dried skimmed milk
Dried skim milk is milk minus the fat and water — which concentrates the lactose. Why small inclusions are common and big ones deserve a look.
Also appears on labels as: dried skim milk · skim milk · skimmed milk powder · nonfat dry milk
What it is
Milk with the fat removed, then dried. Removing fat and water concentrates what remains: milk protein and, notably, lactose — dried skim milk is roughly half milk sugar by weight. It appears in treats, puppy/kitten formulas, and as a binder or flavor carrier.
Why it's in pet food
Cheap milk protein and palatability in a shelf-stable powder. In young animals still producing lactase it's well tolerated — it has a long history in milk replacers — while in adult recipes the sensible pattern is small, low-on-the-list inclusions.
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.
No engine flag — dried skim milk neither earns nor costs points anywhere on a list. The lactose-concentration fact is context this page carries so the score doesn't have to guess at your pet's gut: position and portion tell you more than a point value could.
For dogs
High on a treat's list and fed generously, this is the dairy form most likely to remind you an adult dog's lactase has retired.
Foods that list dried skimmed milk
No food on the shelf lists dried skimmed milk yet. Scan a bag that does and its label joins the catalog — versioned from the day it arrives.
Sources
Related ingredients
Further reading
Cite this page
Bowlmark. "Dried skimmed milk in pet food — what it is and how it scores." https://www.bowlmark.com/ingredient/dried-skimmed-milk
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- Last verified August 12, 2026
No stored score to stamp yet — the engine and config above are the ones a scan runs today.