sardine

What it is

Sardines are small oily forage fish contributing named animal protein, EPA and DHA, and — eaten whole as they usually are — some natural calcium from the soft bones. Low food-chain position means low mercury accumulation.

Why it's in pet food

Whole sardines are one of the most nutritionally honest fish ingredients available: named species, whole animal, omega-3-rich. They appear in premium fish recipes and as a topper ingredient.

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.

Sardine is on the engine's named-protein list: 15 points on the ingredient-quality pillar when fresh sardines lead the label; a named sardine meal earns 12 there, or 8 when second or third. The naming is what the engine rewards — unnamed "fish meal" is a 10-point deduction instead.

Read the full methodology

Foods that list sardine

Ranked by score where scores exist. Placement here is never sold.

• Friskies Shreds With Whitefish & Sardines In Sauce73

Sources

• WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee — Selecting a pet food
• ACVN — omega-3 fatty acids in joint support

Related ingredients

• pollock
• salmon
• salmon meal
• sardine meal
• shrimp
• tilapia

Further reading

• Protein quality vs quantity — why the % is only half the story
• Storing pet food so it stays the food you bought