Fresh dog food is a relatively new type of dog food that is increasingly growing in popularity. Fresh food and homemade dog food will contain a lot of (if not all) the same ingredients, as well as being cooked at low temperatures.

It’s useful to think of fresh dog food as a convenient alternative to homemade dog food. It is cooked like you would at home, in pre-portioned amounts and delivered straight to your door.

With fresh food, you know exactly what you’re feeding your dog. Everything that goes into the final product is listed for you to see and approve of. If you like to read labels, you've probably noticed that a lot of tinned and dry dog foods list their ingredients by category. This means that instead of saying exactly what's in there, it might use general terms like 'meat derivatives' or 'cereals'. It seems odd, but these meat derivatives might not come from the meat mentioned on the package.
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For example, dog food only has to be 4% beef to be labelled as such – the rest of the protein might come from, say, chicken, pork or any mixture of meats. Similarly, cereals can be anything that falls under that category. Unfortunately this means that some pet food manufacturers will use the cheapest cereals available, rather than the most nutritionally beneficial.
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Human-quality, fresh food contains all of the nutrients that are essential for supporting growth and building immunity. The benefits of these ingredients can be seen in a dog’s physical appearance. Essential fatty acids, such as omega 3, help to promote shiny coats and reduce skin conditions.
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Additives and preservatives are often added to commercial dog food to enhance flavour or colour and lengthen shelf life. Fresh food does not include any of these nasties. Instead, it is generally recommended that it is consumed within a specified time frame or frozen to last longer.