Essential Foods DUCK MINI DELIGHTS
Treat complementary High meat
Is Essential Foods DUCK MINI DELIGHTS a good dog food?
This is a treat, not a complete diet, so it is not scored on our 1-100 scale. The ingredient breakdown below shows what is in it; a treat should be fed alongside, not instead of, a complete diet.
50% of this recipe has no printed percentage. Estimated shares are model estimates, not label facts.
- RecipeNot applicable
- NutritionalNot applicable
- Transparency60
- Safety100
- Evidencelimited33
Complementary treats for dogs of all life stages, with meat and animal derivatives, duck and vegetable by as the main ingredients.
Why you might choose it
- Meat makes up an estimated 41% of the dry matter (65% as fed).
- Doesn't list grain ingredients.
- Low in fat for its format: 9% fat on a dry-matter basis.
Why you might not
- A treat, not a complete diet: feed as an extra, not the whole diet.
- 3 poor-graded ingredients make up about 38% of the recipe.
- 50% of the recipe mass has no printed percentage, so the exact split cannot be verified.
What the label tells us
- The label lists 5 ingredients.
- Uses generic terms (Duck): the specific animal source is not stated.
- Lists no artificial colours or preservatives.
- Prints quantities for 1 ingredient.
Why is this treat not scored?
Our 1 to 100 rating applies to complete diets, so treats and complementary foods are presented as what the label tells us rather than a number that would invite comparison with complete meals.
What should I look for on a treat label?
A short ingredient list, named animal sources instead of generic terms, and no artificial colours or preservatives. Printed quantities are a good transparency signal, though few treat labels provide them.
These points are derived from the published ingredient list, not a rating.
Estimated composition
Typical analysis (as fed)
- Protein
- 34%
- Fat
- 7%
- Fibre
- 1%
- Ash
- 10%
- Moisture
- 22%
Additives & feeding info
Technological additives
Preservatives
Storage
Storage: Dry and out of sunlight
Who is this food for?
Suits
- Labelled by the manufacturer for all lifestages
- Labelling or feeding guide is aimed at small dogs
- Grain-free: no grain ingredients listed
- Doesn't list chicken, beef, turkey, lamb, fish, venison, pork as ingredients
Consider something else if:
- Your dog avoids duck: the label lists duck
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. Use the homepage filter to find foods that fit your dog.
Ingredients (5)
| # | As declared | Matched | Category | Tier | Declared % | Est. % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meat and animal derivatives | Meat and Animal Derivatives | meat | poor | - | 15.4 |
| 2 | 50% duck | Duck | meat | medium | 50 | 50.0 |
| 3 | derivatives of vegetable origin | Vegetable By-Products | other | poor | - | 13.5 |
| 4 | yeast | Yeast | supplement | good | - | 11.5 |
| 5 | oils and fats | Oils and Fats | oil | poor | - | 9.6 |
Brand
Trust and provenance
- Recall history
- No recalls recorded in our database
- Label data last checked
- 2026-08-22
- Product page
- essentialfoods.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.
Spotted a mistake in this listing? Report it here and we'll take a look.
Recipe: how the 1-100 score is calculated
Scored with model v2 on 2026-09-22. Each component is the feature value for this product multiplied by the model's published coefficient.
| Component | Input | Coefficient | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base score | - | 32.336 | +32.34 |
| Average ingredient quality | -0.1 | 9.915 | -0.65 |
| Meat share of dry matter | 40.5% | 0.116 | +4.70 |
| Oil share of dry matter | 21.1% | -0.088 | -1.86 |
| Supplement share of dry matter | 23.5% | -0.009 | -0.21 |
| Other share of dry matter | 14.9% | -0.371 | -5.53 |
| Recipe graded poor | 38.5% | -0.045 | -1.72 |
| Poor-quality meat in recipe | 15.4% | -0.182 | -2.80 |
| Number of poor ingredients | 3 | -0.868 | -2.60 |
| Largest single poor ingredient | 15.4% | 0.056 | +0.87 |
| Undeclared quantities | 50.0% | -0.131 | -6.54 |
| High meat (30%+ of dry matter) | yes | -0.506 | -0.51 |
| Additive penalty | -1.23 | 0.236 | -0.29 |
| Processing multiplier | 1.00 | 32.336 | +32.34 |
Show all 40 components
| Component | Input | Coefficient | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base score | - | 32.336 | +32.34 |
| Average ingredient quality | -0.1 | 9.915 | -0.65 |
| Meat share of dry matter | 40.5% | 0.116 | +4.70 |
| Carb share of dry matter | 0.0% | -0.113 | +0.00 |
| Oil share of dry matter | 21.1% | -0.088 | -1.86 |
| Vegetable share of dry matter | 0.0% | -0.002 | +0.00 |
| Additive share of dry matter | 0.0% | 0.177 | +0.00 |
| Supplement share of dry matter | 23.5% | -0.009 | -0.21 |
| Other share of dry matter | 14.9% | -0.371 | -5.53 |
| Unrecognised share of dry matter | 0.0% | -0.022 | +0.00 |
| Recipe graded poor | 38.5% | -0.045 | -1.72 |
| Poor-quality meat in recipe | 15.4% | -0.182 | -2.80 |
| Number of poor ingredients | 3 | -0.868 | -2.60 |
| Largest single poor ingredient | 15.4% | 0.056 | +0.87 |
| Undeclared quantities | 50.0% | -0.131 | -6.54 |
| Prints ingredient percentages | no | 3.194 | +0.00 |
| Complete diet | no | 1.703 | +0.00 |
| Frozen or chilled fresh | no | 11.440 | +0.00 |
| High meat (30%+ of dry matter) | yes | -0.506 | -0.51 |
| Low meat (under 10% of dry matter) | no | -1.988 | +0.00 |
| High carb and low meat | no | -1.250 | +0.00 |
| Meat share × printed percentages | 0.0 | -0.073 | +0.00 |
| Meat share × fresh | 0.0 | -0.339 | +0.00 |
| Fresh × high meat | 0.0 | 16.475 | +0.00 |
| Additive penalty | -1.23 | 0.236 | -0.29 |
| Processing multiplier | 1.00 | 32.336 | +32.34 |
| Processing: Raw | no | 13.322 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Fresh Chilled | no | 7.712 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Fresh Frozen | no | 6.583 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Fresh Refrigerated | no | 4.857 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Fresh Shelf | no | 0.072 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Dry Freeze Dried | no | 11.127 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Dry Air Dried | no | 9.320 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Dry Cold Pressed | no | 4.569 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Dry Baked | no | -2.321 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Dry Extruded | no | -6.996 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Dry Semi Moist | no | -6.833 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Dry Muesli | no | -10.711 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Wet Pate | no | 2.935 | +0.00 |
| Processing: Wet Chunks | no | 2.292 | +0.00 |
- Processing-type offset
- +0.00
- Additives declared on label
- +1 transparency bonus
- Subtotal
- 48.5
- Final score
- 49/100
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.
This is not a complete diet, so the 1-100 rating does not apply to it. Read the recipe breakdown above as ingredient-quality context only.
Score history across model versions
The score shown above is always computed with the latest published model. Earlier scores are kept for the record and are never edited or deleted; a scoring change ships as a new model version with a public write-up on the methodology page.
| Model | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| v2 | 49/100 | current |
| v1 | 47/100 | |
| v1.9 | 50/100 |
Nutritional: declared analysis vs reference ranges
Not applicable to complementary food. FEDIAF reference ranges apply to complete diets.
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 (50% of the recipe mass) (voluntary) | 10/20 |
| Analytical constituents declared (mandatory) | 15/15 |
| Additives declared (mandatory) | 5/10 |
| Energy value declared (voluntary) - not on file | 0/5 |
| Complete/complementary designation (mandatory) | 5/5 |
| Feeding guidance given (mandatory) - not on file | 0/10 |
| Manufacturer identity and address (mandatory) | 5/10 |
| Country of manufacture stated (voluntary) | 10/10 |
| Batch and date labelling (mandatory) | 5/5 |
Capped at 60: mandatory items missing (Feeding guidance given).
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 marketing claims made on the pack and product page, and how much evidence sits behind them. We record the claims as stated; we do not assess whether they are true.
| Claim | Type | Substantiation |
|---|---|---|
| A grain-free diet helps sensitive digestion (on page) | Functional | Manufacturer assertion |
| Crude ash 10 % (on page) | Nutrient | Manufacturer assertion |
| GRAIN-FREE (on page) | Free-from | Manufacturer assertion |
| Crude protein 34 % (on page) | Nutrient | Manufacturer assertion |
| Crude fat 7 % (on page) | Nutrient | Manufacturer assertion |
| A grain-free recipe packed with duck. (on page) | Content | Manufacturer assertion |
| Crude fibre 1 % (on page) | Nutrient | Manufacturer assertion |
| Moisture 22 % (on page) | Nutrient | Manufacturer assertion |
Limited: at least one claim rests on manufacturer assertion alone.
The full scoring method is published. See the methodology for exactly how the headline score and each dimension are calculated.
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