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Tesco · dry

Tesco Complete & Balanced Nutrition Senior Dry review

One of the weakest dry foods we have rated. Just 4% declared meat content, and the label keeps too much vague. Feeding it costs about 28p a day for a typical adult dog - the breakdown below shows exactly what that buys.

Label last checked

DryAdultSenior
ODF Score 0/100 Avoid
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Top 100%scores higher than 0% of rated foodsacross all 3420 foods we've scored
Avoidscore bandthe dot marks where it sits among every food we've rated
£0.28 approx.per day for a 15 kg dogcheaper than 98% of dry foods
4%declared meat content
359kcal per 100 g

Where the points went

The full breakdown, exactly as the algorithm scored it. How our rating works

Ingredient quality
Weighted ingredient quality 22/100 across 12 ingredients (no percentages declared - position-based estimates used).
8.9 / 40
Label clarity
Vague category terms on the label (Cereals, Meat and Animal Derivatives, Derivatives of Vegetable Origin) - naming points withheld; no percentages declared at all - the recipe is unverifiable; variable-composition wording - fixed-formula points withheld.
0 / 15
Additives
Artificial colours (-6) - they are for you, not your dog; unnamed preservative - the label does not say which (-4); added sugars/sweeteners (-4); declared additives below our neutral line, weakest being Colourants (-6).
0 / 10
Red flags
Cereals leads the label (-10); Meat and Animal Derivatives at position 2 (-16); Derivatives of Vegetable Origin at position 3 (-12); Oils and Fats at position 5 (-12); Various Sugars at position 6 (-8); Colourants at position 10 (-8); penalties capped at -25 (uncapped: -66).
-25 / 0
Meat content
Declared meat content 4%.
3.8 / 15
Nutritional balance
Estimated carbohydrate 57% dry matter (very high); fat 8.2% DM in the healthy band; fibre 3.8% DM (+2); ash 8.7% DM - sensible mineral load (+1.5).
3.5 / 10
Processing
Assumed extruded kibble (standard high-heat process).
6 / 10
ODF Score
Algorithm v1.4.0 · scored July 30, 2026 · full methodology public
0 / 100

Our analysis

Breaking the 0 down: the biggest single loss is ingredient quality, where it takes 8.9 of a possible 40. On top of that, 25 points are deducted outright for red-flag ingredients - a penalty applied before anything else is counted, which is why the total lands where it does.

The label declares 4% meat, which is a low figure, and a declared low figure is still more honest than silence, and the ingredient list leans on vague groupings instead of naming what is actually in the bag.

At about 28p a day to feed a 15kg dog, the question is not whether it is cheap but whether the label justifies the price - and on our scoring, it does not.

Ingredients

Straight from the label, grouped by role - every ingredient is coloured by our published classification and links to its full page.

Meat & fish

Meat and Animal DerivativesOils and Fats

Carbs & grains

CerealsDerivatives of Vegetable OriginVegetable Protein Extracts

Fruit & veg

Vegetables

Supplements & extras

Various SugarsMineralsYeastsColourantsPreservativesAntioxidants 125mg/kg
Good qualityAcceptable / watch the amountRed flagGeneric / neutralOutlined = first five on the label

Feeding & cost

What a bag actually costs to feed - worked out per dog, not per pack.

Pack sizeRRPPer kg
3 kg£4.10£1.37

How heavy is your dog?

A typical 15 kg adult dog needs about 202 g a day = £0.28 / day, £8.51 / month.

How we work this out
  1. Energy: an adult dog at rest needs about 95 × weight0.75 kcal a day (the FEDIAF maintenance formula - a 15 kg dog works out near 725 kcal).
  2. Portion: divide that by this food's energy density, 359 kcal/100g, to get the grams above - a denser food needs fewer grams.
  3. Cost: multiply the grams by this food's price, £1.37 / kg, for the daily cost, then by 30.4 days for the month.

Estimates scale to your dog's weight and the food's calorie density - a denser food needs fewer grams. A rough guide; always follow the pack. Try the full feeding calculator

Nutrition

Declared analysis converted to a dry-matter basis, so wet and dry foods compare fairly.

Protein

22.8 % DM
Directory average: 28.3

Fat

8.2 % DM
Directory average: 14.9

Est. carbs

56.5 % DM
Directory average: 45.1

Fibre

3.8 % DM
Directory average: 3.7

Ash

8.7 % DM
Directory average: 7.9

Energy

359 kcal/100g
Directory average: 374

Carbohydrates are estimated: 100% minus protein, fat, fibre, ash and moisture.

Similar foods that score higher

Same type and life stage, better ODF Score, comparable price per day.

More from Tesco

Other foods in this range, whatever they score - the full picture, not just the top of the list.

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This is label analysis, not veterinary advice - if your dog has a health condition, talk to your vet before switching foods.

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