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The Comparison

Two Foods, One Method

The same five measures, applied to each food from its own figures.

Two Foods, One Method. Each row is one measure; the best figure in a row is marked.
01 Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Adult Grain-Free Lamb and Potato Swap Remove 02 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Chicken & Rice Swap Remove + Add A Food + Add A Food
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. 01 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Adult Grain-Free Lamb and Potato 22.2% Best in this row 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Chicken & Rice 21.1%
02 Carbohydrate Load, Dry Matter Lower Is Better Estimated, 6% ash assumed. Estimated, not measured. It is what is left of the guaranteed analysis once protein, fat, fiber and moisture are taken out, with ash assumed at 6%. That leftover is mostly starch but also carries sugars and the fiber a crude-fiber test misses, so read it as a close estimate rather than an exact figure. Measured as fed, the same basis as the bag. 01 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Adult Grain-Free Lamb and Potato 49% 44.0% as fed Best in this row 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Chicken & Rice 57% 51.0% as fed
03 Named Proteins In The First Five Count of named animal proteins. The count matches any named animal word in the opening five ingredients, so it also counts animal fats and flavourings as proteins. It is shown because it is one of the five measured lines, but it is too rough to call a winner on. 01 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Adult Grain-Free Lamb and Potato 2 of 5 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Chicken & Rice 1 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. 01 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Adult Grain-Free Lamb and Potato None 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Chicken & Rice None
05 Brand Recall History Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. 01 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Adult Grain-Free Lamb and Potato 5 4 in the last 3 years 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Chicken & Rice None Best in this row
Starch, As Fed Estimated, not measured. It is what is left of the guaranteed analysis once protein, fat, fiber and moisture are taken out, with ash assumed at 6%. That leftover is mostly starch but also carries sugars and the fiber a crude-fiber test misses, so read it as a close estimate rather than an exact figure. Measured as fed, the same basis as the bag. 01 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Adult Grain-Free Lamb and Potato 44.0% 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Chicken & Rice 51.0%
Kcal / Cup 01 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Adult Grain-Free Lamb and Potato 356 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Chicken & Rice 363
First Five Ingredients 01 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Adult Grain-Free Lamb and Potato Deboned Lamb, Potatoes, Pea Starch, Peas, Lamb Meal (source of Glucosamine) 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Chicken & Rice Chicken, Brewers Rice, Yellow Peas, Cracked Pearled Barley, Whole Grain Oats

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Every figure here is the food's own. Protein and carbohydrate are converted to dry matter so foods of different moisture can be set beside each other; starch is estimated from the guaranteed analysis with ash assumed at 6.0%, and the recall record belongs to the manufacturer rather than to the recipe. Two rows are printed but never marked: the named-protein count, because the detection behind it is too rough to call a winner on, and calories, because neither more nor fewer is better without knowing the dog.

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