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Hill's Bioactive Recipe Dog Food Ingredients

According to our research, Hill's Bioactive Recipe manufactures 9 dog food recipes using 74 unique ingredients. To evaluate the quality of ingredients used by Hill's Bioactive Recipe, we've studied all 74 ingredients. In this article, we'll share our findings on Hill's Bioactive Recipe ingredients.

Dog Food Recipes9
Unique Ingredients74
Artificial Colors0
Animal By-Products0
Anonymous Meats0
Controversial6
Harmful0

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 Hill's Bioactive Recipe, these are the most common ingredients found within the first 5 dog food ingredients.

  1. chicken
  2. cracked pearled barley
  3. whole grain oats
  4. brown rice
  5. chicken fat

As you can see, the most common first ingredient in Hill's Bioactive Recipe is chicken. The most common 2nd ingredient is cracked pearled barley, followed by whole grain oats, brown rice, and chicken fat.

Artificial Food Coloring Dyes

Hill's Bioactive Recipe does not use any artificial food coloring dyes. According to our records, none of the 9 Hill's Bioactive Recipe 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, Hill's Bioactive Recipe 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 Hill's Bioactive Recipe 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 74 Hill's Bioactive Recipe ingredients. According to our data, Hill's Bioactive Recipe does not contain any anonymous animal-based ingredients.

Controversial Ingredients

In most cases, ingredients which are given the controversial classification can be substituted with higher-quality alternatives. You should evaluate each controversial ingredient independently to see if there is truly a valid cause for concern.

Keep in mind, certain sacrifices often must be made to produce dog foods at a reasonable price. In general, the more expensive the product, the fewer controversial ingredients you'll find.

In our analysis, we've identified 6 controversial ingredients inside Hill's Bioactive Recipe products. These controversial ingredients are listed below. Click on each ingredient for more information.

dried tomato pomace
3 Recipes

Dried tomato pomace is a by-product of tomato manufacturing. It's considered a controversial ingredient because many people believe it is an inexpensive low quality filler. However, tomato pomace provides a notable amount of dietary fiber, B vitamins, Lycopene, and vitamin A. Although it is a very inexpensive ingredient, it is not nutritionally empty.

The following recipes contain dried tomato pomace:

pork plasma
2 Recipes

Pork plasma is the colorless fluid part of a pig's blood. It may sound disgusting, but it's actually very nutritious for dogs. Regardless of the nutritional aspects, consumers are shocked by this ingredient, which is why pork plasma is considered a controversial ingredient.

The following recipes contain pork plasma:

powdered cellulose
3 Recipes

Powdered cellulose is produced from minuscule pieces of wood pulp and plant fibers. Other than its fiber content, powdered cellulose lacks any nutritional contribution.

The following recipes contain powdered cellulose:

brewers rice
6 Recipes

Brewer's rice is the small fragments of rice kernel that are separated from the larger kernels of milled rice. The fragments do not contain the same nutrition profile of the whole kernel and therefore brewer's rice is a lower quality grain. Brewer's rice is typically regarded as an inexpensive and low quality filler.

The following recipes contain brewers rice:

pea protein
4 Recipes

Pea protein is produced by removing the starchy parts of peas. Pea protein is considered controversial because it provides a substantial plant based protein boost. This boost is undesirable because plant based protein is typically lower in biological value when compared to meat based proteins.

The following recipes contain pea protein:

caramel color
2 Recipes

Caramel color is a concentrated form of caramel, a natural food colorant. Caramel color has been linked to cancer in laboratory animals. Since our pets do not care about food color, caramel color is an unnecessary addition with possible health risks.

The following recipes contain caramel color:

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 Hill's Bioactive Recipe ingredients analyzed were classified as harmful by our system. The absence of harmful ingredients is indicative of a relatively premium dog food brand.

Hill's Bioactive Recipe Dog Food Ingredient Lists

Hill's Bioactive Recipe

Fit + Radiant
Adult Dogs
Hill's Bioactive Recipe
Fit + Radiant Adult Dogs
First Five Ingredients
chicken
cracked pearled barley
pea protein
brown rice
dried beet pulp

Hill's Bioactive Recipe

Fit + Radiant
Large Breed Adult Dogs
Hill's Bioactive Recipe
Fit + Radiant Large Breed Adult Dogs
First Five Ingredients
chicken
cracked pearled barley
pea protein
brown rice
dried beet pulp

Hill's Bioactive Recipe

Fit + Radiant
Small Breed Adult Dogs
Hill's Bioactive Recipe
Fit + Radiant Small Breed Adult Dogs
First Five Ingredients
chicken
cracked pearled barley
pea protein
brown rice
dried beet pulp

Hill's Bioactive Recipe

Grow + Learn
Puppy Formula
Hill's Bioactive Recipe
Grow + Learn Puppy Formula
First Five Ingredients
chicken
cracked pearled barley
whole grain oats
brown rice
chicken meal

Hill's Bioactive Recipe

Thrive + Vigor
Adult 7+
Hill's Bioactive Recipe
Thrive + Vigor Adult 7+
First Five Ingredients
chicken
brown rice
whole grain oats
brewers rice
chicken fat

Hill's Bioactive Recipe

Thrive + Vigor
Large Breed Adult 6+
Hill's Bioactive Recipe
Thrive + Vigor Large Breed Adult 6+
First Five Ingredients
chicken
brown rice
whole grain oats
brewers rice
chicken fat

Hill's Bioactive Recipe

Thrive + Vigor
Small Breed Adult 7+
Hill's Bioactive Recipe
Thrive + Vigor Small Breed Adult 7+
First Five Ingredients
chicken
brown rice
whole grain oats
brewers rice
chicken fat

Hill's Bioactive Recipe

Canned Dog Food
Braised Lamb, Brown Rice & Carrot Stew For Adult Dogs
Hill's Bioactive Recipe
Canned Dog Food Braised Lamb, Brown Rice & Carrot Stew For Adult Dogs
First Five Ingredients
beef broth
lamb
pork liver
chicken
brown rice

Hill's Bioactive Recipe

Canned Dog Food
Savory Chicken, Brown Rice & Carrot Stew For Adult Dogs
Hill's Bioactive Recipe
Canned Dog Food Savory Chicken, Brown Rice & Carrot Stew For Adult Dogs
First Five Ingredients
chicken broth
chicken
pork liver
brown rice
carrot