Trader Joe’s Information
Trader Joe’s is a hugely popular grocery store chain based in the United States. Over the last 50 years, they have grown to have over 500 stores and competes with many of the other grocery giants like Whole Foods Market, Walmart, and more.
Like many of the large grocery store chains, Trader Joe’s has its own exclusive lines of pet food products, including dog and cat food.
However, the pandemic has hit Trader Joe’s hard just like many other large stores and they have been forced to discontinue some of their pet food products.
Regarding where Trader Joe’s pet food is made, there is very limited information that we could find about its manufacturing.
However, we believe this does take place in the United States and is done by a third party similar to other store brands. Which third party is used and where exactly this production is done is not clear.
Given that Trader Joe’s pet food is a store brand, it is only available for purchase from Trader Joe’s stores across the United States.
In addition, you can not easily purchase Trader Joe’s pet food online as Trader Joe’s does not have a large online presence.
Trader Joe’s Product Range
Dog Food
Trader Joe’s has a relatively small product range which includes a mix of dry dog food and wet/canned dog food.
Trader Joe’s does not extensively produce grain-free dog food like many other brands and has several grain-inclusive recipes.
Lastly, based on our research, Trader Joe’s does not produce any age-specific dog food such as those for puppies or senior dogs.
However, their recipes are suitable for all life stages, which means they can be fed to many puppies or older dogs.
Cat Food
Trader Joe’s cat food range is equally as small as their dog food range and has a mix of dry cat food and wet/canned cat food.
Once again, Trader Joe’s is not a grain-free brand, and multiple of its cat food recipes include grain ingredients.
Trader Joe’s does not produce any cat food recipes targeted at Kittens or Senior Cats.
Trader Joe’s Nutrition
Dog Food
Sadly, the nutrition offered by Trader Joe’s dog food recipes is not particularly impressive, especially their dry dog food recipes.
They often include modest proportions of protein and fat and large proportions of carbohydrates.
This kind of nutritional profile may not suit dogs who are more active and have higher protein requirements.
However, their wet food recipes are more in line with similar brands and provide satisfactory nutrition. You can see an example of the nutritional profile of one of their wet food recipes below.
If you’d like to learn more about canine nutrition, we highly recommend you read our Dog Food Guide.
Cat Food
Trader Joe’s cat food recipes offer better nutrition than their dog food range which is largely due to the fact that the bulk of the recipes are wet/canned.
Their nutritional profile includes larger proportions of protein and fat and relatively small portions of carbohydrates.
A nutritional profile like this is critical to cats as they are obligate carnivores and do not suit a diet high in plant matter.
You can learn more about Obligate Carnivores and feline nutrition in our Cat Food Guide.
Trader Joe’s Ingredients
High-Quality Meat & Fish Ingredients
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Beef
- Lamb
- Salmon
- Tuna
Trader Joe’s uses an extremely typical choice of meat and fish ingredients in its recipes, including the above.
All of these ingredients are high-quality additions and can act as dense sources of animal or fish-based protein and fat.
In addition, many of these ingredients are industry favorites and are heavily utilized by other brands. They are so popular among pet food manufacturers as they are easy to source and nutritionally dense.
Other Notable Ingredients
Some of Trader Joe’s recipes include grain ingredients like Brown Rice and Whole Wheat.
Grain ingredients like these can be controversial additions to pet food recipes, with many pet owners being strongly against their use.
However, there are also strong supporters of the use of grains in pet food, especially among pet owners that feed brands like Purina Pro Plan and Royal Canin.
Brown Rice and Wheat can provide a mix of nutrition, including carbohydrates, fiber, plant-based protein, and select vitamins and minerals.
Chicken Fat is a regular addition to pet food from many brands. Its purpose is to enhance the flavor and palatability of pet food as well as boost the overall level of animal-based fat.
Chicken Fat is chosen over alternatives as it is often the lowest cost solution and is easy to source.
You can read more about Chicken Fat in our article Chicken Fat In Dog Food.
Tomato Pomace is another common inclusion in pet food formulas but is present for another reason.
It is an excellent source of soluble fiber, which can be critical to some pets to ensure they keep regular digestion and stools.
However, outside of this fiber content, Tomato Pomace provides very little meaningful nutrition.
You can learn more about Tomato Pomace in our article Tomato Pomace as a Pet Food Ingredient?.
Lastly, some Trader Joe’s recipes include a small portion of Flaxseed which is extremely common in pet food. Flaxseed is known as one of the best plant-based sources of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
These fatty acids are believed to provide several health benefits to dogs and cats, including an improvement in the condition of skin, coat, and fur.
However, Flaxseed has several other benefits that many are unaware of. You can read more about these additional benefits in our article Flaxseed In Dog Food.
Lastly, some of Trader Joe’s wet pet food recipes use binding agents like Agar-Agar.
Binding agents are a critical component of wet pet food and help to hold the food together in a consistent texture and appearance.
Other common binding agents used in the industry include Carrageenan, Xanthan Gum, and Guar Gum. You can learn more about Agar-Agar in our article Agar-Agar In Pet Food.
Trader Joe’s Animal Testing
At this time, we have no information on what type of animal testing or feed trials that Trader Joe’s participates in.
Many smaller brands and store brands like Trader Joe’s avoid disclosing detailed information about animal testing or feeding trials as they fear customer backlash.
We strongly believe that invasive or laboratory-style testing of animals is a cruel and outdated practice and one which we hope will be eliminated in the near future.
Trader Joe’s Recalls
Based on our research (FDA, AVMA, DogFoodAdvisor), Trader Joe’s has not undergone any recalls in its past and is, therefore, a recall-free dog food brand.
Given that Trader Joe’s has been selling pet food for a lengthy period of time, this is quite impressive.
In addition, Trader Joe’s may have changed manufacturers several times over the years, which makes this record even more impressive.
Despite this recall-free record from Trader Joe’s, we encourage all dog owners to be vigilant of any future recalls from Trader Joe’s or any other pet food brand.
Best of Trader Joe’s
Grain Free Chicken Recipe Review
While Trader Joe’s has been forced to discontinue several of its dog food recipes, the above Grain Free Chicken Recipe is still available and is a solid choice.
The recipe utilizes a large portion of Chicken and Chicken Liver as its primary content which helps to provide it with an impressive sum of protein and fat, totaling almost 80% of its nutritional content.
Outside of this Chicken, the recipe uses a small portion of Peas to provide carbohydrates and fiber, along with Agar-Agar, as a binding agent.
Trader Joe’s Featured Articles
Trader Joe’s has not been featured in any of our articles to date.
Trader Joe’s Full Product Range
Dog Food
Premium Lamb Meal And Rice Formula
Premium Chicken Meal And Rice Formula
Chunky Beef Dinner
Chopped Lamb And Rice Dinner
Chunky Chicken Dinner
Cat Food
Premium Chicken Meal Formula
Chicken, Turkey & Rice Dinner
Ocean Fish, Salmon & Rice Dinner
Tuna For Cats
Turkey & Giblets Dinner