How to Read Pet Food Labels
There are a large number of brands, types and flavors of dog and cat food out there. Some owners can get overwhelmed by the variety to choose from. So how do you choose an appropriate pet food? First, always ask your veterinarian what they prefer. Most veterinarians will only recommend brands of pet foods that have had clinical trials performed and research done to prove that they are high quality, well balanced foods. But here are some tricks to reading pet food labels that you may not know about!
What's in a Name?
First, there are two organizations, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) that regulate the standards of pet food. The AAFCO has certain rules that apply to labels. These are:
Ingredient Lists
Ingredients are required to be listed in order by decreasing weight - therefore, the first few ingredients listed on the bag or can will be the majority of the diet.
Nutritional Claims
For a pet food to claim it is "balanced and nutritious" it must either go through a series of feeding trials to prove that it is indeed a balanced food or meet the requirements of a strict nutrition list formulated by AAFCO. Foods that meet these requirements will have an AAFCO statement on the bag - look for this statement when choosing a food. The food will also claim what life stage it is appropriate for. Foods that claim to be fed for all life stages have met the requirements for growth and reproduction.
Unregulated Marketing Terms
Some label terms are placed on pet foods to be solely used as marketing ploys to make consumers believe their product is better than the next one. These claims are not regulated by any recognized organization and pet food companies do not have to meet any higher standards in order to put these label claims on their food. These terms include:
Natural vs. Organic Label Claims
The term "natural" refers to a lack of artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.
The term "organic" refers to how the plants or animals that comprise the pet food's ingredients were raised. At this time there are NO REGULATIONS OR RULES GOVERNING THE LABELS OF ORGANIC PET FOODS. So basically, you have to take the manufacturer's word that their pet food is truly organic.
Home-cooked and BARF (Bone and Raw Food) Diets
Care must be taken when feeding either of the above diets that nutritional imbalances do not occur. One recent study showed that 76% of BARF diets investigated had at least one potentially harmful nutritional deficiency or excess. BARF diets also pose a greater risk for Salmonella, E.coli and other intestinal infections if not done properly. Home diets can also be deficient if the pets are not given the appropriate vitamin and mineral supplements. Contact your veterinarian if you are feeding a home-cooked or BARF diet and want to make sure your pet is not suffering from malnutrition.
What's in a Name?
First, there are two organizations, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) that regulate the standards of pet food. The AAFCO has certain rules that apply to labels. These are:
- The "95% rule" - if a label says an ingredient in the name (such as Chicken Dog Food) then 95% of the weight of the food must be chicken, or whatever main ingredient they are claiming makes up the food. These names will be simple and will simply list the ingredient.
- The "25% rule" - this is also called the "dinner" rule - if a food is comprised of 25-95% of an ingredient, a qualifying term such as dinner must be on the food label. So, a food called "Chicken Dinner for Dogs" would have to contain at least 25% chicken in the ingredients. If more than one ingredient is listed (for example "Chicken and Rice Dinner", both ingredients must total 25% with the food containing more of the ingredient listed first (Chicken) and at least 3% of the second listed ingredient (Rice).
- The "3% rule" - this is also called the "with" rule - if a label says "Dog Food with Chicken" then the chicken only has to be 3% of the total weight of the food. This can easily be confused with "Chicken Dog Food" which would be a much better quality food with 95% chicken included.
- The "flavor" rule - if a label claims that their food has a specific flavor, such as "Chicken Flavored Dog Food" then only enough chicken to be detectable needs to be added. This could mean that only 1% of the food is actual chicken!
Ingredient Lists
Ingredients are required to be listed in order by decreasing weight - therefore, the first few ingredients listed on the bag or can will be the majority of the diet.
Nutritional Claims
For a pet food to claim it is "balanced and nutritious" it must either go through a series of feeding trials to prove that it is indeed a balanced food or meet the requirements of a strict nutrition list formulated by AAFCO. Foods that meet these requirements will have an AAFCO statement on the bag - look for this statement when choosing a food. The food will also claim what life stage it is appropriate for. Foods that claim to be fed for all life stages have met the requirements for growth and reproduction.
Unregulated Marketing Terms
Some label terms are placed on pet foods to be solely used as marketing ploys to make consumers believe their product is better than the next one. These claims are not regulated by any recognized organization and pet food companies do not have to meet any higher standards in order to put these label claims on their food. These terms include:
- Premium
- Super or Ultra Premium
- Gourmet
Natural vs. Organic Label Claims
The term "natural" refers to a lack of artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.
The term "organic" refers to how the plants or animals that comprise the pet food's ingredients were raised. At this time there are NO REGULATIONS OR RULES GOVERNING THE LABELS OF ORGANIC PET FOODS. So basically, you have to take the manufacturer's word that their pet food is truly organic.
Home-cooked and BARF (Bone and Raw Food) Diets
Care must be taken when feeding either of the above diets that nutritional imbalances do not occur. One recent study showed that 76% of BARF diets investigated had at least one potentially harmful nutritional deficiency or excess. BARF diets also pose a greater risk for Salmonella, E.coli and other intestinal infections if not done properly. Home diets can also be deficient if the pets are not given the appropriate vitamin and mineral supplements. Contact your veterinarian if you are feeding a home-cooked or BARF diet and want to make sure your pet is not suffering from malnutrition.