meat and bone meal
Meat and bone meal is rendered mammal tissue and bone from unnamed species — the lowest-transparency protein. How Bowlmark scores it.
Also appears on labels as: meat & bone meal
What it is
Meat and bone meal is a rendered product of mammal tissue and bone, dried to a protein-and-mineral powder. It carries more mineral (ash) than straight meat meals, and "meat" names no species — the raw material varies by rendering batch.
Why it's in pet food
It is among the least expensive proteins available to a formulator, which is why it appears in budget formulas. The bone fraction supplies calcium and phosphorus, but the sourcing opacity is total: species, tissue mix, and quality are all unstated.
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.
Meat and bone meal is an unnamed animal source: a single 20-point deduction on the ingredient-quality pillar, one deduction for the class no matter how many unnamed terms the label carries. The engine prices the opacity, not the rendering.
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.
What is meat and bone meal in dog food?
A rendered product of mammal tissue and bone, dried to a protein-and-mineral powder. It carries more mineral (ash) than straight meat meals, and "meat" names no species — the raw material varies by rendering batch. It is among the least expensive proteins available to a formulator, which is why it appears in budget formulas.
Is meat and bone meal bad for pets?
The bone fraction supplies calcium and phosphorus, but the sourcing opacity is total: species, tissue mix, and quality are all unstated — it is the lowest-transparency protein a label can carry. Bowlmark prices that opacity, not the rendering process itself.
How does Bowlmark score meat and bone meal?
As an unnamed animal source: a single 20-point deduction on the ingredient-quality pillar, one deduction for the class no matter how many unnamed terms the label carries.
Foods that list meat and bone meal
Ranked by score where scores exist. Placement here is never sold.
- Friskies Indoor Delights Dry Cat Food With Flavors of Chicken, Salmon, Peas & Carrots60
- Old Quarry Hearty Beef Flavor Dinner59
- Old Quarry Complete Adult Crunchy Bites58
- Pedigree Small Dog Adult Dry Food, Grilled Steak and Vegetable58
- Purina Dog Chow High Protein With Real Beef58
- Alpo Prime Cuts56
- Friskies Seafood Sensations Dry Cat Food With Flavors of Salmon, Tuna & Shrimp56
- Friskies Surfin’ & Turfin’ Favorites Dry Cat Food With Flavors of Chicken, Whitefish, Salmon & Filet Mignon56
Compare foods that list meat and bone meal
Same species, same form, both scored — closest scores first, so the comparison is a real one.
- Friskies Seafood Sensations Dry Cat Food With Flavors of Salmon, Tuna & Shrimp vs Friskies Surfin’ & Turfin’ Favorites Dry Cat Food With Flavors of Chicken, Whitefish, Salmon & Filet Mignon
- Pedigree Small Dog Adult Dry Food, Grilled Steak and Vegetable vs Purina Dog Chow High Protein With Real Beef
- Alpo Prime Cuts vs Pedigree Small Dog Adult Dry Food, Grilled Steak and Vegetable
- Alpo Prime Cuts vs Purina Dog Chow High Protein With Real Beef
Sources
Related ingredients
Further reading
Cite this page
Bowlmark. "Meat and bone meal in pet food — what it is and how it scores." https://www.bowlmark.com/ingredient/meat-and-bone-meal
- Engine
- Methodology engine v1.1.0 · config 13c99e2f
- Verified
- Last verified August 21, 2026
No stored score to stamp yet — the engine and config above are the ones a scan runs today.