Essential Foods

Essential Foods Essential Highland Living Pate review

Name: Essential Foods Essential Highland Living Pate
Brand: Essential Foods

75.9/100Excellent

WetAdult

A rich bird tin in our Excellent band. Turkey, duck and turkey hearts add up to 65% of the paté, and only two species appear anywhere on the label. Fat runs generously, so this is an energy-dense bowl.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Dogs that need to steer clear of chicken. Turkey and duck are the only animals here
Hard-working or underweight dogs, at 112 kcal per 100g and fat at 34.1% of dry matter
Owners who want offal named: turkey hearts at 18%
Dogs kept off cereal, with pea flour at 2% and a little carrot for the starch
Adult dogs from 5 kg to 80 kg

Worth watching

A dog that gains weight easily will want smaller helpings than the guide suggests
Turkey twice, as meat and as hearts, so nearly half the tin is one bird
Lignocellulose as the fibre: a milled powder with no percentage given

Written by our editorial team. Independent guidance, not veterinary advice.

How this scores

How we score

75.9/100Excellent

Protein and processingExcellent

Nutritional balanceOutstanding

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueExcellent

The details

Dog fit

Listed for adults of every size. A 15kg dog gets through about 675 grams a day on the tin's own guide, so portion with care for a settled dog.

Food type

Wet

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Turkey

The score, in context

Essential Highland Living Pate 75.9

All one Excellent. Typical wet food: Excellent.

The named meat earns it: two birds, the organ meat printed separately, and no category terms, which puts it level with the better end of a strong wet field.

What's in it

Turkey meat26%
Duck meat21%Easily digested, and dogs rarely tire of it.
Turkey hearts18%For nutrient density, little on a bird beats heart.
Carrots2%Vitamin A and some soluble fibre.
Pea flour2%The only starch beyond the carrot.
Cranberry, blueberry, goji berry, blackberry1% each
LignocelluloseA purified fibre for bulk, no percentage given.
Calcium carbonateThe calcium source; calcium converts to 0.91% of dry matter.
Kelp, green tea, marigold, ginger, spirulina0.2% each

Vitamins A and D3 with zinc, iron, manganese and iodine, a dose printed against every entry.

Protein converts to 38.6% of dry matter, moderate for a tin this meat-led, since fresh meat is mostly water.

Named ingredients

Turkey meat (26%), duck meat (21%), turkey hearts (18%), carrots (2%), pea flour (2%), cranberry (1%), blueberry (1%), goji berry (1%), blackberry (1%), lignocellulose, calcium carbonate, kelp (0.2%), green tea (0.2%), marigold (0.2%), ginger (0.2%), spirulina (0.2%).

Against the range

A paté from two birds: turkey, duck and turkey hearts make up 65% of the tin. No chicken, no fish oil and no unnamed fat anywhere on the label. The plants season the tin, with carbohydrate estimated at 12.8% of dry matter.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

111.5 kcal/100g

Protein

8.5%

Fat

7.5%

Fibre

0.8%

Ash

2.4%

Moisture

78%

Dry weight

Protein

38.6%

Fat

34.1%

Fibre

3.6%

Ash

10.9%

Carbs

12.8%

As-fed composition

Estimated breakdown of the finished product by ingredient category, from the declared ingredient list and ingoing weights. These are estimates, not measurements.

Meat

65%

Added water

15.6%

Carbs

Veg

2.4%

Other

15%

Pricing & size