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Ingredient file // Ingredient

Sun-Cured Alfalfa

Alfalfa cured in the sun rather than by artificial heat.

Our read // In our catalog

In 1 of every 59 foods we track

Share of foods that list it

2%

39 of the 2,292 foods with an ingredient list on file, from 4 brands. All dry dog food.

Each square is 1% of the catalog

Where it sits on the label

Median position 15. In the top five of 0 foods, so it is usually a minor ingredient.

Top five List position, heaviest first

Above the salt

88%

Listed before the salt in 88% of foods. In the rest it is under about 1% of the recipe.

Price per lb

Foods with it $4.27
All foods $3.25

Median of the cheapest bag price across 33 priced foods, 31% above the catalog. The price is the food's, not the ingredient's.

Who leans on it

33%

of the foods that list it are from Canidae. 4 brands use it in total.

What it is

Why it turns up in dog food

  • Curing in the sun retains more of the carotenoids and vitamin K than heat drying.

Who uses it

Brands, best sellers and the company it keeps

Top brands, by foods that list it

  1. Canidae 13
  2. Now Fresh 12
  3. Stella & Chewy's 11
  4. Go! Solutions 3

Usually listed with, share of the foods that list it

  1. Peas 92%
  2. Flaxseed 59%
  3. Potatoes 51%
  4. Natural Flavor 49%
  5. Lentils 38%
  6. Canola Oil 33%
  7. Dried Egg 31%
  8. Potato Flour 31%
  9. Chicken Meal 31%
  10. Chicken Fat 31%
  11. Tomato Pomace 28%
  12. Salmon 23%

On labels as

Other names for this

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

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

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