Skip to content
In The Kibble
My dogs

Ingredient file // Ingredient

DL-Methionine

Printed as “Dl Methionine” on some labels. Same ingredient.

A synthetic form of the essential amino acid methionine, supplying both mirror-image forms.

Our read // In our catalog

In 1 of every 3 foods we track

Share of foods that list it

37%

850 of the 2,292 foods with an ingredient list on file, from 52 brands. 801 dry dog food, 36 wet dog food, 7 frozen dog food.

Each square is 1% of the catalog

Where it sits on the label

Median position 20. In the top five of 0 foods, so it is usually a minor ingredient.

Top five List position, heaviest first

Above the salt

16%

Usually listed after the salt, which caps it at roughly 1% of the recipe in 84% of foods.

Price per lb

Foods with it $3.02
All foods $3.25

Median of the cheapest bag price across 693 priced foods, 7% below the catalog. The price is the food's, not the ingredient's.

Who leans on it

13%

of the foods that list it are from Royal Canin. 52 brands use it in total.

What it is

Why it turns up in dog food

  • Tops up methionine in recipes where plant protein dominates, supporting coat keratin and urinary acidity.

Who uses it

Brands, best sellers and the company it keeps

Top brands, by foods that list it

  1. Royal Canin 109
  2. Blue 101
  3. NutriSource 47
  4. Nutro 45
  5. Nulo 41
  6. Hill's 37
  7. Natural Balance 34
  8. Purina 33
  9. Merrick 31
  10. Solid Gold 26

Plus 42 more brands.

Amazon best sellers that list it

  1. #1 Blue Life Protection Formula Adult Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food
  2. #4 Hill’s Science Diet ght Small & Mini Chicken Recipe Dry Dog Food
  3. #5 Purina One SmartBlend Chicken & Rice Formula Natural Adult Dry Dog Food
  4. #6 Blue Life Protection Formula Adult Small Breed Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food
  5. #8 Diamond Naturals Skin & Coat Formula All Life Stages Salmon & Potato Formula Dry Dog Food
  6. #10 Pedigree Adult Grilled Steak & Vegetable Flavor Dry Dog Food
  7. #11 Purina Pro Plan Adult Sensitive Skin & Stomach Salmon & Rice Formula Dry Dog Food
  8. #21 Cesar Filet Mignon Flavor & Spring Vegetables Garnish Dry Dog Food

Rank on Amazon's dog food best seller list, checked October 2026.

Usually listed with, share of the foods that list it

  1. Chicken Fat 52%
  2. Natural Flavor 50%
  3. Chicken Meal 36%
  4. Chicken 32%
  5. Peas 30%
  6. Flaxseed 29%
  7. Brown Rice 28%
  8. Dried Plain Beet Pulp 22%
  9. Brewers Rice 22%
  10. Oatmeal 19%
  11. Barley 18%
  12. Chicken By-Product Meal 18%

On labels as

Other names for this

Manufacturers do not all use the same wording. These all mean the same thing.

Dl Methionine
An ingredient on its own tells you very little. What matters is how much of it there is and where it sits in the list. That is why we weigh the top five rather than reacting to any single name further down. Back to the wiki

Keep In The Know,
Know What's In The Bowl

Recall alerts by email. We only write when a dog food recall is published.
DOUBLE OPT-IN // ONE CLICK TO STOP // NEVER SHARED