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Ingredient file // Animal protein

Egg Albumin

Egg white protein that also binds wet food

Egg albumin is egg white separated from the yolk, often dried for use in pet food. It adds lean animal protein and helps cooked wet food hold its shape. The ingredient list alone cannot tell you how much protein it contributes.

What it is
Egg white separated from the yolk, supplied as a liquid or dried for use in food.
Made from
The whites of chicken eggs
Main job
Protein and wet food binding
Typical amount
Not published; a canned food test used 2 to 6% egg white
Watch for
A diagnosed egg allergy
Not the same as
Whole egg powder

Straight answer

Is Egg Albumin safe for dogs?

Read it as protein with a texture job

In wet food, egg albumin farther down the list is likely doing a modest binding job while adding some protein. Check the named meats and other protein sources above it, then compare the food's protein on a dry matter basis. Skip albumin if your dog has a diagnosed egg allergy.

Why it is in the food
Protein and wet food binding

Our read // In our catalog

In 1 of every 641 foods we track

Share of foods that list it

<1%

5 of the 3,205 foods with an ingredient list on file, from 1 brand. All wet dog food.

Each square is 1% of the catalog

Where it sits on the label

Median position 6. In the top five of 1 food, so it is usually a supporting ingredient.

Top five List position, heaviest first

Above the salt

100%

Almost always listed before the salt, so there is more of it than a pinch.

Who leans on it

100%

of the foods that list it are from Rachael Ray Nutrish. 1 brand use it in total.

What it is

How it is made

Egg processors separate whites from yolks because food makers use each fraction differently. Liquid whites can go into a recipe directly, or be dried into a shelf-stable powder that is easier to store and mix.5

  1. 01 // Source Chicken eggs Egg processors break the shells and separate the liquid whites from the yolks.
  2. 02 // Process Whites prepared The liquid whites are pasteurized; glucose is commonly removed before drying to improve storage stability.
  3. 03 // Process Spray dried Atomized egg white enters a heated chamber, where moving air removes most of the water.
  4. 04 // Output Egg white powder The dry powder ships to food makers and blends with other ingredients without refrigerated storage.

What is in it

Composition, dry matter

83.5

% protein

Crude protein in one tested spray dried egg white. It supplies concentrated protein with almost no fat from the yolk.

Crude protein 83.5%3
Ash 5.4%3
Crude fat 0.2%3

These values describe one powder, not every supplier's product. An industry specification lists 92% protein for another albumin product, so the tested figure is not a fixed standard.3,7

Why it is in the bag

What the manufacturer gets

  1. 01

    Holds wet food together

    Egg white proteins set when heated. In a canned food test, egg white increased chunk texture and, at some amounts, the gravy those chunks absorbed.4

  2. 02

    Adds lean animal protein

    Separating the yolk leaves little fat. The resulting powder raises protein in a recipe without adding much egg fat.3,5

  3. 03

    Stores without refrigeration

    Drying makes egg white shelf-stable and easy to blend. That gives manufacturers a protein and binder they can store and handle as a dry ingredient.5

How much A canned food test used egg white at 2, 4 and 6% of the recipe; the food was not fed to dogs.4

Our read // The claims

What the evidence supports

Strong: controlled studies in dogs agree. Some: small or mixed dog data. Thin: mechanism or lab work only. None: nothing, or the evidence points the other way.

  1. Brands say

    Egg albumin adds lean animal protein

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    One tested powder contained 83.49% crude protein and 0.15% fat on a dry matter basis. It adds protein with little fat, but the ingredient name does not reveal how much ends up in the finished food.3

  2. Brands say

    Egg albumin binds chunks in wet food

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    An APC industry test made 3 batches of canned chunks per recipe. Egg white increased texture at some inclusion levels and changed gravy absorption. It tested food structure, not a benefit to dogs.4

  3. Owners say

    Egg albumin causes allergies in some dogs

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    A review found egg triggered a positive food challenge in 11 of 297 dogs with food reactions. The reports did not separate whites from yolks, so they cannot give an albumin-specific risk.2

  4. Brands say

    Egg albumin makes food taste better to dogs

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    In a 20-dog preference test, dogs favored a diet with 4% spray dried whole egg. Whole egg includes yolk. That result cannot show whether isolated albumin improves the taste of wet food.1

  5. Owners say

    Egg albumin is the same as whole egg

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    The tested dried egg white contained 0.15% fat on a dry matter basis, compared with 34.75% in dried whole egg. Removing the yolk changes what the ingredient contributes to a recipe.3,5

Straight answers

What owners ask

  1. Q01

    Is it just filler?

    No

    It supplies protein and helps cooked wet food hold together. Both are useful jobs. When a recipe uses it mainly for texture, that small addition does not make albumin the food's main protein source.3,4

  2. Q02

    Is it the same as whole egg?

    No

    Albumin is the white without the yolk. In one comparison, dried egg white had 0.15% fat on a dry matter basis; dried whole egg had 34.75%. They add different amounts of fat to food.3,5

  3. Q03

    How much is in the can?

    Label won't say

    Ingredients are listed by weight, without a percentage for each one. A canned food test used egg white at 2 to 6%, but that range does not describe the food in your hand.4,6

Who uses it

Brands, best sellers and the company it keeps

Top brands, by foods that list it

  1. Rachael Ray Nutrish 5 / 19

Foods that list it / all the brand's recipes we track.

Usually listed with, share of the foods that list it

  1. Water 100%
  2. Chicken 100%
  3. Egg Product 100%
  4. Pea Protein 100%
  5. Chicken Broth 80%
  6. Tapioca Starch 80%
  7. Carrots 60%
  8. Green Beans 40%
  9. Beef 40%
  10. Rice Flour 40%
  11. Sweet Potatoes 20%
  12. Pineapple 20%

On the shelf

Foods that list Egg Albumin

5 foods in our catalog list it, highest on the label first.

Rachael Ray Nutrish Chicken Paw Pie Grain-Free Wet Dog FoodRachael Ray NutrishRachael Ray Nutrish Chicken Paw Pie Grain-Free Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 5 on the labelRachael Ray Nutrish Lamb Stew With Carrots Wet Dog FoodRachael Ray NutrishRachael Ray Nutrish Lamb Stew With Carrots Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 6 on the label
Show 3 more
Rachael Ray Nutrish Hearty Beef Stew Grain-Free Wet Dog FoodRachael Ray NutrishRachael Ray Nutrish Hearty Beef Stew Grain-Free Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 6 on the labelRachael Ray Nutrish Chicken Muttballs Wet Dog FoodRachael Ray NutrishRachael Ray Nutrish Chicken Muttballs Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 9 on the labelRachael Ray Nutrish Beef Stroganwoof Wet Dog FoodRachael Ray NutrishRachael Ray Nutrish Beef Stroganwoof Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 11 on the label

Sources

What we read

Checked October 1, 2026.

  1. 1 Spray-dried egg in the diet of dogs: implications for recovery nutritional, palatability and haematology Semina: Ciências Agrárias, 2019 // Journal
  2. 2 Critically appraised topic on adverse food reactions of companion animals (2): common food allergen sources in dogs and cats BMC Veterinary Research, 2016 // Journal
  3. 3 Table 2. Proximate analysis of protein manufactured co-products Poultry Science, 2019 // Journal
  4. 4 Effect of spray dried plasma compared to egg white or whole egg as functional binders in canned pet food APC, 2023 // Industry
  5. 5 Egg White Types American Egg Board, n.d. // Industry
  6. 6 What’s in the Ingredients List? AAFCO, n.d. // Regulator
  7. 7 Spray-dried plasma offers extraordinary technological properties for petfood production APC, 2020 // Industry
An ingredient on its own tells you very little. What matters is how much of it there is and where it sits in the list. That is why we weigh the top five rather than reacting to any single name further down. Back to the wiki

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