Darwin's Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Duck
Raw complete
Is Darwin's Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Duck a good dog food?
We score it 69/100 (Average). This reflects the ingredient quality, composition and label transparency of the recipe as declared on the label.
Why this score?
The product earned a score of 69 out of 100. The overall quality of the ingredient list contributed +4.9 points, while ingredients without printed percentages cost -2.7 points. Being labelled nutritionally complete added +2.3 points, and printing percentages for most of the recipe gave a further +1 points.
26% of this recipe has no printed percentage. Estimated shares are model estimates, not label facts.
- Recipe69
- NutritionalNot recorded
- Transparency60
- Safety100
- Evidencelimited50
The Recipe score measures how attractive and transparent the declared ingredient list is. It is not, by itself, proof that the food is nutritionally appropriate for long-term feeding. The Nutritional and Evidence scores measure what we can verify towards that stronger claim.
Why you might choose it
- Scores 69, in the top quarter of raw foods we track.
- Doesn't list grain ingredients.
Why you might not
- Meat makes up an estimated 3% of the dry matter (8% as fed); carbohydrates dominate.
- No analytical breakdown is published.
- Needs freezer space and defrosting before serving.
Estimated composition
Typical analysis (as fed)
No analysis recorded yet.
Additives & feeding info
Nutritional additives
Proprietary Vitamin and Mineral Mix
Feeding guide
As a general rule, an adult pet should consume about 2-3% of their ideal body weight of Darwin's raw food per day. Typically, smaller pets should eat a higher percentage of their body weight, while larger pets should eat a lower percentage. Transition: Day 1-3 mix 25% Darwin's with 75% previous food; Day 4-6 increase to 50%; Day 7-9 feed mostly Darwin's; Day 10 transition to 100% Darwin's.
Reviews
Trustpilot: 4.7/5 · 2,978 reviews
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 fish oil
- Your dog avoids duck: it is listed as an ingredient
- 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. Use the homepage filter to find foods that fit your dog.
Ingredients (16)
| # | As declared | Matched | Category | Tier | Declared % | Est. % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antibiotic-Free Meat | Fresh Meat | meat | medium | - | 2.2 |
| 2 | 74.16%): Whole Duck (including bone | Bone | mineral | medium | 74.16 | 74.2 |
| 3 | Duck Heads (including bone) | Bone | mineral | medium | - | 2.2 |
| 4 | Duck Gizzards | Gizzard | meat | good | - | 2.1 |
| 5 | Duck Livers | Liver | meat | good | - | 2.0 |
| 6 | and Duck Hearts | Heart | meat | good | - | 1.9 |
| 7 | Organic Vegetables (24.64%): Sweet Potato | Vegetables | veg | medium | - | 1.9 |
| 8 | Lettuce | Lettuce | veg | medium | - | 1.8 |
| 9 | Squash (seasonal) | Butternut Squash | veg | good | - | 1.7 |
| 10 | Carrots | Carrots | veg | good | - | 1.6 |
| 11 | Celery | Celery Seeds | veg | good | - | 1.6 |
| 12 | and Parsley | Parsley | veg | good | - | 1.5 |
| 13 | Special Nutrient Mix (1.20%): Organic Sunflower Seed Oil | Sunflower oil | oil | good | - | 1.4 |
| 14 | Fish Oil | Fish Oil | oil | good | - | 1.3 |
| 15 | Pea Fiber | Pea Fibre | fibre | medium | - | 1.3 |
| 16 | Proprietary Vitamin and Mineral Mix. | Vitamin | supplement | good | - | 1.2 |
Brand
- Website
- https://www.darwinspet.com/
- Phone
- 877-738-6325
- Contact page
- www.darwinspet.com
Trust and provenance
- Recall history
- No recalls recorded in our database
- Label data last checked
- 2026-09-18
- Scored with
- Model v3 (methodology)
- Product page
- www.darwinspet.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 v3 on 2026-09-26. 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 | +4.94 |
| Oil share of dry matter | 3.4% | -0.092 | -0.31 |
| Vegetable share of dry matter | 1.9% | -0.005 | -0.01 |
| Supplement share of dry matter | 1.4% | -0.012 | -0.02 |
| Undeclared quantities | 25.8% | -0.106 | -2.73 |
| Complete diet | yes | 2.294 | +2.29 |
| Low meat (under 10% of dry matter) | yes | -3.158 | -3.16 |
| Processing multiplier | 1.12 | 33.786 | +37.84 |
| Processing: Raw | yes | -0.054 | -0.05 |
Show all 40 components
| Component | Input | Coefficient | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base score | - | 30.909 | +30.91 |
| Average ingredient quality | 0.5 | 9.191 | +4.94 |
| 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 | 3.4% | -0.092 | -0.31 |
| Vegetable share of dry matter | 1.9% | -0.005 | -0.01 |
| Additive share of dry matter | 0.0% | 0.163 | +0.00 |
| Supplement share of dry matter | 1.4% | -0.012 | -0.02 |
| 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 | 25.8% | -0.106 | -2.73 |
| 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) | 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 | 1.12 | 33.786 | +37.84 |
| Processing: Raw | yes | -0.054 | -0.05 |
| 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 | 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
- Additives declared on label
- +1 transparency bonus
- Subtotal
- 69.0
- Final score
- 69/100
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
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 (74.2% of the recipe mass) (voluntary) | 14.8/20 |
| Analytical constituents declared (mandatory) - not on file | 0/15 |
| Additives declared (mandatory) | 5/10 |
| Energy value declared (voluntary) - not on file | 0/5 |
| Complete/complementary designation (mandatory) | 5/5 |
| Feeding guidance given (mandatory) | 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, 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.
50/100 · limited — 2 checkable claims: 1 consistent, 1 contradicted.
Contradicted by the label
- "Single-protein recipe" — the declared label says otherwise on single protein.
Consistent with the label
- "No fillers, no grains" — supported by the declared grain-free data.
13 further claims on file that we cannot check against the label.
Limited: at least one claim contradicts the declared label, or a recent upheld ASA ruling applies.
| Claim | Type | Check | Substantiation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duck offers superior levels of amino and essential fatty acids (on page) | Functional | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| The ground bones provide high levels of calcium (on page) | Functional | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| Complete and balanced for all life stages (on page) | Functional | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| Specifically formulated to be gentle on sensitive stomachs and to minimize allergic reactions (on page) | Functional | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| Healthy Microbiome Approved (on page) | Functional | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| No fillers, no grains (on page) | Free-from | consistent | Manufacturer assertion |
| Single-protein recipe (on page) | Content | contradicted | Manufacturer assertion |
| Antibiotic-free meats (on page) | Free-from | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| Organic vegetables (on page) | Content | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| Hormone-free and Antibiotic-free (on page) | Free-from | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| Human-Grade Ingredients (on page) | Content | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| Free from artificial preservatives, colors, and fillers (on page) | Free-from | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| Duck is naturally high in protein (on page) | High/low level | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| Organic produce adds A, B-complex, C, and D vitamins (on page) | Nutrient | not checkable | Manufacturer assertion |
| USDA-quality ingredients (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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