Grain-Free Whitefish & Sweet Potato Recipe with Salmon Meal Dry Dog Food, 30-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Evanger's Grain-Free Whitefish & Sweet Potato Recipe is a dry dog food with whitefish as its primary protein.
This formula includes quality fat sources like sunflower oil and menhaden fish oil, providing beneficial EPA and DHA. It also features named fish like salmon meal and buffalo meal, which add diverse, highly bioavailable protein to the diet.
The biggest watch item is the lack of an AAFCO statement, meaning its nutritional completeness is unverified. There's also high legume stacking, with lentils and peas appearing early in the ingredient list.
Good fit for adult dogs whose owners want a grain-free diet with diverse protein. Less ideal if you need a verified AAFCO statement or are concerned about legume stacking.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Good fit for adult Labrador Retrievers navigating weight management. Working in its favor: crude fiber (5%) helps satiety. At 395 kcal/cup this formula runs on the moderate side, with crude fiber at 5% (above the catalog median, supports satiety). The landmark 14-year Purina Lifespan Study on 48 Labrador Retrievers demonstrated that dogs fed 25% fewer calories lived a median of 1.8 years longer and delayed the onset of chronic diseases. According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention's 2023 survey, 59% of dogs in the United States were classified as overweight or obese by their veterinary healthcare professional, representing an estimated 55 million dogs (APOP, 2023) .
Looking at this for adult Labrador Retrievers or Labrador Retrievers with weight management ? We are building dedicated pages for these combinations.
Auto-matched from this product's measurements (ingredients, life stage, calorie density) to a breed archetype. Not a substitute for vet input on your specific dog.
Research informing this analysis
MethodologyThe Sniff System grades this product against 3 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.
- Brooks et al., 2014diagnostic · protocol · satiety· cited in 5 claims
- APOP, 2023prevalence
- Raffan et al., 2016genetics
Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Middle-of-pack grade. 54/100 (C) reflects the structural fit of this formula against The Sniff System's eight scoring components. Fat quality did the heavy lifting (+12 points): Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source). What capped it: the score can't exceed 59 because the AAFCO nutritional adequacy statement isn't disclosed on the retailer page (so our methodology can't verify the formula meets adult, growth, or all-life-stages standards). Removing the cap alone wouldn't change the band. AAFCO compliance is the deeper issue.
Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).
Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein.
No AAFCO statement. Nutritional completeness unverified.
Contains high legume stacking. Multiple pulse-family ingredients in top 15. Mitigated by taurine supplementation or organ meat (natural taurine precursor) in top 10..
- Top 3% for fat quality in Evanger's's lineup (12/16)
- Bottom 10% for DMB protein in Evanger's's lineup (30.0%)
- Top quartile for carb quality in Evanger's's lineup (11/16)
Computed against the rest of our catalog. Percentiles refresh on each catalog update.
Similar dog foods worth considering
Three lenses on products with formulation profiles similar to this one.
Evanger's Super Premium Chicken with Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food, 33-lb bag
Scores 23 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Wholesomes Grain-Free Whitefish Meal & Potatoes Formula Dry Dog Food, 35-lb bag
$1.49/lb vs your seed's $3.00/lb (50% less) at a comparable score.
Merrick Grain-Free Real Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe Dry Dog Food, 4-lb bag
Salmon instead of whitefish, 19 points higher, different brand.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.
- 1protein animalwhitefish meal
Whitefish cooked into a dry concentrate. Strong protein source, common in premium formulas.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2vegetablesweet potato
Complex carb with fiber and beta-carotene. Gentle on the stomach.
Position 2: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 3legumelentils
Same concern as peas. Affordable plant protein, but when they pile up in the top 5 ingredients, it's a flag. See why →
Position 3. Pulse-family ingredient this high in the deck is a notable build choice. When stacked with other pulses in the top 10, matches the formulation pattern the FDA flagged in its diet-associated DCM investigation.
- 4legumepeas
Cheap protein bulk. Fine in small amounts, but when peas stack with lentils and chickpeas in the top ingredients, it's the pattern the FDA flagged in its heart-disease investigation. See why →
Position 4. Within the FDA's top-5 DCM-pattern threshold. Especially notable if multiple pulses stack here.
- 5buffalo meal
- 6fatsunflower oil
Common plant oil. Useful in moderation for omega-6, though too much skews the omega ratio against the dog's favor.
Position 6: secondary fat. Often where marine oils sit when present alongside a primary land-animal fat.
- 7tapioca starch
Refined cassava starch, used as a binder. Easy to digest, low on nutrition.
- 8protein animalsalmon meal
Salmon cooked into a dry concentrate. Carries both protein and natural omega-3s in one ingredient. See why →
Position 8: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 9protein plantpea protein
Concentrated plant protein. Inflates the protein number on the label without matching the amino acid quality of meat.
Position 9. Moderate inclusion. Contributes carbohydrate and some plant protein.
- 10fatflaxseed
Plant source of omega-3. Helpful for skin and coat, though dogs absorb omega-3 from fish more efficiently.
Position 10: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 11othernatural flavors
Same as natural flavor. Usually hydrolyzed liver or broth, adds palatability.
- 12fatmenhaden fish oil
Omega-3 from menhaden, a small oily fish. Same skin and coat support as salmon oil.
Position 12. Moderate marine-oil inclusion. Supplements EPA/DHA without being the primary fat.
- 13fatcoconut oil
Saturated fat with medium-chain triglycerides. Mostly marketing in the doses kibble uses, but harmless.
Position 13: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 14pumpkin meal
- 15supplementdried kelp
Natural source of iodine and trace minerals. A common premium-brand inclusion.
- 16monosodium phosphate
Mineral source and preservative. Standard inclusion at small doses.
- 17supplementdl-methionine
Essential amino acid. Often added when plant proteins dominate, since methionine is naturally lower in pulses than meat.
- 18mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 19mineralcalcium carbonate
Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.
- 20supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 21mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 22fructooligosaccharide
Prebiotic fiber, often abbreviated FOS. Feeds beneficial gut bacteria.
- 23fruitcranberries
Often added with a urinary-tract-support marketing angle. Real cranberry compounds help in concentrate form, but kibble doses are small.
- 24fruitblueberries
Antioxidants, real. But the amount in any kibble is too small to do much. Mostly marketing.
- 25supplementyucca schidigera extract
Plant extract added to reduce stool odor. Functional, not nutritional. Fine in trace amounts.
Showing first 25 of 39. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
23 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.