Beneful is the Purina equivalent of Kibbles N Bits ... its a horrible food with a great advertising pitch /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad.gif Dogs love it because of the added sugar (which is what gives moist food that texture & is why the teeth get so bad on it) however, it offers nothing in the way of nutrition.
The ingredient list for Beneful Original is:
Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, salt, phosphoric acid, animal digest, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin B-12 supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, copper sulfate, biotin, garlic oil, thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.
The first ingredient is ground yellow corn. Second is chicken by products. Third is corn gluten meal which is also used as an organic lawn fertilizer & artificially raises the protein level of the food. You THINK it contains 25% protein, but its just not useable protein to the dog, and is pooped out. Whole wheat flour is next - RED FLAG, MAJOR food allergen for most dogs. Rice flour is ok. Next is beef, ok, but also an allergen for some dogs and not beef meal, so it actually is cooked down and only a small fraction of actual meat in the food. Not a signifigant ingredient. After that you have soy flour. It should not be in dog food. Period. Another artificial protein increaser, this food is probably only about 15-18% bioavailable protein. Soy is NOT a health food for humans, even worse for dogs. Next is sugar - then sorbitol, which is actually an artificial sweetener. Neither have any place in a dog's diet. We wouldn't add a teaspoon of sugar to a dog's food, so why are we feeding foods w/ pure sugar? Ok, the next few ingredients are cheap vitamins - calcium carbonate is usually from ground up eggshell or oyster shell and is quite difficult for the dog to digest. Should not be the only source of calcium in a food, but it is in this one. A few ingredients down we have salt & animal digest. Further down is a slew of artificial dyes (yellow #5, etc).
This has to be the most processed, nutritionally void, waste of $ I have ever seen in a dog food, but Purina already has a reputattion for makeing some of the worst foods in existance (Mighty Dog, Beneful, Mainstay, Alpo).
Beneful Original sells for approximately $25 for a 35# bag. I just can't see spending my hard earned money on sugar, by products & corn /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif There are some great foods out there that are designed to be "no frills" to fit tight budgets and have very nutrient dense ingredient lists, bioavailable ingredients.
Pro Pac is about $23 for 33lbs, which is the same cost per lb. as Beneful. The quality cannot even be compared. Chicken meal is #1 ingredient. No by products, artificial colors, preservatives or any other junk.
www.propacpetfood.com
When I feed kibble, I use mainly Evolve. Its moderately priced @ $31 for the 30lb bag and the best food I've ever used.
HealthWise is made by Natura (the company that makes Innova) but is a budget priced food, as is Fromm (Gold formulas), Sensible Choice, Blackwood, even Diamond Naturals is better. I know I can get obsessive with diet, but with so many health problems for Beagles being based on obesity and inappropriate diet ... maybe you can understand why I get so uptight about food /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif