Europa Super Food 65/35 Senior: Scottish Salmon review

This finishes at Excellent on our scoring, a clear step above the Good band the typical adult dry food occupies. Most of the distance comes from the meat: 65% declared salmon, 30% of it already dried, leaves very little room for filler. Carbohydrate is estimated at 35.9% of dry matter against the 46.2% that is typical. The one thing keeping it from going further is a plant side left unquantified, which is a labelling choice rather than a nutritional fault.

Ingredients, as declared: Salmon 65% (Freshly Prepared Scottish Salmon 35%, Salmon 30%), Dill*, Spinach*, Fennel*, Asparagus*, Tomato*, Other Functional Ingredients (chart labels; the starred vegetables carry no printed percentages)

Salmon at 65% is split into 35% freshly prepared Scottish salmon and 30% salmon in dried form. That second figure carries the weight. Freshly prepared fish is mostly water, and the oven drives that off, while dried salmon arrives close to what it will hold. Protein finishes at 35% as fed, 38.0% of dry matter, which is generous for a food written around later life.

Fat sits at 11%, 12.0% of dry matter, and energy at 352 kcal per 100g, both a little under what a comparable adult recipe carries. That is the senior adjustment in a nutshell, because a dog that has slowed down still wants the protein but no longer burns through the fat the way they once did.

The plant side is named as dill, spinach, fennel, asparagus and tomato. Everything else is described only as other functional ingredients. It is a pleasant list and every vegetable on it is sound, but with no percentages there is no telling whether a given item is a real contributor or a garnish. Estimated carbohydrate at 35.9% of dry matter is the only firm measure of how much plant material is actually in there.

Ash at 9.5%, 10.3% of dry matter, with calcium at 1.85% of dry matter, is the mineral signature of a recipe built on a large dried fish share. Dried fish brings bone along with the flesh. For a healthy older dog that reads as entirely normal, and the fish itself brings marine omega 3 with it, the form a dog's body can use without having to convert it first.

£4.87 a kilo, sold in a 15kg bag.

As a guide, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition eats about 239 grams a day, assuming around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate), giving a daily figure of £1.16. The label asks 145 to 240 grams for a dog between 10kg and 20kg, so settle any difference by how your dog looks and feels.