Wainwright's Grain Free Mature Trays: Turkey with Vegetables review

Our reading puts this tray in the Excellent band, which is exactly where the typical adult wet food lives, so a senior label here asks the owner to give up nothing. Turkey at 68% is the main reason, with a high animal share and the moisture figure declared instead of assumed. Carbohydrate converts to an estimated 15.4% of dry matter, almost exactly the 15.8% the typical adult wet food carries. Transparency reads Outstanding here, with protein and processing, nutritional balance and value all Excellent.

Ingredients, as declared: Turkey (68%), Sweet Potato (4%), Dried Peas (2.5%, equivalent to 8% peas), Dried Carrots (1%, equivalent to 8% carrots), Butternut Squash (1%), Minerals, Dried Alfalfa, Apple, Dried Seaweed, Dried Herbs (Parsley, Rosemary, Fennel, Marigold Flowers), Flaxseed Oil, Chicory Root Powder (as a source of Prebiotic Fructo-oligosaccharide) (0.05%), Glucosamine (0.05%), Chondroitin (0.05%), Yucca Extract (0.005%)

Turkey at 68% carries nearly the whole recipe. It is a lean bird, lower in fat than chicken and easy on most digestions, which is why senior and light recipes across the industry reach for it. Protein converts to 35.5% of dry matter and fat to 32.3%, so the mature label has not been used as an excuse to strip the recipe back.

The plant side is small and named. Sweet potato leads the plant side at 4%, then dried peas at 2.5% and dried carrots at 1%, with butternut squash at 1% and dried alfalfa and apple behind them. Dried figures understate the fresh weight, and the label puts these at the equivalent of 8% peas and 8% carrots. Between them carbohydrate converts to an estimated 15.4% of dry matter, level with what the typical adult wet food carries.

Glucosamine and chondroitin are the mature addition, each declared at 0.05%. Meat and cartilage carry both of them naturally, so every meat-based food has a little of each. Printing a figure beside them shows the maker has added more on purpose. How much difference joint supplements make is still argued over in the research. Where a joint condition has been diagnosed, the vet's own regime comes first and the food plays a supporting part.

The rest is trace level and familiar. Dried seaweed brings iodine and minerals, with parsley, rosemary, fennel and marigold flowers making up the herb blend. Then flaxseed oil, chicory root powder at 0.05% working as a prebiotic fibre, and yucca extract at 0.005%.

Every entry on the additive panel carries a dose: vitamins A, D3 and E at 2,500IU, 200IU and 30mg, then zinc at 50mg, iron at 10mg, copper at 5mg and iodine at 0.5mg.

£4.53 a kilo. The tray is 395g and sold on its own.

A 15kg adult dog in moderate condition needs about 840 kcal a day as a guide (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). This tray covers that in roughly 599 grams, working out at £2.71 a day. The label's own guide for a dog of 12kg to 25kg is 493.8 to 790 grams a day.