Mixed Tocopherols

Mixed Tocopherols appears on the labels of 182 of the 244 recipes we have read and scored (75 percent of the database), in label forms including Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Mixed Tocopherols (preservative), Fish Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Pork Fat Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols and 34 more label forms.

What it is

Forms of vitamin E extracted from vegetable oils, used as an antioxidant preservative.

Why makers use it

They slow the fats in the food turning rancid. This is the natural preservation route, in place of synthetic preservatives such as BHA and BHT.

What to watch for

Natural preservation has a shorter fuse: bags carry best by dates for a reason, and an opened bag should be finished in weeks, not months.

Highest scoring recipes that carry it

The full database, filterable by brand, format, life stage and grains, is the reviews index; the food finder answers it by the proteins a dog must avoid.

Often on the same panels

Vitamin Supplements (the Vitamin Pack), Chelated and Proteinate Minerals, Salt, Selenium Yeast and Sodium Selenite. The full dictionary is the ingredient index.