The Pack Plant-Based Healthy Meals: No-Fishy Dishy review

All three recipes land in our Good band and finish level with one another, since they share an analysis and differ only in fruit and vegetables. Protein and processing reads Poor, since there is no animal ingredient for our scoring to reward, while nutritional balance and transparency both read Outstanding on a label that is thoroughly declared.

The midpoint of the wet shelf reaches our Excellent band, so a step sits between this range and the typical wet food. That step is largely the meat question, not a shortfall in care. Judged on its own terms, this label does the difficult parts of plant-based feeding properly. Protein still converts to 40.0% of dry matter, and the amino acids plants supply poorly are added and printed with doses.

Ingredients, as declared: Pea Protein (8%), Lupin Beans (5.4%), Papaya (3.5%), Blueberries (3%), Sunflower Oil (2.9%), Butternut Squash (2.3%), Red Pepper (2.3%), Peas (2.2%), Brewer's Yeast (2.1%), Botanicals & Herbs: Rosemary, Thyme, Chamomile, Dandelion, Basil, Marjoram, Coriander, Bay Laurel, Parsley, Sage, Dill, Yucca, Chicory Root (0.1%, source of inulin), Minerals, Hemp Seeds (0.67%), Pumpkin Seeds (0.67%), Sunflower Seeds (0.67%), Vegetable Broth, Seaweed (0.5%), Algal Oil (0.04%).

Pea protein at 8% leads every recipe, with lupin beans at 5.4% behind it. Pea protein is a concentrate left over from pea processing, and it is an efficient way to lift a protein figure. Set against meat, though, plant protein is the less complete and less digestible option for a dog. That is the honest starting point for any vegan recipe, and it is exactly why the rest of this label matters so much.

Protein converts to 40.0% of dry matter, which is a real figure for wet food of any kind. The supporting protein comes from lupin beans, brewer's yeast at 2.1% and hemp, pumpkin and sunflower seeds at 0.67% each. Brewer's yeast deserves a mention on its own account. Natural sources of B vitamins do not come much better, and its protein carries all nine of the essential amino acids.

The fruit and vegetable side is substantial and fully itemised, with papaya at 3.5%, berries at 3% and a pair of vegetables at 2.3% each on every recipe. Estimated carbohydrate lands at 22.0% of dry matter against 15.8% for the typical adult wet food, which is simply what a bowl with no meat in it looks like. Crude fibre at 8.0% of dry matter is high by wet food standards. Chicory root at 0.1% adds inulin, a prebiotic fibre the large intestine's own bacteria thrive on.

The fat comes from sunflower oil at 2.9% and from algal oil at 0.04%. Sunflower oil is low in saturated fat and carries vitamin E. That tiny algal figure is the clever part. Algae are the original source of long-chain omega 3, fish included, so a vegan recipe can supply the same fats without the fish.

The supplement panel is where this range earns its keep. DL-methionine at 1000 mg, taurine at 400 mg, lysine at 100 mg and L-carnitine at 80 mg per kilo cover exactly the nutrients that plant proteins deliver poorly. Each one arrives with a figure beside it. Vitamins A, D3 and E follow with figures, along with iron, zinc, manganese, copper, iodine and selenium. Calcium converts to 1.6% of dry matter, a sound level for an adult dog.

The herb list running from rosemary and thyme through to dill and yucca sits at trace level throughout. It gives the cans their character and their aroma, and rosemary in particular doubles as a natural antioxidant. You would not choose this food for the herbs, though.

The sea-flavoured one, built on butternut squash and red pepper at 2.3% each with peas at 2.2% and blueberries at 3%. Seaweed at 0.5% is what gives it its character, and it brings a natural source of iodine and trace minerals with it.

Each recipe comes in 375 g cans, sold in boxes of 6, 12, 18 and 36. We did not hold a checked figure for what this range sells for when this was written, so no per-kilo or per-day number appears here.

For portioning, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition needs about 712 grams a day, assuming around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). These cans are energy dense for wet food, so that is a smaller daily bowl than most wet feeding asks for.