Beta Light review

The Average band is where this food settles, one step under the typical adult dry food. Weight-control recipes rarely climb our bands, because trimming fat pushes the balance towards carbohydrate, and this one is no exception. Judge it on the job it is for: the fat really is low, the protein holds up, and the feeding table is written for maintenance rather than indulgence. Protein and processing and nutritional balance both come out Average, with transparency a step ahead in Good.

Ingredients, as declared: Turkey meal (27%), Wheat*, Corn*, Wheat middlings*, Animal fats, Dried beet pulp (2%), Minerals, Dried chicory root*1 (1%), Digest, Dried carrot* (0.07%), Dried spinach* (0.07%), Dried parsley* (0.07%), *Natural ingredients, 1Natural prebiotic

Turkey meal at 27% is a sound lead for a light recipe, turkey being a naturally lean meat, and as a concentrated meal it holds declared protein at 26% even with the fat wound down.

The fat reduction is the recipe's whole purpose: 10% as fed, converting to 11.0% of dry matter, at the lean end for a kibble. Energy has to come from somewhere, so wheat, maize and wheat middlings pick up the slack, and carbohydrate converts to an estimated 48.9% of dry matter.

Beet pulp at 2% earns its printed percentage here, supplying fibre that helps a dieting dog feel fed, with chicory root at 1% supporting the gut flora alongside it.

Digest keeps a reduced-fat kibble tasting like something worth finishing, and the animal fats that remain go unnamed, the usual transparency trade at this point of the market.

Vitamin E is dosed at 95 IU with zinc at 110 mg/kg heading the trace minerals, and every additive carries its dose in print, sodium selenite covering the selenium requirement.

Bag sizes are 2kg and 14kg.

The feeding table is written to hold current weight: 185 grams a day for a 10kg dog, 240 grams at 15kg and 340 grams at 25kg. If your dog still needs to lose rather than hold, your vet can set a target below the table.