Vital Essentials Ingredients: What Is Really in the Food?

When you read a pet food label, you want to know what each ingredient is doing there. Our recipes start with whole-animal protein – up to 99% meat, organs, and bone, with carefully selected supplements to provide complete nutrition throughout shelf life.

Here’s what goes into Vital Essentials food, why those ingredients are included, and what we leave out.

Key Takeaways

●     Whole-animal protein, including muscle, organs, bone, and fat, is at the base of our recipes.

●     Organ meat and ground bone add nutrients in carefully measured amounts.

●     Our protein options include beef, chicken, duck, rabbit, turkey, pork, salmon, and lamb.

●     Ingredients stay temperature-controlled from harvest through manufacturing and finished storage.

●     We don’t use BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, artificial colors, or artificial preservatives.

What’s in Vital Essentials Food?

Whole-animal, butcher-cut protein is at the base of Vital Essentials food. Depending on the recipe, the label may name beef, chicken, rabbit, or another animal protein along with the necessary organs, bone, and fat.

Pet food ingredients must appear on the label by their common names and in descending order by weight. Named ingredients make it easier to see which animal proteins are included in the recipe.

You won’t find grains added for bulk, fillers, artificial colors, or artificial preservatives in Vital Essentials food. Complete entrées may also contain oils, vitamins, and minerals that help provide the nutrients dogs and cats need.

Why Do Vital Essentials Recipes Include Organs and Bone?

Using more of the animal allows different ingredients to contribute different nutrients. Liver, heart, kidney, lung, gizzard, and tripe each have a nutritional role.

The liver provides nutrients such as iron, copper, vitamin A, and B vitamins, while the heart contains taurine and other nutrients. Kidney, lung, gizzard, and tripe give additional nutrients to the finished recipe.

Ground bone adds calcium and phosphorus in measured amounts. But that’s different than giving your pet a whole or cooked bone as a snack.

Our ingredient guide explains how muscle, organs, bone, and other ingredients work together in our recipes.

What Do the Other Ingredients Do?

Some recipes include oils, vitamins, and minerals to complete the nutrient profile or help protect freshness.

●     Herring oil or fish oil: Provides omega-3 fatty acids that support healthy skin, a shiny coat, and normal joint function.

●     Mixed tocopherols: Help maintain freshness with their antioxidant properties.

●     Vitamin E: Supports normal immune function and skin and coat health.

●     Mineral amino acid complexes: Supply usable forms of minerals such as copper, iron, zinc, and manganese.

●     Calcium carbonate and tricalcium phosphate: Add calcium and phosphorus as needed to complete the recipe.

Each ingredient has a clear role, whether it adds nutrients or helps maintain freshness.

Which Protein Options Does Vital Essentials Offer?

Vital Essentials offers recipes and treats featuring beef, chicken, duck, rabbit, turkey, pork, salmon, and lamb. You can choose a protein your pet already enjoys or try different options over time.

You don’t need to rotate proteins. You can stick with a recipe your pet enjoys and does well on.

A recipe featuring one primary animal protein also isn’t necessarily a single-ingredient product. Certain treats contain one animal ingredient, such as beef liver or chicken hearts, while complete entrées include additional ingredients to provide balanced nutrition.

How We Source and Handle Our Ingredients

We source animal proteins exclusively from USDA-inspected suppliers certified by GFSI. Finished pet food falls under FDA oversight.

We also use wild-caught salmon and tuna. From harvest through manufacturing and finished storage, temperature controls help protect the ingredients at each stage.

Our ingredients and finished products contain no BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin. We also make our recipes without artificial colors or preservatives.

Ingredient sourcing is only the first step of the process. Our food safety and quality standards continue through supplier review, sanitation, manufacturing, quality sampling, and product checks before release.

Are Dog and Cat Food Ingredients Different?

We apply the same sourcing and handling standards to proteins used in dog and cat food. The difference comes in how the finished recipe is formulated.

Dogs and cats have different nutritional needs, including different requirements for certain micronutrients. That’s why we tailor our dog and cat formulas to the specific nutritional needs of each species, even when they use similar animal proteins.

Look for food made for your dog or cat and labeled complete and balanced for their stage of life. Treats and supplemental products are meant to complement the main diet, not replace it.

Serving size also affects how the food supports your pet. Start with the package directions, then use our raw food feeding guide to account for weight, age, and activity level. Adjust as needed.

Ingredients You Can Recognize

A useful ingredient list should help you understand what you’re feeding. Named proteins tell you where the animal ingredients come from, while the rest of the label shows how the recipe comes together nutritionally.

Check the full ingredient list along with the dog or cat designation and the complete and balanced statement.

Choose food made for your pet’s species, stage of life, and overall needs, then look at the full recipe instead of judging it by one ingredient alone.

Our approach grew from a belief that dogs and cats deserve protein-forward food made with whole-animal ingredients. Learn more about how we got our start, or read our beginner’s guide to raw feeding for help bringing raw food into your pet’s routine.

You can also find Vital Essentials near you when you’re ready to compare recipes and protein options.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Vital Essentials Products Single-Ingredient?

Vital Essentials offers both single-ingredient products and complete recipes. Certain treats contain one animal ingredient, such as freeze-dried beef liver or chicken hearts, while toppers and complete entrées include additional ingredients based on their nutritional purpose.

Does Vital Essentials Use Grains or Fillers?

No. Our recipes do not contain grains or filler ingredients. You may see vitamins, minerals, oils, or natural antioxidants on an entrée label. Those ingredients aren’t fillers; they help provide complete nutrition throughout shelf life.

Is Vital Essentials Dog Food Complete and Balanced?

Yes. Our entrées are formulated to provide complete and balanced nutrition for dogs at all life stages. Treats and snacks complement a complete diet, not replace the main meal.

Are Vital Essentials Ingredients Human-Grade?

Vital Essentials doesn’t label its finished pet food as human-grade. Our animal proteins come from USDA-inspected suppliers, but that sourcing standard is separate from how a finished pet food may be labeled.