Europa 55/45 Grain Free review

Most adult dry food finishes in our Good band. This one comes out a step clear of that, in our Excellent band. The margin comes from plain arithmetic: a declared 55% chicken with its split printed, starch a shade under the typical level, and a mineral panel dosed in print. Nothing about the recipe is inventive and it does not need to be, because the parts that decide how a kibble feeds a dog are all in the right places.

Ingredients, as declared: Chicken 55% (including Freshly Prepared Chicken 31%, Dried Chicken 21% & Chicken Stock 3%), Sweet Potato (26%), Peas (6%), Potato, Beet Pulp, Linseed, Omega 3 Supplement, Minerals, Herbs (0.3% including Marjoram, Basil, Oregano, Sage, Thyme, Parsley), Fructooligosaccharides (FOS, 96 mg/kg), Mannanoligosaccharides (MOS, 24 mg/kg)

The 55% chicken is built from 31% freshly prepared, 21% dried and 3% stock, and printing that split is what makes the headline useful. Fresh chicken is mostly water before it goes near the oven. That leaves the 21% dried entry carrying most of the protein the kibble ends up with, and at that level it is set up to do the job. The analysis agrees, with protein converting to 29.3% of dry matter and fat to 15.2%.

The plant side runs sweet potato at 26%, peas at 6%, then potato and beet pulp. No cereal appears anywhere. Estimated carbohydrate works out at 43.0% of dry matter against 46.2% for the typical adult dry food, which is the sort of margin that comes from a genuine meat share rather than from clever wording.

Linseed is the plant omega source here, bringing the fibre and lignans that come with the seed, and an omega 3 supplement sits alongside it without naming what it is made from. For most dogs that is a non-issue. The question only turns live if you keep your dog strictly away from fish.

The herb blend at 0.3% is seasoning and no more than that, but the label names all six: thyme, parsley, marjoram, basil, oregano and sage. A bare mention of herbs tells a reader nothing and can cover a mixture that changes between batches. Naming the six is a small honesty, and it deserves credit.

Fructooligosaccharides at 96 mg/kg and mannanoligosaccharides at 24 mg/kg make the prebiotic pair, quantified on the label. Beet pulp supplies the fibre that reaches 4.3% of dry matter. Each trace mineral has a dose printed against it, all of them in sulphate form: zinc and iron at 50 mg/kg, manganese at 35 mg/kg, copper at 15 mg/kg and iodine at 1 mg/kg. Selenium comes as sodium selenite at 0.3 mg/kg. Two forms are permitted in pet food and this is the commoner of them, though a dog absorbs it less readily.

£4.83 a kilo, sold in a 12kg bag.

A 15kg adult dog in moderate condition, eating about 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate), gets through roughly 230 grams a day here, which comes to £1.11. The bag's own table asks 145 to 245 grams for dogs between 10kg and 20kg, so read your dog's waistline before you read either figure.