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Purina Pro Plan · Complete Essentials Shredded Blend Chicken and Rice Formula · Dry food with shredded pieces · Adult maintenance
Start with what this label does best: chicken first, 26% protein, 16% fat, and an adequacy claim backed by actual feeding trials rather than formulation alone. Only two brands in this round can say that, and it is the strongest evidence a label can carry.
The middle of the panel is where points leak away. Whole grain wheat, whole grain corn, soybean meal and corn protein meal all sit in the first ten, alongside a poultry by-product meal, so a meaningful share of the recipe is built from the cheapest protein and calorie sources in the industry. Dogs thrive on this food in large numbers; the label simply shows its working, and our rubric scores the working.
| Maker | Nestlé Purina PetCare |
|---|---|
| Format | Dry food with shredded pieces |
| Life stage | Adult maintenance |
| First 10 ingredients, in label order |
|
| Guaranteed analysis | Crude protein (min) 26% · crude fat (min) 16% · crude fibre (max) 3% · moisture (max) 12% |
| AAFCO adequacy | Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that this food provides complete and balanced nutrition 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 | 7 / 15 | Three named animal ingredients in the first ten (chicken, beef fat, dried egg product); points deducted for poultry by-product meal. |
| Protein level for the life stage | 12 / 15 | 26.0% crude protein (min) sits in the 26 to 29.9% band. |
| Fat level fit | 10 / 10 | 16.0% crude fat (min) sits in the 14 to 18% band. |
| Whole foods versus filler-flagged ingredients | 1 / 10 | Four flagged ingredients in the first ten: whole grain wheat, whole grain corn, soybean meal and corn protein meal. |
| 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 | 10 / 10 | Substantiated by AAFCO feeding tests, the strongest adequacy basis in this round. |
| FDA recall history | 6 / 10 | One FDA posted recall event found for the brand (2023, a veterinary diet line). |
| Price tier | Not scored | Not scored in this round: no verified price data yet. |
| Total | 76 / 100 | Scaled from 76 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 12 more Purina Pro Plan recipes from their own labels, each with its own page, its own ingredient notes and the same rubric:
| Recipe | Score / 100 | Protein | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sensitive Skin & Stomach Salmon & Rice | 90 | 26% | Dry food |
| Sensitive Skin & Stomach Lamb & Oat Meal | 87 | 26% | Dry food |
| Sport Performance 30/20 Chicken & Rice | 81 | 30% | Dry food |
| Development Puppy Small Breed Chicken & Rice | 81 | 33% | Dry food |
| Puppy Chicken & Brown Rice Entrée Classic | 78 | 10% | Wet food |
| Complete Essentials Shredded Blend Chicken & Rice | 76 | 26% | Dry food |
| Development Puppy Chicken & Rice | 76 | 28% | Dry food |
| Complete Essentials Shredded Blend Beef & Rice | 76 | 26% | Dry food |
| Development Puppy Large Breed Chicken & Rice | 75 | 28% | Dry food |
| Adult 7+ Complete Essentials Chicken & Rice Entrée Classic | 75 | 9% | Wet food |
| Large Breed Chicken & Rice | 73 | 26% | Dry food |
| Weight Management Shredded Blend Chicken & Rice | 66 | 27% | Dry food |
2023: Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EL Elemental dry dog food was recalled in February 2023 over potentially elevated vitamin D levels. The event covered a veterinary diet, not this recipe.
The event sits in the brand's veterinary line. We count brand level events and say which line they came from, so readers can judge relevance for themselves.
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.