Open Farm Dog Food Ingredients
Open Farm manufactures roughly 22 different dog food products.
Each product utilizes a unique set of ingredients to achieve a desired nutritional profile.
In this article, we'll explore Open Farm ingredients and answer many of the most common questions.
As of right now, our records indicate that Open Farm uses roughly
107 different ingredients.
First 5 Ingredients
Dog food ingredients in the United States are listed in descending order of pre-cooked weight.
The first 5 ingredients typically constitute a significant portion of the recipe.
For Open Farm, these are the most common ingredients found within the first
5 dog food ingredients.
- beef
- garbanzo bean
- ocean whitefish meal
- carrot
- green bean
As you can see, the most common first ingredient in Open Farm is
beef. The most common 2nd ingredient is
garbanzo bean, followed by ocean whitefish meal,
carrot, and green bean.
Artificial Food Coloring Dyes
Open Farm does not use any artificial food coloring dyes. According
to our records, none of the 22 Open Farm dog foods
contain artificial food dyes.
Artificial food coloring dyes are unnecessary and potentially harmful ingredients. In general,
we not not recommend feeding any pet foods that contain artificial dyes.
In 2010, the CSPI raised serious concerns regarding the safety of many artificial dyes. Most
of the studies referenced by the CSPI involved prolonged or excessive consumption. Since most
dogs consume the same foods throughout their lives, concerns raised by the CSPI are alarming
to say the least.
To read more about Artificial Food Dyes,
click here.
Animal By-Products
According to our records, Open Farm does not contain any animal by-products.
Animal by-products are basically the leftover parts of the the carcass after
its been processed for meat. AAFCO defines by-products as the non-rendered,
clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals.
Although by-products are still fairly nutritious ingredients, consumers have equated them with
slaughterhouse waste. Therefore, most premium brands, including Open Farm have
decided to remove by-products and instead use named organ meats (beef liver, chicken gizzards).
For further reading on the controversy over animal by-products,
click here.
Anonymous Meat Ingredients
Anonymous meats are inexpensive low-quality ingredients that can come from practically any
animal. These type of ingredients are often used to produce very inexpensive dog foods.
In general, we prefer ingredients which specify the animal source used to derive the ingredient.
For example, ingredients such as duck fat are much better than animal fat or poultry fat.
In our analysis, we've looked through all 107 Open Farm
ingredients. According to our data, Open Farm does not contain any
anonymous animal-based ingredients.
Controversial Ingredients
Brands which do not use any controversial ingredients are typically top-of-the-line. Avoiding
all controversial ingredients indicates that the brand has not sacrificed quality for
cost savings.
Our research indicates that Open Farm is one of these top-notch brands. We've
looked through all 107 Open Farm ingredients and none
of these ingredients were classified as controversial in our system
Potentially Harmful Ingredients
Harmful ingredients are those which have been linked to adverse health effects. In general,
we do not recommend feeding any product which contains any harmful ingredients.
During our review, none of the Open Farm ingredients analyzed were classified
as harmful by our system. The absence of harmful ingredients is indicative of a
relatively premium dog food brand.
Open Farm Dog Food Ingredient Lists