Does Price Predict WSAVA Scores? 9 Brands Checked (2026)

Short answer: no. Price and parent company do not predict the score. Purina ONE, a budget-priced food from Nestlé Purina (the maker of Purina Pro Plan), meets all five of WSAVA's manufacturer-quality questions. Its labels carry AAFCO feeding-trial statements, and Purina says it is made in its own US plants. Merrick, which Nestlé Purina also owns, meets one.

One correction before the table. WSAVA does not approve or certify any food, so no brand is "WSAVA approved". What WSAVA publishes is a set of questions to put to a manufacturer. "WSAVA compliant" is shorthand for a company that can answer all of them well. Our main WSAVA guide explains the questions and scores every brand we track. This post takes nine of them, the ones that keep showing up in reader searches, and asks whether a lower price or a famous parent company buys a better score.

How we scored them

Each brand gets one of four answers on each of WSAVA's five questions:

• Yes: the manufacturer, or a trade publication reporting on it, says so publicly.
• Partial: there is some evidence, but it falls short of the question as WSAVA asks it.
• No: the evidence points the other way. For feeding trials, this means the brand's flagship label says "formulated to meet" AAFCO profiles instead of "animal feeding tests".
• Not public: we could not find the company saying either way.

"Not public" is not a failing grade. It means the answer is not on the record, and the only way to get it is to ask the company. How fast and how specifically a company answers is itself informative.

The scores

Checked October 2026 against manufacturer sites, product labels, and trade press. Sources are listed at the end.

Brand by brand

Purina ONE: 5 of 5

Purina ONE comes out of the same company as Pro Plan: Nestlé Purina, which says it employs more than 500 scientists, veterinarians, and nutritionists. Purina describes Purina ONE as made in its own US facilities. The deciding question for most brands is feeding trials, and Purina ONE passes it. Its current labels, including Purina ONE +Plus Whole Body Support and the Chicken & Rice formula, state that "animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate" the food as complete and balanced. An older bag of the Chicken & Rice formula said "formulated to meet" instead, so check the bag's date.

The difference from Pro Plan is the product range and the price, not the manufacturer. Pro Plan has more specialized formulas, including sport, sensitive skin, and veterinary diets. If your dog does not need one of those, Purina ONE gets you the same company standards for less. See Purina ONE's full WSAVA breakdown, or the Purina Pro Plan breakdown for the parent company's full answers.

Pedigree: 4 of 5

Pedigree is a Mars brand. Mars says Pedigree recipes are developed with veterinarians and nutritionists at its Waltham Petcare Science Institute, and Mars Petcare US makes the food sold here, the same company behind Iams and Eukanuba, which both score 4 of 5.

Pedigree does not meet the feeding-trial question. The flagship Pedigree Adult Complete Nutrition label says it is "formulated to meet" AAFCO profiles, a calculation on paper. Iams and Eukanuba fall short in the same place, and so does Royal Canin, so all four sit at 4 of 5. If you want a budget food whose flagship label does cite feeding tests, Purina ONE is the one on this list. The Pedigree WSAVA breakdown has every source.

Farmina: 4 of 5

Farmina, an independent Italian company, publishes more research than most brands its size. Its formulation team includes a veterinarian with a doctorate in animal nutrition, and it runs double-blind clinical studies with university researchers, publishing the results whether or not they favor the food. It makes its food in its own plants in Italy, Serbia, and Brazil, and its North Carolina facility runs a microbiology and chemistry lab for quality control.

Feeding trials are the one partial. Clinical studies of how pets respond to a diet are valuable, but they are not the same as the AAFCO feeding-trial protocol, and we could not confirm which US Farmina labels carry a feeding-test statement. Check the specific bag.

Kirkland Signature: 2 of 5

Costco does not make Kirkland Signature dog food. Costco's 2025 pet FAQ said Diamond Pet Foods made all of Kirkland's dry foods, and a 2012 recall report named Diamond too. We could not check a current bag, so Diamond is the reported maker, and the "manufactured by" line on the bag you buy settles it. The Kirkland Signature WSAVA breakdown lists the sources. Diamond owns plants in Missouri, California, South Carolina, and Arkansas, with a test-and-hold policy and on-site ingredient testing, so if Diamond still makes the food, those two answers are solid.

The flagship Kirkland Signature Adult Chicken, Rice & Vegetable formula is "formulated to meet" AAFCO profiles, not feeding-trial tested. Diamond does not publicly name a full-time board-certified nutritionist or the people who formulate its recipes. That does not make it a bad food. It means Kirkland does not clear the WSAVA bar on the public record.

Fromm: 2 of 5

Fromm is a fifth-generation family company that makes all its food in its own Wisconsin plants. Its quality program is better documented than most: an approved-supplier program, on-site ingredient and in-process testing, third-party finished-goods testing, and HACCP.

The nutrition side is the gap. Fromm Gold's label says "formulated to meet" AAFCO profiles, and Fromm does not publicly name a qualified nutritionist or formulator. Fromm was also among the 16 brands the FDA named most often in its 2019 heart-disease update. The FDA itself said the list does not show the foods caused the disease.

Stella & Chewy's: 2 of 5

Stella & Chewy's makes its frozen and freeze-dried raw food in its own facility in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. It tests every batch before release and has used high-pressure processing to kill pathogens since 2007. Both count.

On formulation it has much less on the public record. The founder developed the original recipes with animal nutritionists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but the company does not name a current full-time qualified nutritionist, and we found no feeding-trial claims. Raw diets also carry a separate pathogen question that WSAVA's five do not cover; our kibble vs fresh vs raw guide goes into it.

Open Farm: 2 of 5

Open Farm has the strongest nutritionist answer on this list after the big manufacturers. In 2026 it named an in-house Head of Veterinary Nutrition who is board-certified through the European College of Veterinary Comparative Nutrition (Open Farm says she is one of about 100 such specialists in North America), and she guides formulation across its recipes.

The rest is not public. Open Farm does not say whether it runs feeding trials, who makes its food, or what its quality-control program covers. It may have good answers. This is the brand on the list where an email to the company is most likely to change the score.

Merrick: 1 of 5

Nestlé Purina has owned Merrick since 2015, so people assume it inherits Purina's standards. It does not. Merrick's food is made in the Hereford, Texas factory that Nestlé Purina now runs, which is its one clear yes. Its Classic Healthy Grains adult label says "formulated to meet" AAFCO profiles, and Merrick does not publicly name its nutritionists or formulators beyond saying it works with veterinarians and animal nutritionists.

Merrick was also among the 16 brands named most often in the FDA's 2019 update. See the Merrick WSAVA breakdown for the sources. The ownership guide covers why a famous parent company does not settle the question.

Nulo: 0 of 5

Nulo says it employs two full-time animal nutritionists but does not name them or their credentials, which is why both nutrition questions get a partial. Trade press reported that Greg Aldrich, a PhD animal nutrition scientist, joined Nulo as chief operating officer in 2023. Nulo states that its foods meet AAFCO levels "by formulation and by analysis of the finished product", which rules out feeding trials. It does not say who makes its food or describe its quality program.

What the scores do and do not tell you

A WSAVA score measures the company, not the bag in front of you. A 2-of-5 brand can make a food that suits your dog, and a 5-of-5 manufacturer can make a formula that is wrong for your dog's age or health. Treat the score as a floor that screens out companies, then pick the specific food for your dog.

Three things worth noticing:

• Price does not predict the score. Purina ONE and Pedigree, two of the cheapest brands on this list, match or beat every premium independent on it.
• Owning plants is common. Feeding trials are rare. Seven of the nine brands own their plants. Only Purina ONE has confirmed feeding-trial statements on its flagship labels.
• Ownership does not transfer. Purina ONE and Merrick share a parent and sit at opposite ends of the table.

How to check a brand that is not here

Email or call the company and ask WSAVA's questions directly:

• "Do you employ a full-time nutritionist with a PhD in animal nutrition or board certification (ACVN or ECVCN)?"
• "Who formulates your recipes, and what are their qualifications?"
• "Are your foods tested with AAFCO feeding trials, or formulated to meet AAFCO profiles?"
• "Do you own the plant that makes this food?"
• "What quality-control testing do you run on ingredients and finished batches?"

Then read the label's AAFCO statement yourself. "Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures" means a feeding trial. "Formulated to meet" means a calculation. Our label reading guide shows where to find it.

The bottom line

If you came here asking about Purina ONE: yes, it meets all five questions, and it costs less than most foods from manufacturers that do. Pedigree and Farmina come close from opposite ends of the price range. Kirkland, Fromm, Stella & Chewy's, and Open Farm each have real strengths but leave key nutrition questions unanswered in public. Merrick and Nulo have the most ground to make up.

The score is a starting point. The right food still depends on your dog's size, age, weight, and health history.

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