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Merrick Lil' Plates Grain-Free Chicken-Free Real Salmon + Sweet Potato Recipe Small Breed Dry Dog Food, 4-lb bag
Merrick

Lil' Plates Grain-Free Chicken-Free Real Salmon + Sweet Potato Recipe Small Breed Dry Dog Food, 4-lb bag

Evidence Fair
dry $6.50/lb

Merrick Lil' Plates Grain-Free Chicken-Free Real Salmon + Sweet Potato Recipe Small Breed Dry Dog Food, 4-lb bag earns a Sniff Score of 59/100 (C) with Fair evidence. Zero controversial ingredients flagged. Score capped at 59 due to no AAFCO statement.

Graded by The Sniff System

Why this score

Strong protein profile with salmon as the primary ingredient, delivering high biological value.

PQI

Quality fat sources: named fat with declared fat sources.

FQI

Named fresh meat paired with same-species meal, a strong extrusion architecture.

STACK

Score capped at 59 due to no AAFCO statement.

CAP why?

No AAFCO statement. Nutritional completeness unverified.

ACF

Controversial ingredients · 1

  • sodium selenite
    Synthetic selenium source. Selenium is essential, but sodium selenite has a narrower safety margin than organic alternatives like selenium yeast. Better-formulated foods use the organic form.

Every flagged ingredient has a published basis (confirmed harm / regulatory action / precautionary). See methodology →

Guaranteed analysis
Protein
31%
min
Fat
15%
min
Fiber
3.5%
max
Moisture
11%
max
Ingredients
28 total
  1. 1 salmon
  2. 2 salmon meal
  3. 3 sweet potato
  4. 4 potato
  5. 5 peas
  6. 6 whitefish meal
  7. 7 pork fat preserved with mixed tocopherols
  8. 8 potato protein
  9. 9 natural flavor
  10. 10 flaxseed
  11. 11 miscanthus grass
  12. 12 sunflower oil
  13. 13 dried yeast
  14. 14 potassium chloride
  15. 15 salt
  16. 16 apples
  17. 17 blueberries
  18. 18 choline chloride
  19. 19 zinc amino acid complex
  20. 20 iron amino acid complex
  21. 21 sodium selenite ⚠ Synthetic selenium source. Selenium is essential, but sodium selenite has a narrower safety margin than organic alternatives like selenium yeast. Better-formulated foods use the organic form.
  22. 22 manganese amino acid complex
  23. 23 copper amino acid complex
  24. 24 calcium iodate
  25. 25 dl-methionine

Showing first 25 of 28. Position 1-5 has the largest weight.