Brand profile · PetScored desk
Natural Balance scores well on the rubric, with sensitivity risk the consistent strength.
The verdict
Natural Balance runs 2 scored products on PetScored, averaging a 7.5 composite. The top-scoring recipe is Limited Ingredient Salmon & Brown Rice Recipe at 7.6.
Across the lineup, Sensitivity Risk is the strongest sub-score (9.5); Brand Trust is the weakest (6.2).
Brand Trust signals are still on a seed score; verification work is in progress.
FDA matching is partial. Without a complete export we do not credit a clean record.
If your dog avoids common trigger ingredients, the lineup carries these label flags: chicken, legumes, fish, yeast. Sub-score weighting handles them on each individual scorecard.
Transparency at a glance
Five signals our rubric weights most for Brand Trust. Each is sourced and dated in the evidence record below. Unknown is not treated as false- it’s recorded as “not publicly disclosed.”
Brand has not publicly disclosed whether it owns its primary plant.
Brand mentions nutrition expertise but does not name a qualified individual.
Feeding-trial protocol status not publicly disclosed.
Research-publication record not publicly disclosed.
Recall record not fully verified against the FDA archive.
Brand Trust verification
Verified records replace the product-level seed Brand Trust score. Pending and conflicted records stay visible as context; unknown is not treated as false.
Natural Balance says its customer care team is made up of Registered Veterinary Technicians and provides calcium/phosphorus on the product panel, but that does not verify a named qualified nutritionist or complete nutrient analysis.
No source record captured yet.
No source record captured yet.
No source record captured yet.
Natural Balance says its customer care team is made up of Registered Veterinary Technicians and provides calcium/phosphorus on the product panel, but that does not verify a named qualified nutritionist or complete nutrient analysis.
Official FDA firm-issued recall archive, current as of 2026-04-13, matched 6,582 rows against Natural Balance terms. Manual disposition found a May 2021 Natural Balance dry cat formula recall, inside the five-year window when checked in April 2026 but more than five years before October 6, 2026. FDA company announcement dated May 20, 2021 identifies a Natural Balance L.I.D. Green Pea & Chicken Dry Cat Formula recall for possible Salmonella contamination and states no other Natural Balance products were impacted.
No source record captured yet.
No source record captured yet.
No source record captured yet.
Official FDA warning-letter export, content current as of 2026-04-28, checked 1,000 rows with zero Natural Balance matches.
No source record captured yet.
Products
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Natural Balance
$2.45 / 1,000 kcal · 23% above median
A limited-ingredient grain-free recipe with a single named animal protein (chicken) up front and declared taurine, aimed at simpler diets. Peas, chickpeas, and lentils carry the carbohydrate load; the price per calorie runs high for the tier.
Natural Balance
$1.89 / 1,000 kcal · 14% below median
Manufacturer and retailer sources support salmon as the first ingredient, adult maintenance AAFCO language, calcium/phosphorus, and calorie data. Limited-ingredient marketing is not scored separately from the actual label, and the 2021 Natural Balance dry cat-food Salmonella recall is disclosed as brand-level regulatory history, not a defect in this scored dog food SKU.
Appears in
Regulatory context
Manual disposition found five brand-relevant historical Natural Balance recalls, the newest a May 2021 L.I.D. Green Pea & Chicken dry cat formula Salmonella recall, which was inside the five-year archive window when reviewed in April 2026 and aged out of it on May 20, 2026. No brand-relevant recall dated on or after 2021-10-06 was found in the firm-press-release series, which has no 2023 rows and omits enforcement-report-only recalls, so this is not a certified-clean record.
Checked 1,000 row(s), but --full-export was not provided. 0 ambiguous candidate row(s) were auto-dismissed. Active-warning-letter status remains unknown until full export/archive coverage is available.
FAQ
Natural Balance averages 7.5 out of 10 across 2 scored products. The top-scoring recipe is Limited Ingredient Salmon & Brown Rice Recipe at 7.6. Whether that's "good" depends on which sub-score matters most for your dog - see the brand page for the full verdict and the per-product strengths and watch-outs.
Recall matching is still in progress for Natural Balance. We do not credit a clean record until a complete export has been reviewed.
Natural Balance is owned by Natural Balance Pet Foods. The bag is manufactured by Natural Balance Pet Foods and the recipe references United States for sourcing. Brand Trust signals for manufacturer control and ownership tenure are visible on the brand profile.
No. PetScored takes zero manufacturer money - no paid placements, no sponsored rankings, no free-product review programs. Affiliate links on retail-purchase actions are disclosed and never affect scores. See /trust for the full posture.
