Here is the dog food ingredients to avoid list we actually use, the same list you would end up with if you had the time to check every source yourself. The Truva Standard automatically rejects any product containing BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, propylene glycol, artificial colors, or an animal ingredient with no species named, before we read anything else about the bag. This post is the policy: what disqualifies a product, the source behind each rule, and the ingredients people expect us to ban that we deliberately leave alone.
Where rejection fits in the Standard
Every product we consider goes through the same test, five checks, pass or fail: named animal protein first, honest about what it is, nothing we cannot defend, recall record checked, and true value per dollar. If it did not pass all five, it is not on the shelf. No brand can pay for a spot. The full five checks are on our standard page.
The rejections below live inside the first two checks, named protein first and nothing we cannot defend. Any one of them fails a product outright, so the other checks never come into play. That is deliberate. A food with a strong feeding trial and a spotless recall record still does not need a preservative that a human food maker would not choose. If you want the longer field guide organized by ingredient name rather than by policy, that is the worst ingredients in dog food, by name. This post is the why.
Rejected: BHA and BHT
Both are synthetic antioxidants that keep fat from going rancid. The National Toxicology Program lists butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity from studies in experimental animals," and has since 1991. The same profile notes it is used as a preservative in food and in animal feed.1
Two honest caveats. The NTP finding rests on animal studies at doses well above what sits in a bag of kibble, so this is precaution, not proof of harm to your dog. And BHT is not on the NTP list at all. We reject it anyway for a simpler reason: mixed tocopherols (vitamin E) and rosemary extract do the same job, and a brand that picks the synthetic version is making a shelf life decision on your dog's behalf. Under the third check, nothing we cannot defend, that choice tells us something.
Rejected: ethoxyquin
Ethoxyquin is legal. The FDA allows it in animal feed at up to 150 parts per million, and requires the label to say either "Ethoxyquin, a preservative" or that it was added to slow the oxidative destruction of carotene, xanthophylls, and vitamins A and E.2 So it is not hidden. It is also not something we will put in the catalog, because it is another synthetic antioxidant with natural alternatives, and because asking a brand whether their fish meal supplier uses it tells us a lot about how well they know their own supply chain. That answer feeds the honesty check too.
Rejected: propylene glycol
Propylene glycol is a humectant. It keeps semi moist foods and some soft treats chewy. The FDA lists it in 21 CFR Part 589, Substances Prohibited from Use in Animal Food or Feed, for one companion species, on the grounds that it "has not been shown by adequate scientific data to be safe for use" in that species' food.3 It is not prohibited in dog food, and the evidence in dogs is not the same evidence. We still reject it. It exists to fix texture and shelf life, not to feed a dog, and a food that needs it is usually a food with other problems on the label.
Rejected: artificial colors
Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 2. Color additives in animal food have to be approved or generally recognized as safe for the use, so these are legal.4 We reject them on a plainer basis. The dye is for whoever is holding the bag. It adds nothing to the nutrient profile, and under the Standard any ingredient whose only job is to make the food look better to a person is a mark against the brand's honesty. A kibble that needs to be orange to sell is telling you where its priorities are.
Rejected: animal ingredients with no species
"Meat," "meat by-products," "poultry," "animal fat," "animal digest." None of these tells you what animal it came from, which means it can change from batch to batch depending on price. We reject all of them.
What we do not reject is the by-product itself, once it is named. AAFCO defines meat by-products as "the non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals," including lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, liver, blood, bone, and cleaned stomachs and intestines.5 Tufts' nutrition service points out that by-products, mainly organ meats, often provide more nutrients than muscle meat on a per weight basis.6 "Chicken liver" is an asset. "Meat by-products" is a mystery. The word that matters is the species, not the word by-product.
What we deliberately do not reject
This is where our list differs from most of what you will find online.
- Grains. Tufts' nutrition FAQ is direct: the vast majority of dogs are very efficient at digesting and using nutrients from grains, and many grain free foods just swap in refined starches like potato or tapioca that bring fewer nutrients and less fiber.6 Corn, wheat, and rice are not disqualifiers. A food that is mostly grain and only a little meat is a different question, and the first check, named animal protein first, handles that: if the meat is not leading the panel, the food does not pass.
- Synthetic vitamins and minerals. A food cannot be complete without them. AAFCO's "natural" rules even carve out the disclaimer "natural with added vitamins, minerals and trace nutrients" for exactly this reason.7
- Peas, lentils, and other pulses. Not an automatic rejection, but we read them hard when they sit high in the ingredient list, because of the FDA's open investigation into diet associated heart disease. The evidence is unsettled, and we say so in our post on whether grain free food is bad for dogs.
- Salt, natural flavors, and the odd unpronounceable chelated mineral. Normal. Move on.
Every food in our dog food collection has cleared the rejections above and then passed all five checks of the Standard. The label reading part you can do yourself in the aisle; our guide to how to read a dog food label takes about a minute, the same minute you already spend on your own groceries.
When to call the vet
None of the ingredients on this list is an emergency in a healthy dog eating a normal amount, so do not panic over one bag. Call your vet if your dog has ongoing vomiting, diarrhea, itching, or a sudden change in appetite after a food change, and bring the bag or a photo of the label with you. If you suspect a specific food made your dog sick, report it to the FDA as well.
Sources
- National Toxicology Program, "Butylated Hydroxyanisole, Report on Carcinogens, Fifteenth Edition," 2021. ntp.niehs.nih.gov (PDF)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Labeling and Use of Ethoxyquin in Animal Feed," accessed 2026. fda.gov
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, "21 CFR 589.1001," current. ecfr.gov
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Pet Food," accessed 2026. fda.gov
- AAFCO, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed 2026. aafco.org
- Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, "Nutrition FAQs," accessed 2026. vet.tufts.edu
- AAFCO, "Natural," accessed 2026. aafco.org