soybean hulls

What it is

Soybean hulls are the outer seed coats removed during soybean processing — nearly pure fiber, common in livestock feed and present in some budget pet formulas as inexpensive bulk.

Why it's in pet food

They add fiber at minimal cost. Unlike beet pulp's studied moderate fermentability, hulls are mostly filler-grade fiber — serviceable, unglamorous, and a budget signal when they rank high.

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.

Soybean hulls carry no deduction of their own: the cheap-grain rule concerns a dry formula's FIRST ingredient — a slot hulls never realistically occupy. Since the 2026-08 matcher update, 'soybean'-worded terms do count toward the splitting rule's soy base, so hulls can serve as the third soy word in a fraction-stacked top eight. No fiber ingredient carries a filler deduction; the term lists are versioned, advisor-tuned config.

Read the full methodology

Foods that list soybean hulls

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

• Purina ONE Indoor Advantage Adult Cat Food87
• Purina ONE Plus Indoor Advantage Real Salmon87
• Purina ONE +Plus Indoor Advantage Real Salmon #1 Ingredient87
• Purina ONE +Plus Indoor Advantage Senior 7+87
• Beneful Healthy Weight With Farm-Raised Chicken84
• Purina ONE Ideal Weight High Protein Natural Cat Food83
• Purina Pro Plan Adult Indoor Chicken & Rice Formula81
• Purina Cat Chow Indoor Hairball + Healthy Weight65

Sources

• WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee — Selecting a pet food

Related ingredients

• alfalfa meal
• soy flour
• soy protein concentrate
• soy protein isolate
• soybean meal
• soybeans

Further reading

• Grain-free, legumes and the DCM question
• How to read a pet food label