Evanger’s Organics (Wet) Review

The Evanger’s Organics product range is made of one recipe which receives 4.5 stars.

Evanger’s Organics recipes contain a high-quality source of protein as the first ingredient and are packed with extra vitamins and minerals to support a cat’s overall health and wellbeing.

The table below shows each recipe in this range including our rating and the AAFCO nutrient profile: Growth (kitten), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Evanger’s Organics Beef Dinner Recipe was selected to represent the other products in the line for a detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.

Ingredients Analysis

The first ingredient is beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus. ¹ 

Beef is naturally rich in all 11 essential amino acids required by a cat to sustain life.

The second ingredient is water, which adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most wet cat foods.

The third ingredient is liver. Normally, liver can be considered a quality component. However, in this case, the source of the liver is not identified. For this reason, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The fourth ingredient is beef kidney, an organ meat low in fat and rich in protein and essential minerals.

The fifth ingredient is organic guar gum, a gelling or thickening agent found in many wet pet foods. Refined from dehusked guar beans, guar gum can add a notable amount of dietary fiber to any product.

The sixth ingredient is organic coconut oil, a natural oil rich in medium-chain fatty acids.

The seventh ingredient is taurine, an essential amino acid for cats associated with the healthy function of heart muscle and eye sight, and is crucial for maintaining good health in cats. 

We view the presence of taurine in this recipe as a positive addition.

From here the list goes on to include a number of other items. But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of the product.

Since this recipe contains a number of organic ingredients, we feel compelled to grant this line a more favorable status as we consider its final rating. That’s because organic ingredients must comply with notably more stringent government standards — standards which significantly restrict the use of any synthetic pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, hormones or antibiotics.

This recipe receives a 4.5–star rating.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Evanger’s Organics Beef Dinner Recipe looks like an above-average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 45.5%, a fat level of 22.7% and an estimated carbohydrate level of 23.8%, alongside a fat-to-protein ratio of 50%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 45.5% and a mean fat level of 22.7%. Together these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 23.8% for the overall product line, alongside a fat-to-protein ratio of 50%.

This means Evanger’s wet product line contains above-average protein, below-average carbs and above-average fat when compared to typical wet cat food.

Has Evanger's cat food been recalled in the past?

Yes, Evanger’s has had one, but significant, recall.

You can’t have a complete review about Evanger’s cat food without discussing the recall and controversy that happened in 2017. In February 2017, the FDA noticed that some of Evanger’s canned food contained pentobarbital. This is a drug that is used in animal euthanasia. No amount is safe for cat food, precisely why the FDA issued a statement warning pet owners not to purchase specific recipes.

The FDA inspected both plants the company-owned and found many significant concerns in how the food was processed. For example, condensation was dripping into the food at many points. There were no operating refrigerated storage facilities, so raw meat was thawing out before it was processed. Some meats were dropped onto the unsanitary concrete floor and then used in the final product.

Several animals died from the contaminated food. The pentobarbital was eventually traced to the company’s meat supplier. Evanger issued a voluntary recall of several recipes after the FDA report.

You can view a complete list of all cat food recalls since 2021 here.

To stay on top of any cat food product recalls, sign up for our free email alerts, here.

About

Evanger’s is a family-owned and operated pet food company. 

It was started by Fred Evanger in 1935 after he wanted better nutritional food for his Great Danes, which he bred and exhibited. He built a factory at the kennel he used, so he could make his own pet food. The headquarters are now in Markham, Illinois.