Made By NachoLickable Mousse Treats Chicken and Tuna Duo

The most common protein in pet food, and for dogs one of the most common food allergens, with beef and dairy. If chicken is what your pet reacts to, it hides everywhere: chicken fat, chicken broth, chicken meal, natural flavor. On a label, chicken listed first is weighed with its water still in, so a food leading with fresh chicken often has less chicken protein than one leading with chicken meal. Neither is better; they are different measures.

A fish used mostly in cat foods, where its strong flavor is the point. Tuna is a good protein and a source of omega-3 fats. Two cautions apply to tuna fed often: it is higher in mercury than smaller fish, and cats can become fixated on it and refuse other foods. Both cautions apply to the cat eating tuna every day, and much less to tuna as one ingredient in a complete food fed in rotation.

Starch from the cassava root, used to bind kibble and as a carbohydrate source, especially in grain-free foods. It is nearly pure starch with little protein, fiber or micronutrients, and it is one of the least likely ingredients to trigger an allergy. A food that leans on tapioca for carbohydrate is getting easy digestibility and little else from it, which is fine as long as the rest of the recipe carries the nutrition.

A vegetable used mainly as a source of soluble fiber for stool quality, and for label appeal. Amounts in a complete food are small. Not an allergen of concern and not a meaningful protein or calorie source.

A plant oil added as a source of linoleic acid, the omega-6 fat dogs and cats need for skin and coat. It is cheap, stable and well tolerated. Sunflower oil contains no omega-3, so a food that uses it as the main fat will usually add fish oil or flaxseed for balance. The high-oleic variety is lower in linoleic acid and used mainly for shelf stability.