the ingredient list. Carrots, peas, rice, and beet pulp all make appearances. The food meets AAFCO standards for complete and balanced nutrition, which means it won't leave your dog with an outright nutritional deficiency.
The price is low. That's not nothing when you're feeding a large dog on a tight budget.
The not-so-good stuff
The corn-first structure is the single biggest issue. With ground whole grain corn as ingredient one and corn gluten meal still in the top five, the formula leans hard on a grain that offers little nutritional value to dogs beyond cheap calories. Meat and bone meal at number two compounds the problem: it's an unnamed, rendered protein source from unspecified species, and it's one of the lowest-quality named ingredients the industry uses.
Animal fat preserved with BHA is still a genuine concern. BHA is classified as a possible carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and most mid-tier and premium brands moved away from it years ago in favor of natural alternatives like mixed tocopherols (vitamin E). The current formula pairs BHA with citric acid as a co-preservative — an improvement over the old BHA/BHT combination, and worth noting — but BHA itself is still the preservative we'd want removed.
Artificial colors are still present further down the ingredient list (historically Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 2, and Yellow 6). Your dog does not care what color their kibble is. These dyes exist purely for the owner's benefit and serve zero nutritional purpose. Several of these colorings have been linked to health concerns in studies, and they are banned or restricted in food products in some countries.
The protein is overwhelmingly plant-based. Between soybean meal, corn gluten meal, the corn base, and chicken by-product meal as the only named animal protein (now at number eight), the actual quality animal protein content is likely a fraction of what the label suggests. The protein percentage on the bag is inflated by cheap plant sources that don't provide the complete amino acid profile dogs need.
How it compares
Pedigree's D/37 is no longer alone at the bottom — it now ties with Alpo at D/37. The current F-tier grocery brands are Kibbles 'n Bits (F/15) and Ol' Roy (F/20), which sit notably below Pedigree. Moving up the shelf, Iams now scores C/63 — 26 points above Pedigree, a meaningful but closable gap.
If budget is the constraint, Purina ONE and Diamond Naturals both score meaningfully higher (C/58 and B/78 respectively) for a modest price increase. Diamond Naturals, at roughly $10–15 more per bag, scores 41 points higher than Pedigree. That's the single most impactful upgrade a budget-conscious dog owner can make.
Read the full breakdowns in our head-to-head comparisons: Pedigree vs Purina ONE, Alpo vs Pedigree, and SportMix vs Pedigree.
The bottom line
Pedigree earns a D grade (37/100) from KibbleIQ — a below-average formula with legitimate concerns, but no longer the worst-in-class score it once held. Corn as the first ingredient, soybean meal now in the top three, BHA as a preservative, and artificial colors further down all keep it well below what we recommend. If budget allows any flexibility at all, switch — a C-tier option like Purina ONE or a B-tier one like Diamond Naturals delivers a real nutritional step up for only a modest price difference. Shop on Amazon →
Sources
- AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) ingredient-naming. “Meat and bone meal” is defined as the rendered product from mammal tissues, unspecified-species; our rubric treats any unspecified-species protein as a deduction.
- FDA Pet Food Recall & Withdrawal Database. Pedigree has had multiple recalls historically (foreign material, bag-integrity); the FDA database aggregates the full history by brand.
- NRC Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats nutrient baselines. Pedigree's guaranteed analysis meets AAFCO minimums; NRC provides the independent reference the minimums were derived from.