Brand Comparison

Taste of the Wild vs Blue Buffalo

Taste of the Wild and Blue Buffalo both sit in the mid-premium grain-inclusive / grain-free US retail tier, both with significant DCM investigation history. Taste of the Wild is manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods; Blue Buffalo is owned by General Mills since 2018. Taste of the Wild appeared among the 16 brands FDA named most frequently in DCM case reports (June 2019); Blue Buffalo appeared less frequently though not zero. Both have recall history — Taste of the Wild was part of the May 2012 Diamond plant-wide salmonella cascade (22 confirmed human illnesses); Blue Buffalo had multiple smaller recalls (2017 beef thyroid hormone, 2015 salmonella). For food-allergic dogs specifically, Blue Basics LID is more targeted than any Taste of the Wild formula — Taste of the Wild's approach is novel-protein / grain-free rather than explicit limited-ingredient.

Taste of the Wild

Diamond Pet Foods

Grain-free, novel-protein-focused line manufactured by Diamond. Marketed around ancestral / prey-model diet concepts, using protein sources such as bison, venison, boar, and fish.

Mid-range1 recall

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Blue Buffalo

General Mills

Acquired by General Mills in 2018. The Life Protection Formula, Basics LID, Wilderness, and Freedom lines include grain-inclusive and grain-free options. Blue Basics LID is the brand's limited-ingredient line for food-sensitive pets.

Mid-range2 recalls

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How they compare

AttributeTaste of the WildBlue Buffalo
Parent companyDiamond Pet FoodsGeneral Mills
Founded20072003
HeadquartersMeta, Missouri, USAWilton, Connecticut, USA
AAFCO methodFormulated to AAFCO profilesFormulated to AAFCO profiles
Made inUSAUSA
Price tierMid-rangeMid-range
Pet typesDogs, CatsDogs, Cats
Documented recalls1 on record2 on record
Product lines5 lines6 lines

Pick Taste of the Wild if

  • You want ancestral / prey-model diet positioning
  • You like the regional-protein themes (High Prairie bison, Pacific Stream salmon)
  • You're not in a DCM-predisposed breed

Pick Blue Buffalo if

  • You need limited-ingredient for single-allergen sensitivity
  • You value wider retail availability
  • You prefer General Mills corporate oversight to Diamond contract-manufacturing

Ingredient overlap

Both brands commonly use

Pea ProteinChicken Meal

Only in Taste of the Wild

Fish Meal

Only in Blue Buffalo

ChickenBrewers' RiceOats

Recall history

Taste of the Wild

Blue Buffalo

Scan either food against your pet's allergens

Brand-level comparison doesn't catch formula-level differences. Scan the specific bag you're considering to see the actual ingredient list checked against your pet's profile.

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Factual comparison based on AAFCO definitions, FDA enforcement archive, and corporate disclosures. Not medical advice. Not an endorsement of either brand.