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Ingredient file // Starch

Rice Starch

A useful gravy thickener with carbohydrate calories

Rice starch is the carbohydrate separated from rice kernels. In wet dog food, it thickens gravy and supplies energy when cooked. It contributes little protein, so judge its place in the recipe by the food around it.

What it is
A powder of starch separated from rice, with most of the grain's protein and fiber removed.
Made from
Broken rice kernels
Main job
Thickens wet food gravy
Typical amount
Supplier gravy test used 3 to 3.5%
Watch for
Residual rice protein in sensitive dogs
Not the same as
Rice flour

Straight answer

Is Rice Starch safe for dogs?

Read it as starch with a texture job

Rice starch near the end of a wet food's list fits a small gravy-thickening role. Higher up, it contributes more of the recipe's weight as refined carbohydrate. Check the food's calories and nutritional adequacy, then judge the whole recipe. If rice has caused a reaction, use your dog's challenge history rather than assuming cooked rice and purified starch behave alike.

Why it is in the food
Thickens wet food gravy

Our read // In our catalog

In 1 of every 229 foods we track

Share of foods that list it

<1%

14 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 7. In the top five of 0 foods, 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.

Price per lb

Foods with it $2.87
All foods $3.25

Median of the cheapest bag price across 1 priced foods, 12% below the catalog. The price is the food's, not the ingredient's.

Who leans on it

100%

of the foods that list it are from Hill's. 1 brand use it in total.

What it is

How it is made

Rice milling leaves broken kernels alongside whole grains. Starch processors wet mill the broken rice, separate its starch from protein and fiber, then wash and dry it. The protein is another usable output.3,4

  1. 01 // Source Broken rice Kernels broken during rice milling become raw material for starch extraction.
  2. 02 // Process Soaked and milled Processors soak the kernels, then wet mill them into a slurry.
  3. 03 // Process Separated and washed Screens remove fiber; centrifuging collects starch, which is washed to remove more protein.
  4. 04 // Output Dry starch powder The washed starch is dried into a powder for shipment to food plants.

What is in it

Composition, dry matter

99

% starch

The rounded starch content in one laboratory sample. It supplies carbohydrate while contributing very little protein.

Total starch 99.3%3
Crude protein 0.5%3
Ash 0.3%3

The paper's table and paragraph disagree on starch content, so its table figure is a single laboratory measurement, not a product specification. Rice variety and separation methods also affect composition.3

Why it is in the bag

What the manufacturer gets

  1. 01

    Thickens the gravy

    Heated with water, rice starch increases viscosity and helps gravy coat the food. A supplier tested it as a replacement for a gum blend.3,5

  2. 02

    Adds carbohydrate energy

    The separated ingredient is almost entirely starch. Once cooked in food, that starch supplies digestible energy while adding very little protein.1,3

  3. 03

    Uses broken kernels

    Broken rice is a milling output that processors can separate into starch and protein. Selling both fractions creates another use for the same crop.4

How much In one supplier's internal gravy test, 3 to 3.5% rice starch produced viscosity similar to a guar and xanthan gum blend.5

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

    Cooked rice starch gives dogs digestible energy

    Evidence

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

    In a 36-dog trial of complete dry diets, starch digestibility exceeded 98% in every diet. The brewer's rice diet was among the most digestible, but the trial did not isolate rice starch.1

  2. Brands say

    Rice starch is safe for rice-allergic dogs

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

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

    In a brand-funded, open-label trial, 38 dogs completed a hydrolyzed fish and rice starch diet. Four dogs later reacted to cooked rice but had tolerated that diet. This does not show safety for every starch product or dog.2

  3. Brands say

    Rice starch thickens gravy without gums

    Evidence

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

    A supplier's internal test found similar gravy viscosity using 3 to 3.5% rice starch or a guar and xanthan blend. Independent laboratory work measured rice starch thickening, but did not test finished dog food.3,5

  4. Owners say

    Rice starch spikes a dog's blood sugar

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

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

    A 36-dog trial found an earlier glucose and insulin response with a brewer's rice diet than with pea or lentil diets. It tested complete dry foods, not isolated rice starch in wet food, and measured no diabetic health outcome.1

  5. Critics say

    Rice starch is just filler

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

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

    One laboratory sample was almost entirely starch, and a supplier's gravy test found a thickening effect at 3 to 3.5%. It supplies energy and texture, though it contributes little protein or fiber.3,5

Straight answers

What owners ask

  1. Q01

    Is it just filler?

    No

    It thickens wet food and supplies carbohydrate energy. It adds little protein or fiber, so read its position alongside the other ingredients instead of treating its presence alone as a verdict.1,3,5

  2. Q02

    Is it the same as rice?

    No

    Rice starch is a separated fraction, not a whole kernel or rice flour. Separation removes most of the protein and fiber, leaving an ingredient whose main nutritional contribution is carbohydrate.3,4

  3. Q03

    How much is in my can?

    Label won't say

    Ingredients appear in order of weight, but that order gives no percentage for rice starch. A supplier used 3 to 3.5% in a gravy test; your can could use a different amount.5,6

Who uses it

Brands, best sellers and the company it keeps

Top brands, by foods that list it

  1. Hill's 14 / 117

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

Usually listed with, share of the foods that list it

  1. Pork Liver 100%
  2. Carrots 100%
  3. Rice 93%
  4. Chicken 86%
  5. Chicken Broth 57%
  6. Green Peas 50%
  7. Water 36%
  8. Wheat Flour 36%
  9. Dried Beet Pulp 36%
  10. Corn Starch 36%
  11. Pork Kidney 29%
  12. Wheat Gluten 29%

On the shelf

Foods that list Rice Starch

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

Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & Vegetable Stew Wet Dog FoodHill'sHill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & Vegetable Stew Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 6 on the labelHill’s Prescription Diet Gastrointestinal Biome Wet Dog FoodHill'sHill’s Prescription Diet Gastrointestinal Biome Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 6 on the label
Show 12 more
Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Savory Stew with Beef and Vegetables Wet Dog FoodHill'sHill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Savory Stew with Beef and Vegetables Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 6 on the labelHill’s Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Hearty Vegetable & Chicken Stew Wet Dog FoodHill'sHill’s Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Hearty Vegetable & Chicken Stew Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 6 on the labelHill’s Science Diet Puppy Savory Stew with Chicken & Vegetables Wet Dog FoodHill'sHill’s Science Diet Puppy Savory Stew with Chicken & Vegetables Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 7 on the labelHill’s Prescription Diet ONC Care Chicken & Vegetable Stew Wet Dog FoodHill'sHill’s Prescription Diet ONC Care Chicken & Vegetable Stew Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 7 on the labelHill’s Adult Sensitive Stomach & Skin Chicken & Rice Stew Wet Dog FoodHill'sHill’s Adult Sensitive Stomach & Skin Chicken & Rice Stew Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 7 on the labelHill’s Adult Healthy Cuisine Roasted Chicken, Carrots & Spinach Stew Wet Dog FoodHill'sHill’s Adult Healthy Cuisine Roasted Chicken, Carrots & Spinach Stew Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 7 on the labelHill’s Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Savory Stew with Chicken & Vegetables Wet Dog FoodHill'sHill’s Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Savory Stew with Chicken & Vegetables Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 7 on the labelHill’s Science Diet Puppy Chicken & Rice Stew Wet Dog FoodHill'sHill’s Science Diet Puppy Chicken & Rice Stew Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 7 on the labelHill’s Science Diet Adult Healthy Cuisine Chicken & Vegetables Stew Wet Dog FoodHill'sHill’s Science Diet Adult Healthy Cuisine Chicken & Vegetables Stew Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 7 on the labelHill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Healthy Cuisine Braised Beef, Carrots & Peas Stew Wet Dog FoodHill'sHill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Healthy Cuisine Braised Beef, Carrots & Peas Stew Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 8 on the labelHill’s Science Diet Adult Savory Stew with Chicken & Vegetables Wet Dog FoodHill'sHill’s Science Diet Adult Savory Stew with Chicken & Vegetables Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 8 on the labelHill’s Hill’s Science Diet Adult Savory Stew with Beef & Vegetables Wet Dog FoodHill'sHill’s Hill’s Science Diet Adult Savory Stew with Beef & Vegetables Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 9 on the label

Sources

What we read

Checked October 25, 2026.

  1. 1 Effects of six carbohydrate sources on dog diet digestibility and post-prandial glucose and insulin response Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 2008 // Journal
  2. 2 An open label clinical trial to evaluate the utility of a hydrolysed fish and rice starch elimination diet for the diagnosis of adverse food reactions in dogs Veterinary Dermatology, 2018 // Journal
  3. 3 Functional Properties of Glutinous Rice Flour by Dry-Heat Treatment PLOS ONE, 2016 // Journal
  4. 4 Rice in human nutrition - Major processed rice products Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1993 // Book
  5. 5 Technological benefits of BENEO ingredients BENEO, 2018 // Industry
  6. 6 What's in the Ingredients List? AAFCO, n.d. // Regulator
  7. 7 Section 6: Dietary Management in Diabetic Dogs American Animal Hospital Association, 2026 // Nonprofit
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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