Brewer's Yeast in Dog Treats and Chews: What It Adds and How to Specify It

Brewer's yeast is used in dog treats and chews for a savoury taste dogs accept, natural B vitamins and a concentrated protein. Drum-dried brewer's yeast arrives already heat-treated and inactive, so it goes into baked biscuits, extruded bites and coated chews without changing how it is declared on the label.

This guide is for treat brands, co-manufacturers and importers. It covers what the ingredient contributes, how a treat containing it is classed and labelled in the US, the EU and the UK, what oven and dryer heat do to it, and the specification lines worth agreeing before the first order.

Why do treat makers use brewer's yeast?

Treats are bought on taste first. Brewer's yeast carries the savoury, broth-like notes that dogs respond to, which is why it shows up in biscuit doughs, jerky-style coatings and soft chews. Our palatability guide covers the published two-bowl trials in more detail.

It also brings real nutrition for a small inclusion. Across 108 samples of dehydrated brewer's yeast, Feedipedia reports an average of 48.9% crude protein on a dry matter basis, with a range of 39.3 to 56.8%. Lysine averages 6.3% of the protein and phosphorus 13.1 g per kg of dry matter, and the yeast carries B vitamins from the cell itself rather than from a premix.

For a brand, the third reason is the label. "Brewers dried yeast" is a recognised feed name in the US and a catalogued feed material in Europe, so it reads as a familiar ingredient rather than an additive.

How is a treat with brewer's yeast labelled in the US, EU and UK?

The rules differ more for the finished treat than for the yeast itself.

Two practical points follow. In the US, a treat label can list the ingredient simply as "brewers dried yeast", and the supplier's specification should show it meets the 35% protein floor. In the EU and UK, the importer of the treat or the yeast needs to know the yeast is inactivated, because the catalogue entry depends on it.

Does baking or extrusion change brewer's yeast?

The yeast cells are already inactive before they reach your mixer. Feedipedia notes that spent yeast must be inactivated to stop fermentation, usually by heat, and is commonly drum dried. Drum drying exposes the cream to a heated drum, so the powder that ships is a heat-treated ingredient.

The question treat makers should ask is about vitamins, and the answer points to storage rather than the oven. In a Kansas State University study presented at the 2014 ASAS annual meeting, Mooney tested extruder screw speed and dryer settings on vitamin retention in pet food and found no significant effect. Storing the same food at 50 °C and 75% relative humidity for 18 weeks was another matter: thiamine fell from 22.9 to 3.3 mg per kg, a loss of 85.86%.

If your brand plans to talk about B vitamins, measure them in the finished, aged treat. Warehouse temperature and pack barrier matter more than the bake.

Which treat formats suit brewer's yeast?

• Baked biscuits and cookies: blended into the dry mix with flour, where the fine powder disperses evenly.
• Extruded bites and training treats: added with the dry ingredients before the extruder, the same way kibble makers use it.
• Soft and semi-moist chews: blended into the dough, where low moisture in the powder helps keep water activity under control.
• Jerky and dental chews: used as part of a topical dust or coating to add savoury flavour at the surface.

Particle size is worth agreeing at the start. A biscuit line and a coating drum need different fineness, and both are easier to run when the powder is consistent from one shipment to the next.

What should a treat maker put in the specification?

These are the lines we publish for TBESBY dried brewer's yeast and the documents a treat brand usually asks for.

Add your own lines for particle size, microbiology limits and any customer-specific contaminant limits, and ask for a certificate of analysis with each shipment. Our safety specs guide lists the contaminant limits buyers usually reference.

How does TBESBY supply treat makers?

We source fresh brewer's yeast from leading international breweries in Vietnam and drum-dry it at our own facilities in Vietnam. The process is short: receiving, drum drying, milling and sieving, packing, and testing. Pet food makers and importers in the United States and Europe buy it in 25 kg bags for smaller lines or jumbo bags for continuous production.

If you are planning a treat range, see our brewer's yeast for pet food page and the full product specifications, or contact us for the spec sheet and documents. For complete diets, read brewer's yeast in dog food.

Sources

• California Code of Regulations, Title 3, §2801: Yeast Products
• Regulation (EU) No 68/2013, Catalogue of feed materials, Part C, chapter 12
• Regulation (EC) No 767/2009, Article 3: Definitions
• Feedipedia: Brewers yeast datasheet (INRAE, CIRAD, AFZ, FAO)
• Mooney, A. K. (2014). The effect of extrusion and elevated storage temperatures on vitamin retention in pet food. ASAS Annual Meeting abstract
• PetMD: What is an AAFCO statement (updated Nov 2024)