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Nutro · Natural Choice Adult Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe · Dry food · Adult maintenance
A quiet, grain led label: chicken and chicken meal first, then brown rice, barley and oatmeal, with chicken fat completing the animal side. There are no colours on the label facts, one flagged ingredient, and two old events on the brand's FDA record, neither of them about this recipe.
The compromise is balance rather than a flaw. At 24% protein and 14% fat the recipe sits in the middle bands of our rubric: enough for an average adult dog, short of what a hard working or very young adult dog burns. For a calm, older or weight watched dog, that same moderation can be the point.
| Maker | Mars Petcare |
|---|---|
| Format | Dry food |
| Life stage | Adult maintenance |
| First 10 ingredients, in label order |
|
| Guaranteed analysis | Crude protein (min) 24% · crude fat (min) 14% · crude fibre (max) 3.5% · moisture (max) 10% |
| Calories | 3,631 kcal/kg, 357 kcal/cup, as labelled |
| AAFCO adequacy | Formulated to meet AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance of adult dogs. |
| Price | Not listed in this round. We publish a price only when we have verified it from a dated listing, and we had not for this recipe when the label was read. |
| Signal | Points | What the label shows |
|---|---|---|
| First ingredient | 20 / 20 | Chicken, a named whole meat, is the first ingredient. |
| Animal protein depth, first 10 ingredients | 10 / 15 | Three named animal ingredients in the first ten: chicken, chicken meal and chicken fat. |
| Protein level for the life stage | 10 / 15 | 24.0% crude protein (min) sits in the 24 to 25.9% band. |
| Fat level fit | 10 / 10 | 14.0% crude fat (min) sits at the bottom of the 14 to 18% band. |
| Whole foods versus filler-flagged ingredients | 7 / 10 | One flagged ingredient in the first ten: brewers rice. |
| Artificial colours and preservatives | 10 / 10 | No artificial colours or preservatives appear in the label facts we publish; the fat is preserved with mixed tocopherols. |
| AAFCO adequacy basis | 7 / 10 | Formulated to meet AAFCO profiles for adult maintenance. |
| FDA recall history | 6 / 10 | One FDA posted recall event found (2007, part of the melamine recall). A 2015 retailer-announced treats withdrawal has no FDA record and is not counted. |
| Price tier | Not scored | Not scored in this round: no verified price data yet. |
| Total | 80 / 100 | Scaled from 80 of 100 available points. The method is published in full on the dog food hub. |
The review above covers this brand's flagship recipe in full. We also read and scored 6 more Nutro recipes from their own labels, each with its own page, its own ingredient notes and the same rubric:
| Recipe | Score / 100 | Protein | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Choice Small Breed Adult Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe | 83 | 26% | Dry food |
| Natural Choice Puppy Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe | 83 | 28% | Dry food |
| Natural Choice Adult Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe | 81 | 24% | Dry food |
| Natural Choice Senior Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe | 77 | 26% | Dry food |
| Natural Choice Adult Healthy Weight Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe | 76 | 26% | Dry food |
| Natural Choice Large Breed Adult Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe | 74 | 22% | Dry food |
2007: Nutro cans and pouches for dogs and cats were part of the March 2007 melamine recall of Menu Foods made products, the largest pet food recall in FDA records.
The counted event is old and did not cover this recipe. We count it, labelled, because the record belongs to the brand. One further event is deliberately not counted: in December 2015, Nutro Chewy Treats with Real Apples were withdrawn at PetSmart over possible mould growth. That withdrawal was announced by the retailer only and has no FDA record, so under our counting rules it is listed in the recall tracker as retailer-announced and stays out of this count.
See the full dog food recall tracker for recent events across all brands.
Change foods gradually over about a week, mixing increasing amounts of the new food into the old, so the change does not upset your dog's stomach. Portion by calories, not by the look of the bowl: our feeding calculator works out a daily amount from your dog's weight. And because no ingredient list can answer what is safe for a dog to eat as a treat or a table scrap, check our Can Dogs Eat section before sharing food off your own plate.
Label read November 2026. Scores follow the rubric published on the dog food hub. This review is general information about a product label, not veterinary advice, and it is not a feeding trial: we score what a buyer can verify from the label and the public record.
Last updated: November 2026. Checked against the sources named on this page.