Farmina N&D Ancestral Grain Chicken & Pomegranate Senior Mini: our recipe review

Farmina · N&D Ancestral Grain Chicken & Pomegranate Senior Mini · Dry food · Adult maintenance

On the facts printed on its own label, Farmina N&D Ancestral Grain Chicken & Pomegranate Senior Mini scores 90 out of 100 on our rubric: top of the range we have scored. The panel opens with chicken, and the first ingredient signal earns 20 of its 20 points. At 27% crude protein it ranks 39 of the 60 Farmina recipes we scored for protein. Crude fat reads 15%.

At 371 kcal a cup it sits mid range for energy, so standard portion math applies. Its adequacy claim rests on formulation: balanced on paper against the AAFCO nutrient profiles rather than fed to dogs in a trial. The brand carries one FDA posted recall event in our check, set out below with its date.

The panel runs to 58 ingredient lines. 8 of them are animal source lines and 11 are plant lines. The first added fat appears at line 5, so 4 lines sit ahead of it in the recipe by weight. Salt appears at line 26 of 58: ingredients listed after salt are present in small amounts, a standard reading aid for long panels. The vitamin and mineral pack begins around line 33; the 26 lines from there on are mostly supplements, preservatives and functional extras rather than staple foods.

Panel for panel, this is the same recipe as N&D Ancestral Grain Chicken & Pomegranate Senior Medium & Maxi, sold as Dry food: the ingredient lines match. What actually differs is almost nothing on the label itself. Between the two, choose on format and on the size of dog in front of you, not on the ingredient list, because the lists are the same list.

The label facts

How the score breaks down

Ingredient notes: the first ten, one by one

Definitions below are written from AAFCO's ingredient definitions in our own words. They describe what an ingredient is, never what a brand claims about it. Names that appear in our ingredient dictionary link to it; the dictionary counts how many scored recipes carry each ingredient.

• chicken. chicken is the named meat in fresh form. Panel order is set by weight before cooking, and fresh meat is mostly water, so its share of the finished food is smaller than its place at the top suggests.
• dehydrated chicken. dehydrated chicken has already had its water taken out before it is weighed in, so a kilo of it stands for several kilos of the fresh meat. It is one of the most protein dense forms an ingredient can take.
• whole spelt. whole spelt sits on the panel as a functional ingredient: a binder, supplement or processing aid rather than a nutrient base.
• whole oats. whole oats is a whole grain that digests slowly and brings soluble fiber, a steady energy source in grain inclusive recipes.
• chicken fat. chicken fat is rendered fat from the named source. Fat is the densest energy in the recipe and carries much of its flavor.
• whole barley. whole barley is a whole grain rich in beta glucan fiber, which feeds gut bacteria and slows digestion.
• pea fiber. pea fiber is one fraction of the pea, split out and listed on its own. Each fraction is a small share of the whole pea, so several pea lines on one panel add up to more pea than any single line suggests.
• herring. herring is a named fish, bringing animal protein and, in oily species, omega 3 fats. Fish first panels suit dogs that react to land meats.
• dehydrated herring. dehydrated herring has already had its water taken out before it is weighed in, so a kilo of it stands for several kilos of the fresh meat. It is one of the most protein dense forms an ingredient can take.
• dried whole eggs. dried whole eggs brings protein with a complete amino acid profile and is easy for dogs to digest, which is why it turns up in most strong panels.

The brand's recall record

2026: In March 2026 the maker's US arm recalled 8,051 bags of one recipe, N&D Tropical Selection Salmon, Spelt, Oats and Tropical Fruits in the 22 lb size, because the ingredient panel printed on the back of the bag listed lamb while the front of the bag listed salmon. The FDA recorded the recall in its Enforcement Report (recall number V-0119-2026) as a Class III event; the FDA issued no separate press announcement.

The brand's single FDA recorded event was a labeling mismatch on one recipe and one bag size, not a contamination, and it was closed as a low risk Class III recall. We count it because our rubric counts every FDA recorded dog food event for a brand, and we describe it in full so readers can weigh it fairly.

See the full dog food recall tracker for recent events across all brands.

Other Farmina recipes we scored

Those are the twelve highest scoring of the 59 other Farmina recipes we scored. The full comparison, flagship review included, is on the Farmina brand review.

Feeding it

Switch foods gradually over about a week, mixing more of the new food into the old each day. Portion by calories, not by the look of the bowl: our feeding calculator works out a daily amount from your dog's weight, and this recipe's calorie line above is the number it needs.

What that means at the bowl, for a typical neutered adult (resting energy 70 times body weight to the power 0.75, times 1.6; treats come out of the same budget):

Puppies, pregnant dogs and very active dogs need more; older and weight watching dogs need less. The calculator linked above adjusts for those cases.