bison meal

What it is

Rendered, dried bison (labels may say buffalo meal — commercially the same North American animal). Lean red meat protein with the prairie branding grain-free lines love.

Why it's in pet food

Semi-novel protein and unbeatable imagery. Bison sits between mainstream and exotic: common enough for reliable supply, uncommon enough to serve some elimination diets — check the pet's actual exposure history rather than assuming.

How Bowlmark scores it

Scores are deterministic math over the printed label — the rules below apply to every product identically, and nothing estimates or fills in a blank.

Named-meal mechanics: +12 first, +8 top-3; the buffalo synonym earns the same seat. Marketing note the engine ignores by design: 'bison' on the front of the bag with bison sixth on the list is an aesthetic, not a protein source — position is the tell, and position is exactly what the bonus reads.

Read the full methodology

Foods that list bison meal

No food on the shelf lists bison meal yet. Scan a bag that does and its label joins the catalog — versioned from the day it arrives.

Sources

• WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee — Selecting a pet food
• AAFCO Dog & Cat Food Nutrient Profiles (2016)

Related ingredients

• beef and bone meal
• beef meal
• chicken meal
• duck meal
• goat meal
• wild boar meal

Further reading

• By-products and meals, without the panic
• Protein quality vs quantity — why the % is only half the story