ZEAL Canada Air-Dried Food Salmon & Duck Recipe
Dry Air Dried · completeHigh meatClear label
Our verdict
Is ZEAL Canada Air-Dried Food Salmon & Duck Recipe a good dog food?
We score it 96/100 (Good). This reflects the ingredient quality, composition and label transparency of the recipe as declared on the label.
Who is this food for?
Suits
- Labelled by the manufacturer for all lifestages
- Grain-free: no grain ingredients listed
- Doesn't list chicken, beef, turkey, lamb, venison, pork as ingredients
Consider something else if:
- Your dog avoids fish: the label lists salmon
- Your dog avoids duck: the label lists duck
- You want a single-protein recipe: this one lists more than one animal protein
These points are derived from declared ingredients and analysis, not a substitute for veterinary advice. If your dog has a diagnosed condition, food choice is a medical nutrition decision: speak to your vet. Find foods that fit your dog.
Ingredients (13)2% of the recipe is estimated
Estimated composition
- meat 96.5%
- veg 2.7%
- supplement 0.8%
| # | As declared | Matched | Label reading | Declared % | Est. % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45.5% Duck | Duck | meat · medium | 45.5 | 45.5 |
| 2 | 5% Duck Liver | Liver | meat · good | 5 | 5.0 |
| 3 | 45.5% Salmon | Salmon | meat · good | 45.5 | 45.5 |
| 4 | Pumpkin (1%) | Pumpkin | veg · good | 1 | 1.0 |
| 5 | Bamboo Fiber (1%) | Bamboo | veg · medium | 1 | 1.0 |
| 6 | Eggshell | Crushed Eggshells | supplement · good | - | 0.3 |
| 7 | Dicalcium Phosphate | Dicalcium phosphate | supplement · medium | - | 0.3 |
| 8 | Yucca Schidigera Extract (0.12%) | Yucca Schidigera | supplement · good | 0.12 | 0.1 |
| 9 | Carrot | Carrots | veg · good | - | 0.3 |
| 10 | Ginger Root | Ginger | veg · good | - | 0.3 |
| 11 | Green Lipped Mussel | Green-Lipped Mussel | supplement · good | - | 0.2 |
| 12 | Kelp | Kelp | veg · good | - | 0.2 |
| 13 | Turmeric Root | Turmeric | veg · good | - | 0.2 |
- 1. 45.5% Duck45.5% declared45.5% estimated
- 2. 5% Duck Liver5% declared5.0% estimated
- 3. 45.5% Salmon45.5% declared45.5% estimated
- 4. Pumpkin (1%)1% declared1.0% estimated
- 5. Bamboo Fiber (1%)1% declared1.0% estimated
- 6. Eggshell0.3% estimated
- 7. Dicalcium Phosphate0.3% estimated
- 8. Yucca Schidigera Extract (0.12%)0.12% declared0.1% estimated
- 9. Carrot0.3% estimated
- 10. Ginger Root0.3% estimated
- 11. Green Lipped Mussel0.2% estimated
- 12. Kelp0.2% estimated
- 13. Turmeric Root0.2% estimated
Nutrition and feedingProtein 34.16% · Fat 40.70%
Declared analysis (as fed)
| Nutrient | As fed | Dry matter | Directory average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein | 34.16% | 37.75% | - |
| Fat | 40.70% | 44.97% | - |
| Fibre | 2.50% | 2.76% | - |
| Ash | 8.10% | 8.95% | - |
| Moisture | 9.50% | - | - |
| Carbohydrates | 5.04% | 5.57% | - |
| Calcium | 1.61% | - | - |
| Phosphorus | 1.23% | - | - |
| Sodium | 0.41% | - | - |
Energy: 483.2 kcal/100g
Additives & feeding info
Feeding and storage
Feeding guide
Serve as a meal, mixer, or topper for simple, natural nutrition to accompany all life stages
Additives declared on the label
Nutritional additives
Zinc Sulfate; Zinc Proteinate; Iron Proteinate; Ferrous Sulfate; Copper Proteinate; Manganese Sulfate; Sodium Selenite; Manganese Proteinate; Copper Sulfate
Technological additives
Natural mixed tocopherol
Trust and sourceNo recalls recorded in our database · checked 2026-09-19
Brand and contact: ZEAL
- [email protected]
- Address
- 2400 E Francis St, Ontario, CA 91761-7728
- Contact page
- www.zealpetfood.com
Trust and provenance
- Recall history
- No recalls recorded in our database
- Label data last checked
- 2026-09-19
- Scored with
- Model v3 (methodology)
- Product page
- www.zealpetfood.com
Recall history is presentation-only and never affects the score. Dates are when we recorded the data, not when the manufacturer last changed the recipe.
Brand and retailer reviews
External platform ratings are not scores for this individual recipe.
Trustpilot: 3.7/5 · 1 reviews
72 reviews on this product · 4.8/5
Spotted a mistake in this listing? Report it here and we'll take a look.
Score details and methodologyCalculations, history and evidence
Recipe: how the 1-100 score is calculated
Why this score?
This product reaches an overall score of 96 out of 100. The overall quality of the ingredient list contributed +9.1 points, the meat content contributed +9 points, the processing format contributed +6.3 points, and being labelled nutritionally complete contributed +2.3 points.
Scored with model v3 on 2026-10-25. Each component is the feature value for this product multiplied by the model's published coefficient.
| Component | Input | Coefficient | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base score | - | 30.909 | +30.91 |
| Average ingredient quality | 1.0 | 9.191 | +9.10 |
| Meat share of dry matter | 94.3% | 0.096 | +9.05 |
| Vegetable share of dry matter | 2.8% | -0.005 | -0.01 |
| Supplement share of dry matter | 2.5% | -0.012 | -0.03 |
| Undeclared quantities | 1.9% | -0.106 | -0.20 |
| Complete diet | yes | 2.294 | +2.29 |
| High meat (30%+ of dry matter) | yes | 0.707 | +0.71 |
| Processing multiplier | 1.08 | 33.786 | +36.49 |
| Processing: Dry Air Dried | yes | 6.331 | +6.33 |
Show all 40 components
| Component | Input | Coefficient | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base score | - | 30.909 | +30.91 |
| Average ingredient quality | 1.0 | 9.191 | +9.10 |
| Meat share of dry matter | 94.3% | 0.096 | +9.05 |
| Carb share of dry matter | 0.0% | -0.115 | +0.00 |
| Oil share of dry matter | 0.0% | -0.092 | +0.00 |
| Vegetable share of dry matter | 2.8% | -0.005 | -0.01 |
| Additive share of dry matter | 0.0% | 0.163 | +0.00 |
| Supplement share of dry matter | 2.5% | -0.012 | -0.03 |
| Other share of dry matter | 0.0% | -0.375 | +0.00 |
| Unrecognised share of dry matter | 0.0% | -0.027 | +0.00 |
| Recipe graded poor | 0.0% | -0.065 | +0.00 |
| Poor-quality meat in recipe | 0.0% | -0.179 | +0.00 |
| Number of poor ingredients | 0 | -0.876 | +0.00 |
| Largest single poor ingredient | 0.0% | 0.060 | +0.00 |
| Undeclared quantities | 1.9% | -0.106 | -0.20 |
| Prints ingredient percentages | no | 0.000 | +0.00 |
| Complete diet | yes | 2.294 | +2.29 |
| Frozen or chilled fresh | no | 0.000 | +0.00 |
| High meat (30%+ of dry matter) | yes | 0.707 | +0.71 |
| Low meat (under 10% of dry matter) | no | -3.158 | +0.00 |
| High carb and low meat | no | -1.180 | +0.00 |
| Meat share × printed percentages | 0.0 | 0.000 | +0.00 |
| Meat share × fresh | 0.0 | 0.000 | +0.00 |
| Fresh × high meat | 0.0 | 11.084 | +0.00 |
| Additive penalty | 0.00 | 0.222 | +0.00 |
| Processing multiplier | 1.08 | 33.786 | +36.49 |
| Processing: Raw | no | -0.054 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Fresh Chilled | no | -2.354 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Fresh Frozen | no | -2.354 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Fresh Refrigerated | no | 0.000 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Fresh Shelf | no | -0.672 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Dry Freeze Dried | no | 6.629 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Dry Air Dried | yes | 6.331 | +6.33 |
| Processing: Dry Cold Pressed | no | -6.713 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Dry Baked | no | -6.713 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Dry Extruded | no | -6.713 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Dry Semi Moist | no | -6.174 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Dry Muesli | no | -10.146 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Wet Pate | no | -0.672 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Wet Chunks | no | -0.672 | +0.00 |
- Processing-type offset
- +0.28
- Additives declared on label
- +2 transparency bonus
- Subtotal
- 96.9
- Final score
- 96/100
Contributions are rounded to two decimals, so they may not sum exactly to the subtotal. The full coefficient table is published on the methodology page.
Nutritional: declared analysis vs reference ranges
How the declared analysis compares with FEDIAF reference ranges for adult dogs. The label prints as-fed values; we convert to a dry-matter basis before scoring, and the bands are dry-matter ranges. Scores rise to 100 at the band midpoint: the reference is adequacy, not maximisation. Nutrients with a published upper limit taper again above it; fat is policed through calorie density rather than a direct penalty.
Guaranteed-analysis FEDIAF score: crude minimums and maximums are bounds, not typical values; moisture (a maximum) uses the processing median where available; experimental US score.
| Nutrient | As fed (label) | Dry matter (scored) | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein | 34.16 | 37.7 (band 24.026519337016577 to 40%) | 100 |
| Fat | 40.7 | 45 (band 7.341436464088399 to 20%) | 100 |
| Fibre | 2.5 | 2.8 (band 0.5 to 5%) | 100 |
| Calcium | 1.61 | 1.8 (band 0.6674033149171271 to 2.5%) | 100 |
| Phosphorus | 1.23 | 1.4 (band 0.5339226519337017 to 1.6%) | 100 |
| Sodium | 0.41 | 0.5 (band 0.13348066298342542+%) | 100 |
| Calcium:phosphorus ratio | 1.3 | 1.3 (band 1 to 2%) | 88.5 |
| Energy (kcal/100g) | 483.2 | 533.9 | 50 |
Scored over 8 declared nutrients (combined weight 95); undeclared nutrients do not affect the score.
Portion-control flag: 483.2 kcal/100g as fed with fat at 45% dry matter, above the reference band. High-energy foods need smaller portions.
Declared fortification: 9 nutritional additives on the label
- Zinc Sulfate
- Zinc Proteinate
- Iron Proteinate
- Ferrous Sulfate
- Copper Proteinate
- Manganese Sulfate
- Sodium Selenite
- Manganese Proteinate
- Copper Sulfate
Medium confidence: the full five-part analysis is on file; where moisture was not declared it was estimated from the food type.
This measures agreement with published reference ranges, not suitability for an individual dog. For medical conditions, follow veterinary guidance.
Transparency: what the label discloses
How much the manufacturer discloses, measured against the FEDIAF Code of Good Labelling Practice and Regulation 767/2009. Mandatory items dominate the weighting.
| Item | Points |
|---|---|
| Ingredient list on the label (mandatory) | 10/10 |
| Printed percentages on the label (98.1% of the recipe mass) (voluntary) | 19.6/20 |
| Analytical constituents declared (mandatory) | 15/15 |
| Additives declared (mandatory) | 10/10 |
| Energy value declared (voluntary) | 5/5 |
| Complete/complementary designation (mandatory) | 5/5 |
| Feeding guidance given (mandatory) | 10/10 |
| Manufacturer identity and address (mandatory) | 10/10 |
| Country of manufacture stated (voluntary) | 10/10 |
| Batch and date labelling (mandatory) - not on file | 0/5 |
Capped at 60: mandatory items missing (Batch and date labelling).
Safety: recall history
Recall and safety-notice history, time-decayed. This dimension is shown alongside the score and never feeds the headline number.
No recalls recorded in our database.
Evidence: what the brand claims, and what supports it
The claims made on the pack and product page, checked against the declared label. We record claims as stated; "consistent" means our stored label data supports the claim, "contradicted" means it conflicts with it. Functional claims are recorded but never scored.
Claims on file; none we can check against the label
| Claim | Type | Check | Substantiation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sourced and Crafted in Canada, Fully Traceable (on page) | provenance | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| Natural and ethical dog food (on page) | provenance | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| Superfood Support - Green-lipped mussels, turmeric & organic fruits boost joints, immunity & digestion (on page) | Functional | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| 0% No fillers, grains, artificial preservatives, or by-products (on page) | Free-from | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| 96% Salmon & Duck - Salmon & Duck tripe, liver, & heart provide high-quality protein for muscle & vitality (on page) | Content | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| Air-Dried for Nutrients - Locks in nutrients & flavor without additives or preservatives (on page) | Free-from | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| Supports Healthy Digestion, Skin and Coat, and Immune System (on page) | Functional | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
The full scoring method is published. See the methodology for exactly how the headline score and each dimension are calculated.
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