Our verdict
Is Blue Buffalo Chicken Meatball Recipe a good dog food?
We score it 52/100 (Average). This reflects the ingredient quality, composition and label transparency of the recipe as declared on the label.
100% of this recipe has no printed percentage. Estimated shares are model estimates, not label facts.
Who is this food for?
Suits
- Labelled by the manufacturer for adult dogs
- Grain-free: no grain ingredients listed
- Single named protein: chicken
- Doesn't list beef, turkey, lamb, fish, venison, pork, duck as ingredients
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.
Nutrition and feeding
Typical analysis (as fed)
No analysis recorded yet.
Additives & feeding info
Feeding and storage
Storage
Refrigerated fresh dog food.
Feeding guide
Can be served on its own, mixed with dry food, or used as a dog food topper.
No additives recorded yet.
Ingredients (4)100% of the recipe is estimated
Estimated composition
- veg 50.0%
- meat 30.8%
- unknown 19.2%
| # | As declared | Matched | Label reading | Declared % | Est. % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Love Made Fresh chicken recipe for small breed dogs | Chicken | meat · medium | - | 30.8 |
| 2 | with carrots | Carrots | veg · good | - | 26.9 |
| 3 | peas | Peas | veg · good | - | 23.1 |
| 4 | and fresh food ingredients | unmatched | - | - | 19.2 |
- 1. Love Made Fresh chicken recipe for small breed dogs30.8% estimated
- 2. with carrots26.9% estimated
- 3. peas23.1% estimated
- 4. and fresh food ingredients19.2% estimated
Trust and sourceNo recalls recorded in our database · checked 2026-09-12
Brand and contact: Blue Buffalo
- Website
- https://www.bluebuffalo.com/
- Contact page
- www.bluebuffalo.com
Trust and provenance
- Recall history
- No recalls recorded in our database
- Label data last checked
- 2026-09-12
- Scored with
- Model v3 (methodology)
- Product page
- www.bluebuffalo.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: 1.9/5 · 14 reviews
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?
We scored this recipe 52 out of 100. Ingredients without printed percentages pulled the score down by -10.6, while the overall quality of the ingredient list added +4.2 points. The processing format cost -2.4, and ingredients we could not classify reduced the result by -1.
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 | 0.5 | 9.191 | +4.22 |
| Vegetable share of dry matter | 29.1% | -0.005 | -0.15 |
| Unrecognised share of dry matter | 37.4% | -0.027 | -0.99 |
| Undeclared quantities | 100.0% | -0.106 | -10.56 |
| Low meat (under 10% of dry matter) | yes | -3.158 | -3.16 |
| Processing multiplier | 1.07 | 33.786 | +36.15 |
| Processing: Fresh Chilled | yes | -2.354 | -2.35 |
Show all 40 components
| Component | Input | Coefficient | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base score | - | 30.909 | +30.91 |
| Average ingredient quality | 0.5 | 9.191 | +4.22 |
| Meat share of dry matter | 0.0% | 0.096 | +0.00 |
| 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 | 29.1% | -0.005 | -0.15 |
| Additive share of dry matter | 0.0% | 0.163 | +0.00 |
| Supplement share of dry matter | 0.0% | -0.012 | +0.00 |
| Other share of dry matter | 0.0% | -0.375 | +0.00 |
| Unrecognised share of dry matter | 37.4% | -0.027 | -0.99 |
| 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 | 100.0% | -0.106 | -10.56 |
| Prints ingredient percentages | no | 0.000 | +0.00 |
| Complete diet | no | 2.294 | +0.00 |
| Frozen or chilled fresh | no | 0.000 | +0.00 |
| High meat (30%+ of dry matter) | no | 0.707 | +0.00 |
| Low meat (under 10% of dry matter) | yes | -3.158 | -3.16 |
| 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 | 1.07 | 33.786 | +36.15 |
| Processing: Raw | no | -0.054 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Fresh Chilled | yes | -2.354 | -2.35 |
| 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 | no | 6.331 | +0.00 |
| 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
- -1.74
- Subtotal
- 52.3
- Final score
- 52/100
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
Analytical constituents not declared
No nutritional additives section declared on the label.
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 (voluntary) - not on file | 0/20 |
| Analytical constituents declared (mandatory) - not on file | 0/15 |
| Additives declared (mandatory) - not on file | 0/10 |
| Energy value declared (voluntary) - not on file | 0/5 |
| Complete/complementary designation (mandatory) | 5/5 |
| Feeding guidance given (mandatory) | 10/10 |
| Manufacturer identity and address (mandatory) | 5/10 |
| Country of manufacture stated (voluntary) | 10/10 |
| Batch and date labelling (mandatory) - not on file | 0/5 |
Capped at 60: mandatory items missing (Analytical constituents declared, Additives declared, 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.
See all current recalls we track.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| extra heart health support (on page) | Functional | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| supports muscle development (on page) | Functional | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| support a pet's GI health (on page) | Functional | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| REAL, NATURAL INGREDIENTS (on page) | Content | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| you won't find poultry by-product meals or artificial flavors or preservatives here (on page) | Free-from | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| Crafted with real chicken, delicious veggies, and cooked to perfection. (on page) | Content | 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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