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Merrick Lil' Plates Grain-Free Small Breed Dry Dog Food Real Chicken, Sweet Potatoes + Peas with Raw Bites Recipe, 10-lb bag
Merrick

Lil' Plates Grain-Free Small Breed Dry Dog Food Real Chicken, Sweet Potatoes + Peas with Raw Bites Recipe, 10-lb bag

Evidence Fair
raw $5.50/lb

Merrick Lil' Plates Grain-Free Small Breed Dry Dog Food Real Chicken, Sweet Potatoes + Peas with Raw Bites Recipe, 10-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 deboned chicken as the primary ingredient, delivering high biological value.

PQI

Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).

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
32%
min
Fat
16%
min
Fiber
3.5%
max
Moisture
11%
max
Ingredients
32 total
  1. 1 deboned chicken
  2. 2 chicken meal
  3. 3 turkey meal
  4. 4 sweet potato
  5. 5 potato
  6. 6 peas
  7. 7 chicken fat
  8. 8 whitefish meal
  9. 9 natural flavor
  10. 10 miscanthus grass
  11. 11 dried yeast
  12. 12 chicken livers
  13. 13 flaxseed
  14. 14 tapioca starch
  15. 15 potassium chloride
  16. 16 salt
  17. 17 choline chloride
  18. 18 apples
  19. 19 blueberries
  20. 20 salmon oil
  21. 21 zinc amino acid complex
  22. 22 iron amino acid complex
  23. 23 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.
  24. 24 manganese amino acid complex
  25. 25 copper amino acid complex

Showing first 25 of 32. Position 1-5 has the largest weight.