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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 20p a day for a typical adult dog - the breakdown below shows exactly what that buys.

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ODF Score 3/100 Avoid
Our community ratingNo owner reviews yet - be the first.
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Top 99%scores higher than 1% of rated foodsacross all 3075 foods we've scored
Avoidscore bandthe dot marks where it sits among every food we've rated
£0.20 approx.per day for a 10 kg dogcheaper than 98% of dry foods
4%declared meat content
United Kingdombrand origin
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 33/100 across 12 ingredients (declared percentages used for 3, position estimates for the rest). Named meat is only 16% of the recognised recipe, so the quality score is anchored down towards a plant-led food.
12.4 / 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; meat sources named (+2); variable-composition wording - fixed-formula points withheld.
2 / 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 v1.4.1 · scored August 19, 2026 · full methodology public
3 / 100

Our analysis

Breaking the 3 down: the biggest single loss is ingredient quality, where it takes 12.4 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 20p a day to feed a 10kg 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 DerivativesChicken in the Brown Components 4%Oils and Fats

Carbs & grains

CerealsMaize in the Yellow Components 4%Derivatives of Vegetable OriginVegetable Protein Extracts

Fruit & veg

VegetablesVegetables in the Brown Components 4%

Supplements & extras

Various SugarsMineralsYeastsColourantsPreservativesAntioxidants 125mg/kg
Good qualityAcceptable / watch the amountRed flagGeneric / neutralOutlined = first five on the label
Additives (as declared on the label)
Vitamin a 17, 000iu/kg, Vitamin D3 1, 500iu/kg, Vitamin E 70mg/kg, Trace Elements: Calcium Iodate Anhydrous 4mg/kg, Sodium Selenite 0.2mg/kg, Cupric Sulphate Pentahydrate 32mg/kg, Ferrous Sulphate Monohydrate 200mg/kg, Manganous Oxide 81mg/kg, Zinc Oxide 139mg/kg.

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 10 kg adult dog needs about 149 g a day = £0.20 / day, £6.08 / 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 10 kg dog works out near 534 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: 28.2

Fat

8.2 % DM
Directory average: 14.8

Est. carbs

56.5 % DM
Directory average: 45.2

Fibre

3.8 % DM
Directory average: 3.6

Ash

8.7 % DM
Directory average: 7.9

Energy

359 kcal/100g
Directory average: 365.3

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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