9 Dog Food Ingredients to Avoid (and What to Look For Instead)

The dog food ingredients most worth skipping are synthetic preservatives (BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin), propylene glycol, added sugars, artificial colors, and animal ingredients that don't name their species. Each one has a regulator's action or a clear labeling reason behind it. Look instead for named proteins and fats, a preservation system built on mixed tocopherols and rosemary extract, and AAFCO's "complete and balanced" statement.

In 2007, one pet food maker recalled more than 60 million containers of wet food, and the problem traced back to a single ingredient: wheat gluten that had been spiked with melamine. No label could have warned anyone. That's worth keeping in mind, because the ingredients worth avoiding in dog food come in two kinds. Some are printed right on the bag. Others never are.

This guide covers both. For each ingredient you'll find why manufacturers use it, what regulators have actually done about it, and what to look for instead. Starches, corn, and by-products are a separate conversation, covered in our guide to fillers in dog food.

Dog Food Ingredients to Avoid at a Glance

The first nine rows are the ones worth skipping. The last four show up on a lot of avoid lists but have a real job in the food.

Synthetic Preservatives to Avoid in Dog Food

Every dog food with fat in it needs something to keep that fat from oxidizing. Rancid fat smells off, tastes off, and loses its vitamins. The question is what does the job. Synthetic antioxidants are cheap and last a long time on the shelf. Natural ones cost more and expire sooner. Three synthetics are worth skipping.

1. BHA and BHT

BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are petroleum-derived antioxidants used in fats, oils, and kibble coatings. California added BHA to its Proposition 65 list in 1990. That's the state's list of chemicals that require a consumer warning label. BHT isn't on that list, and its research record is mixed.

Both are still legal in pet food. The reason to skip them is simple: mixed tocopherols and rosemary extract do the same job, and plenty of foods at every price point already use them. When an equal food without BHA or BHT is on the same shelf, there's no reason to accept them. You'll also see TBHQ and propyl gallate on some labels. Same category, same advice.

2. Ethoxyquin

Ethoxyquin is a synthetic antioxidant that has been used in animal feed since the 1950s. It's permitted in U.S. animal food at up to 150 parts per million, and when it's added, the label has to say so. In 1997 the FDA asked pet food makers to voluntarily cut the maximum level in dog food in half, from 150 to 75 parts per million (Whole Dog Journal). In 2017 the European Union went further and suspended ethoxyquin as a feed additive for all animal species.

The catch is fish meal. Fish meal is often stabilized with ethoxyquin before it ever reaches a pet food plant, so it can arrive in a food the manufacturer never added it to. If a food you're considering uses fish meal, ask the company how its fish meal is preserved. A brand that knows will answer in one line.

Additives That Show Up in Soft Foods and Treats

Soft, chewy foods and treats need ingredients that hold moisture and keep the texture pliable. Some of those ingredients are fine. These three are worth a second look.

3. Propylene Glycol

Propylene glycol is a humectant. It holds water in semi-moist foods and soft treats so they don't dry out. It's permitted in dog food, but the FDA prohibits it in cat food, having found it hasn't been shown to be safe for cats.

That's reason enough to keep it out of a house where a cat might steal a dog treat. It's also easy to avoid. Vegetable glycerin does the same moisture-holding job, and it's what most soft treats made with simpler ingredient lists use instead.

4. Corn Syrup and Added Sugar

Corn syrup, sugar, and sucrose turn up in semi-moist foods and treats, where they add sweetness and keep the texture soft. Dogs have no nutritional need for added sugar, and it adds calories without adding anything else. In a daily food, it's a clear skip. In a treat, check where it sits and what form it takes. A little molasses binding a baked biscuit is a different thing from corn syrup listed second in a soft chew.

5. Sodium Nitrite

Sodium nitrite is used in some canned foods and jerky as a preservative and to keep meat looking pink. Federal rules allow it in canned pet food at no more than 20 parts per million. This one is lower priority than the others on the list. If two canned foods are otherwise equal, choose the one without it. Your dog doesn't care what color the food is.

6. Artificial Colors in Dog Food

Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Blue 2 are there for the person holding the bag. Dogs choose food by smell, and colored kibble pieces add nothing for them. Regulators have been moving on synthetic dyes in human food. In January 2025 the FDA revoked authorization for Red No. 3 in food. Pet food wasn't explicitly covered, and AAFCO still lists it for animal food, though it's rarely used there (Petfood Industry). In April 2025 the FDA announced a plan to phase six petroleum-based dyes out of the U.S. food supply by the end of 2026, relying mostly on voluntary industry action. That plan doesn't mention pet food either.

A 2022 review in Environmental Health looked at the human and animal research on synthetic dyes and concluded current intake limits may not fully protect sensitive children. There's no comparable research in dogs. None of these actions reach pet food, so for now it comes down to reading the label. Since color does nothing for your dog, there's no trade-off in skipping it.

Vaguely Named Animal Ingredients

Animal ingredients aren't the problem. Unnamed ones are. A label that names the species tells you what your dog is eating and makes the ingredient more consistent from bag to bag.

7. Unnamed Meat Meal and Meat and Bone Meal

A meal is meat that has been cooked and dried into a concentrated powder. A named meal, like chicken meal or lamb meal, is a dense, legitimate protein source. Because the water is already gone, a named meal near the top of the list is often a steadier sign of animal protein than fresh meat in first position.

"Meat meal" and "meat and bone meal" are different. AAFCO defines meat meal as rendered mammal tissue without naming the animal (AAFCO). The species can change from batch to batch, and the bone content can run high. Ash, the mineral portion, can reach 20% or more depending on the source (Petfood Industry). Choose "beef meal" over "meat meal," and "chicken meal" over "poultry meal." Our guide to sources of protein for dogs compares the named options.

8. Unnamed Animal Fat

Fat is one of the most valuable things in a dog's bowl. It carries fat-soluble vitamins, supplies essential fatty acids, and is a big part of why food tastes good to a dog. "Chicken fat" and "beef tallow" tell you the source. "Animal fat" can come from any mammal or bird, and like an unnamed meal, it can change from batch to batch. Pick the named fat.

9. Artificial and Unnamed Flavors

Artificial flavors do turn up in dog food, but what you'll see more often is "flavor," "natural flavor," or "animal digest," a liquid coating sprayed on kibble to make it smell better. Flavor coatings aren't harmful in themselves. The test is the same one used for meals and fats: "chicken digest" tells you the source, and "animal digest" doesn't. A food that leans heavily on added flavor is usually making up for a base that wouldn't appeal on its own.

What You Can't Read on a Label: Melamine and Aflatoxin

Some of the biggest risks in pet food history never appeared on an ingredient list.

Melamine is an industrial chemical used in plastics. In 2007, suppliers added it to wheat gluten because it fools the standard test for protein into reading higher. The contaminated gluten led to the recall of more than 60 million containers of wet pet food, including products made for several national brands (AVMA).

Aflatoxin is a mold toxin that can form on corn stressed by drought or stored in humid conditions. The FDA considers pet food adulterated above 20 parts per billion. In 2021 it issued a warning letter to a pet food maker after aflatoxin from contaminated corn was found in its dry dog food (Petfood Industry).

You can't screen for either one by reading a bag. What you can do is ask a brand how it tests incoming ingredients and finished batches, and check the FDA's pet food recall list before you switch foods. A brand that publishes batch-level lab results is telling you it expects to be checked.

Ingredients With a Worse Reputation Than They Deserve

Plenty of avoid lists include ingredients that have a real job and little evidence against them. Cutting through those leaves room to focus on the ones that matter.

Sodium hexametaphosphate shows up in dental kibble and chews. It binds calcium in saliva so tartar has a harder time hardening on teeth. It's generally recognized as safe, and it's in the food on purpose.

Carrageenan is a seaweed extract that thickens canned food. Most of the concern comes from lab research on degraded carrageenan, a different substance that isn't permitted in food. If you'd rather skip it, guar gum and xanthan gum do the same job and are easy to find.

MSG and hydrolyzed protein are flavor enhancers. Hydrolyzed protein and yeast extract are the forms that usually show up in pet food. There's little evidence they matter at the levels used. Heavy reliance on them is more a sign of a bland base than a risk in itself.

Vegetable oil supplies linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid dogs must get from food. It isn't a problem ingredient. A named oil, like sunflower or soybean oil, is better than a generic one, and balancing it with omega-3s from fish oil supports a healthy inflammatory response.

Corn and by-products are on nearly every avoid list too, and the full answer is more interesting than "avoid." Our guide to fillers in dog food goes ingredient by ingredient.

Dog Food Ingredients to Look For Instead

Avoiding the list above is half the job. Here's what a well-built label tends to show:

• A named animal protein or named meal in the first one or two positions.
• A named fat, like chicken fat or salmon oil.
• Whole vegetables, fruits, or grains rather than the same crop split into several fractions.
• A natural preservation system, usually mixed tocopherols, rosemary extract, and citric acid.
• The AAFCO nutritional adequacy statement, covered below.

If you're adding fresh food on top of a complete diet, our guide to the best whole foods for dogs covers how much to add. For a homemade diet, a qualified pet nutritionist is the right next step.

Natural Preservatives and Why They Shorten Shelf Life

Mixed tocopherols are forms of vitamin E. They protect fat by taking the hit from oxygen before the fat does. Rosemary extract works the same way through its own antioxidant compounds. Citric acid and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) support both. Together they do the job BHA and ethoxyquin do, with one trade-off: they're used up faster.

That's why naturally preserved foods carry earlier best-by dates. A few habits keep a bag fresh to the last scoop. Buy a size your dog finishes in four to six weeks. Keep the food in its original bag, which has a fat barrier lining, and roll it closed. Store it somewhere cool and dry, away from the stove and out of the sun.

The "Complete and Balanced" Statement

AAFCO calls the nutritional adequacy statement perhaps the most important part of a label. "Complete" means every required nutrient is present. "Balanced" means they're in the right ratios. The statement also names a life stage, such as adult maintenance, growth, or all life stages. A food without it, or one labeled "for intermittent or supplemental feeding," isn't meant to be your dog's whole diet, no matter how good the ingredient list looks.

What "Natural" Means on a Dog Food Label

"Natural" has a definition in pet food, which surprises a lot of people. AAFCO defines it as coming solely from plant, animal, or mined sources, without chemically synthetic processing or synthetic additives (AAFCO). Synthetic vitamins and minerals are the one exception, which is why you'll see "natural with added vitamins, minerals, and trace nutrients." A food preserved with BHA can't call itself natural. "Holistic" and "premium" have no definition at all.

Calming Treats With a Label You Can Actually Read

Soft chews limited ingredients, or oven-baked hearts with nothing to preserve. Full spectrum CBD in both.

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Calming Chews for Dogs – Beef & Pumpkin

$12.00

View Product

Calming Chews for Dogs – Duck & Apple

$10.00

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Pumpkin Hemp Hearts for Dogs – 4mg

$24.00

View Product

Extra Strength Hemp Hearts for Dogs

$12.00

View Product

›

Reading a Treat Label: What Ours Use Instead

Treats get less scrutiny than food, but a dog getting a few a day takes in a real share of their diet from them. Soft treats are where propylene glycol, added sugar, and artificial color tend to collect. Limited ingredient dog treats make the label easy to check.

Earth Buddy makes two styles of calming treat, and they keep fresh in two different ways.

Soft chews. Here's the full ingredient list on our Calming Chews for Dogs - Beef & Pumpkin - 10mg: beef, pumpkin, lentils, vegetable glycerin, MCT oil, vinegar, citric acid, full spectrum CBD, mixed tocopherols, and rosemary extract. The Calming Chews for Dogs - Duck & Apple - 5mg follow the same recipe with duck and apple. A soft chew holds moisture, so it needs a preservation system: vinegar and citric acid on one side of the CBD, mixed tocopherols and rosemary extract on the other. That's the same natural approach described above. Vegetable glycerin keeps the chew soft in place of propylene glycol.

Baked hearts. Our Pumpkin Hemp Hearts for Dogs - 4mg, Blueberry Hemp Hearts for Dogs - 4mg, and Extra Strength Hemp Hearts for Dogs - 8mg take the other route. They're wheat-free and oven-baked low and slow from oat flour, real pumpkin, blueberries, or apples, organic apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, and turmeric with black pepper. Baking drives the water out, and a dry treat doesn't need a humectant or a preservative system to stay fresh. A small amount of molasses binds the dough. That's a different thing from corn syrup near the top of a daily food, which is where added sugar matters.

Both styles carry full spectrum CBD blended into MCT oil, because cannabinoids dissolve in fat and MCT is a fat the body absorbs easily. The Calming Chews and the Extra Strength Hemp Hearts also come in a trial size, an easy way to see whether your dog takes to them before buying a full bag.

The treats are made to support calm behavior. In Earth Buddy's 2022 Calming Study, 72 pets enrolled and 49 completed a 26-day protocol. Among owners logging daily check-ins, the share who said their dog was coping better with stress rose from 62% on the first day of product use to 92% by Day 25. The treat group, which used the Hemp Hearts in regular and extra strength, showed the quickest early response. Every batch is third-party tested, and the lab results are posted by batch. For timing and situations, see when to use calming treats for dogs.

Dog Food Ingredients to Avoid: Frequently Asked Questions

What ingredients should you avoid in dog food?

The ones most worth skipping are BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin (synthetic preservatives), propylene glycol, corn syrup and added sugar, artificial colors like Red 40 and Yellow 5, and animal ingredients that don't name the species, such as "meat meal" and "animal fat." Natural preservatives and named proteins and fats are the alternatives.

Is BHA safe for dogs?

BHA is still legal in pet food, but California has listed it under Proposition 65, its warning-label list, since 1990. Mixed tocopherols and rosemary extract preserve fat just as well, so there's little reason to choose a food with BHA when an equal option without it is available.

Is ethoxyquin still used in dog food?

Yes, though less than before. It's permitted in U.S. animal food at up to 150 ppm, and in 1997 the FDA asked makers to keep dog food at 75 ppm or less. The EU suspended it as a feed additive in 2017. It can also arrive in fish meal, so ask brands how their fish meal is preserved.

Is propylene glycol safe for dogs?

It's permitted in dog food, where it keeps soft foods and treats moist. The FDA prohibits it in cat food because it hasn't been shown safe for cats. Vegetable glycerin does the same job, so it's an easy ingredient to avoid, especially in homes where a cat might get into the dog's treats.

Are artificial colors bad for dogs?

Artificial colors add nothing for dogs, who choose food by smell. The FDA revoked Red No. 3 for human food in 2025 and plans to phase other petroleum-based dyes out of human food by the end of 2026. Neither action covers pet food, so check the label for Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Blue 2.

Is meat meal bad for dogs?

A named meal, like chicken meal or beef meal, is a concentrated, legitimate protein. "Meat meal" and "meat and bone meal" don't name the animal, so the source can change from batch to batch and the mineral content can run high. Choose the named version.

What are natural preservatives in dog food?

The most common are mixed tocopherols (forms of vitamin E), rosemary extract, citric acid, and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). They protect fats from going rancid. They're used up faster than synthetic preservatives, so naturally preserved foods have shorter shelf lives and do best in their original bag, rolled closed and stored cool.

Does "natural" on a dog food label mean anything?

Yes. AAFCO defines natural as coming solely from plant, animal, or mined sources, without chemically synthetic processing or additives, except for added vitamins and minerals. A food preserved with BHA or ethoxyquin can't use the word. "Holistic" and "premium" have no legal definition.

For further reading:

• Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) (California OEHHA)
• Labeling and Use of Ethoxyquin in Animal Feed (FDA)
• Problems With Artificial Preservatives in Dog Food (Whole Dog Journal)
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/962 on ethoxyquin as a feed additive (EUR-Lex)
• 21 CFR Part 589, Subpart B: Substances Prohibited From Use in Animal Food (eCFR)
• 21 CFR 573.700: Sodium Nitrite (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
• FDA ban on Red Dye No. 3 to have minimal impact on pet food industry (Petfood Industry, 2025)
• HHS, FDA to Phase Out Petroleum-Based Synthetic Dyes in Nation's Food Supply (HHS, 2025)
• Potential impacts of synthetic food dyes on activity and attention in children (Environmental Health, 2022)
• What's in the Ingredients List? (AAFCO)
• Not all meat meals in pet food are created equal (Petfood Industry, 2020)
• Recall of pet food leaves veterinarians seeking solutions (AVMA, 2007)
• FDA warns Midwestern Pet Foods over aflatoxin, Salmonella (Petfood Industry, 2021)
• Reading Labels (AAFCO)
• Natural (AAFCO)

Regulations and research on pet food additives keep changing. Check the dates on any source, and talk with your veterinarian about what fits your own dog.