Wainwright's Grain Free Adult Trays: Fish review

Three of the four trays land in our Excellent band with the fish a band below in Good, and the turkey finishes at the front. That is good company to be keeping, since the typical adult wet food itself reads Excellent. An Excellent placing here means keeping pace with the better wet recipes, not standing out against a soft field.

Transparency reads Outstanding on all four trays, and the turkey, chicken and lamb read Excellent for both protein and processing and nutritional balance. The fish reads Good for protein and processing and Outstanding for nutritional balance, with value Excellent on the three meat trays and Good on the fish. The same things drive every one of them: 70% named animal, and a declared moisture figure, not an assumed one. Carbohydrate converts to between 11.4% and 19.1% of dry matter depending on the flavour, against 15.8% for the typical adult wet food.

Ingredients, as declared: White Fish (70%), Sweet Potato (4%), Dried Peas (2.5%, equivalent to 8% peas), Minerals, Dried Carrots (1%, equivalent to 8% carrots), Butternut Squash (1%), Dried Alfalfa, Apple, Dried Seaweed (0.12%), Dried Herbs (Parsley, Rosemary, Fennel, Marigold Flowers), Flaxseed Oil (0.08%), Chicory Root Powder (as a source of Prebiotic Fructo-oligosaccharide) (0.05%), Yucca Extract (0.005%)

Seventy per cent named animal is the headline and it holds on all four labels. Chicken, turkey and lamb are each declared on their own, and the fourth tray uses white fish. Protein converts to between 34.5% and 41.7% of dry matter depending on the flavour, with the fish tray highest of the four.

The plant side is small and specific. Sweet potato comes in at 4%, dried peas at 2.5%, dried carrots at 1% and butternut squash at 1%. On the label the dried peas are marked as equivalent to 8% peas, and the dried carrots to 8% carrots. Whole peas at this level read as a source of fibre and antioxidants rather than as bulk, and carrots bring vitamin A and soluble fibre once they are cooked. None of the four lists carries a cereal.

Then comes the garden. Dried alfalfa and apple sit without percentages. Dried seaweed at 0.12% brings iodine along with a spread of minerals. The herb blend names parsley, rosemary, fennel and marigold flowers. Then flaxseed oil at 0.08% and chicory root powder at 0.05%, the chicory a prebiotic fibre that feeds the gut, with yucca extract closing at 0.005%. It is trace level throughout, and the meat is what you are actually buying.

The additive panel is identical on all four trays and every entry carries a figure. Vitamin A at 2,500IU, vitamin D3 at 200IU and vitamin E at 30mg, with zinc at 50mg, iron at 10mg, copper at 5mg and iodine at 0.5mg. Printed doses like these are more than many wet labels bother with.

Ash is the one figure that moves sharply between flavours: 12.0% of dry matter on the chicken, 22.4% on the lamb, 19.6% on the fish. Higher ash on a lamb or fish recipe usually means more bone came through with the meat, which is ordinary for the category and simply part of how those two trays read.

White fish at 70%, much the leanest tray at 16.7% fat on a dry matter basis and the lightest at an estimated 85 kcal per 100g. No tray beats it on protein, at 41.7% of dry matter, though the species behind the white fish is not named.

£4.53 a kilo, in single 395g trays, with the same figure on all four flavours.

Maintenance for a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition works out at about 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard estimate), and because energy varies between flavours so does the daily amount. That is roughly 579 grams and £2.62 on the chicken, 599 grams and £2.71 on the turkey, 707 grams and £3.20 on the lamb, and 987 grams and £4.47 on the fish. The label's own guide for a dog of 12kg to 25kg is 493.8 to 888.8 grams a day.