brown rice
Brown rice is whole-grain rice with the bran intact — more fiber and minerals than white. How Bowlmark treats rice on labels.
Also appears on labels as: whole grain brown rice · ground brown rice · whole brown rice · brown rice flour
What it is
Brown rice is rice with only the inedible hull removed, keeping the bran and germ — and with them more fiber, B vitamins, and minerals than white rice. It cooks and extrudes a little heavier, which is why both forms persist in pet food.
Why it's in pet food
It is the whole-grain version of the gentlest common energy grain: digestible carbohydrate with a modest nutritional edge over polished rice. Brands use it when the recipe wants a whole-grain story that is actually true.
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.
Brown rice carries no first-ingredient deduction — the cheap-grain rule names corn, wheat, and soy only. It counts as a rice fraction for the splitting rule: three or more rice-word ingredients inside the top eight is a single 12-point deduction on the ingredient-quality pillar.
Common questions
Answers come from this entry and the scoring rules above — reviewed before publish, like everything else on this page. For anything about your own pet, your vet knows best.
Is brown rice good for dogs?
It is the whole-grain version of the gentlest common energy grain: digestible carbohydrate with a modest nutritional edge over polished rice — the bran and germ keep more fiber, B vitamins, and minerals. Brands use it when the recipe wants a whole-grain story that is actually true.
Is brown rice better than white rice in dog food?
Modestly: brown rice keeps the bran and germ, and with them more fiber, B vitamins, and minerals than white rice. It cooks and extrudes a little heavier, which is why both forms persist in pet food.
How does Bowlmark score brown rice?
Brown rice carries no first-ingredient deduction — the cheap-grain rule names corn, wheat, and soy only. It counts as a rice fraction for the splitting rule: three or more rice-word ingredients inside the top eight is a single 12-point deduction on the ingredient-quality pillar.
Foods that list brown rice
Ranked by score where scores exist. Placement here is never sold.
- Kettle Creek Farmhouse Chicken & Sweet Potato94
- Copperfield Cats Kitten Heritage Chicken & Oat Recipe93
- Hill's Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Large Breed Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe93
- Hill's Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Small & Mini Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe93
- Hill's Science Diet Adult Sensitive Stomach & Skin Chicken & Barley Recipe93
- Meadow Farms Chicken & Oatmeal Puppy93
- Open Farm Large Breed RawMix with Ancient Grains93
- Copper Hollow Lamb & Brown Rice Sensitive Skin & Stomach92
Compare foods that list brown rice
Same species, same form, both scored — closest scores first, so the comparison is a real one.
- Hill's Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Large Breed Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe vs Hill's Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Small & Mini Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe
- Hill's Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Large Breed Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe vs Hill's Science Diet Adult Sensitive Stomach & Skin Chicken & Barley Recipe
- Hill's Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Large Breed Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe vs Open Farm Large Breed RawMix with Ancient Grains
- Hill's Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Small & Mini Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe vs Hill's Science Diet Adult Sensitive Stomach & Skin Chicken & Barley Recipe
Sources
Related ingredients
Further reading
Cite this page
Bowlmark. "Brown rice in pet food — what it is and how it scores." https://www.bowlmark.com/ingredient/brown-rice
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No stored score to stamp yet — the engine and config above are the ones a scan runs today.