What's In A Name? Decoding Pet Food Labels

All natural! Real beef first ingredient! Delicious gravy dinner with chicken!

 As pet owners are drawn towards pet foods with flashy claims and pictures of dinners they themselves would like to eat, how many can say they truly know how to dissect the package? Many consumers don't know how to break down their own nutrition labels, let alone their pet's. Just as in the human food systems, pet food comes with its own set of rules and regulations. Knowledge of these can help you to clearly break down the options on the shelf to pick the best food for your pet.

Who makes the rules? 
Guidelines for pet food labels are dictated by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). However, AAFCO has no legal jurisdiction over pet food companies, leaving the responsibility to enforce these guidelines to the government at both a federal and state level. Pet food must comply with the FDA, USDA, and FTC. Any drugs or therapeutic claims, such as in medicated diets for kidney disease, joint health, etc., must be approved by the FDA. Further guidelines can be set by state governments, and there are severe consequences for companies who do not comply.

So, what are these guidelines? 
Guidelines are set for every component of your pet food package, from the product name, to the ingredient list, to the manufacturers address and contact information. To truly understand how to read pet food labels, it is necessary to break down the package to each individual component.

Product Name

The product name can provide more information than you might have thought. For example, if you buy a cat food called "pate with beef flavor" there is no requirement for the amount of beef that must be included, it simply must be on the ingredient list somewhere.

A food that says "dinner with liver" only requires 3% of that ingredient to be included in the recipe. In this case, a dinner with liver and beef would only require the sum of the liver and beef together to be at least 3% of the diet.

Any food with dinner, platter, entree, formula, or recipe in the name must include that ingredient at a minimum of 25% in the formula. If there are two ingredients listed, such as beef and liver dinner, each ingredient must be included at at least 3%, with the total equaling 25%.


Ingredient Lists
Ingredients must be listed in descending order, meaning that the ingredient used in the greatest amount will be listed first, followed by those in smaller amounts. However, if two ingredients are included at equal levels, the manufacturer can chose the order. So, if you're choosing a diet specifically because it claims "real chicken first ingredient" and the first two ingredients listed are chicken, corn gluten meal, both ingredients could be included in the diet at 20%.

Guaranteed Analysis
The guaranteed analysis is the "nutrition label" of pet foods. Located on the side of the bag, this table is required to report the protein, fat, fiber, and moisture contents of the pet food. Many pet foods may include additional nutrient information, especially if it helps to support their claims. For example, if the food is advertised to promote healthy skin and coat, it may list the omega-3 fatty acid content, as this ingredient is beneficial to skin and coat health.

Nutritional Adequacy
Located below the guaranteed analysis table is a statement known as the "Nutritional Adequacy Statement," or "AAFCO Statement." This statement can be written one of two ways.

1. Feeding Claim: Foods with a statement that mention animal feeding tests mean that this formula was fed to dogs or cats to insure that the food is meeting the nutritionally requirements defined by AAFCO.

2. Formulated Claim: Foods with a statement saying it is formulated to meet the nutritional levels required mean that on paper, this food meets the nutritional requirements defined by AAFCO. However, no feeding study was done to confirm this. This is not necessarily a negative, nor does a mean a feeding study has not been done before. For example, if a food was reformulated slightly, maybe with a new supplier of an ingredient that can provide it at a better cost, the company would most likely not go through another feeding trial, because nutritionally, nothing has changed.

Feeding Guidelines
The last important section of your pet food bag is the feeding guidelines section. This table will give estimates on the amount of food you should be feeding your pet based on their weight and the calorie content of the pet food. There are formulas that have been created through research that calculate the calorie requirements for your pet which are used to determine this amount. Much like humans, the largest healthy plague affecting our pets in the United States is obesity. These guidelines are designed to help your pet maintain their current weight and fulfill their nutrient requirements. If you pet is in need of a diet, or maybe needs to put on a few pounds, you should always consult with your vet to figure out the best amount to feed them.

I'd encourage you go check out your own pet's food! Did you learn anything new? Comment what you find below!

Until next time!

Spencer


SOURCES:
https://www.petcoach.co/article/government-regulation-of-the-pet-food-industry/
https://www.aafco.org/
https://www.petcurean.com/blog/a-simple-guide-to-reading-the-back-of-pet-food-bags-2/