Choosing your pet’s food is one of the most important choices you make as a pet parent. After all, good food is
the foundation of a happy, healthy life. And if you’ve shopped for pet food, you know there are endless options
out there. So how do you choose?
Pet food labels are a very useful tool when browsing food options — if you know how to read them. Food labels
pack a lot of information into small labels with esoteric terminology and sometimes confusing claims.
Here’s our guide to reading, decoding and understanding dog and cat food labels, so you can make the best
nutritional choice for your four-legged companion.
What's In A Pet Food Label?
Pet food labels are regulated and enforced by the FDA at the federal level (the same as for human food labels). The
FDA delegates the generation and publication of pet food rules to the Association of American Feed Control Officials
(AAFCO), which sets the standards for
pet foods in the U.S. Neither the FDA nor AAFCO approves, certifies or
endorses pet food. The individual states use AAFCO guidelines to approve pet food labels.
Most pet food labels follow similar formats and include:
- Product name
- Specifications of what species the food is for
- Net weight
- Ingredients
- Nutritional adequacy statement
- Guaranteed analysis
- Feeding guidelines
- Manufacturer’s name and address
- Calorie content
But what do these things mean for your fur baby? Keep reading below.
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Dog & Cat FoodThe product name is the first thing pet parents see, and it’s not just an arbitrary title! The product name contains clues to the content and ingredients. AAFCO has four rules (these apply to many canned and dry products) to help pet parents decode pet food product names: I. 95% RuleThe named ingredient in any product name must make up 95% of the product. For example, “Real Chicken Dog Food” must contain 95% chicken (not counting added water for processing). There are also nutritional ingredients, like vitamins and minerals, to make this recipe “Complete and Balanced.” |
Dog & Cat Food
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The product name is the first thing pet parents see, and it’s not just an arbitrary title! The product name contains clues to the content and ingredients. AAFCO has four rules (these apply to many canned and dry products) to help pet parents decode pet food product names: I. 95% RuleThe named ingredient in any product name must make up 95% of the product. For example, “Real Chicken Dog Food” must contain 95% chicken (not counting added water for processing). There are also nutritional ingredients, like vitamins and minerals, to make this recipe “Complete and Balanced.” |
II. 25% Or "Dinner" Rule
When a product contains descriptive terms like “dinner,” “recipe,” “entrée,” “formula,” for example, the named ingredients make up at least 25% of the product, but less than 95%, listed in order of inclusion. In addition, each named ingredient must be at least 3% of the total. For example, “Real Chicken & Sweet Potato Recipe ” contains at least 25% chicken and sweet potato combined, more chicken than sweet potato, and at least 3% sweet potato.
III. 3% Or "With" Rule
When you see a pet food bag with the term “with” or “contains” (such as Cat Food with Tuna), the ingredient after the word “with” makes up at least 3% of the product. This is used by brands to point out the presence of minor ingredients that are important for consumers. Keep an eye out for these qualifiers!
IV. Flavor Rule
A label that uses the term “flavor” to describe an ingredient only needs to include enough of that ingredient to be detected. A specific percentage isn’t required. “Flavor” means that there’s usually 1% or LESS of that named ingredient in the product. If it says “Chicken Flavor,” that means there’s only 1% or less chicken in the product.
Nutritional Adequacy Statement (Often Refered To As AAFCO Statement)
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According to AAFCO,
the nutritional
adequacy statement is “perhaps the most important part of a pet
food label.” This statement helps pet parents match our pet’s general nutritional needs with a
product.
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Nutritional Adequacy Statement (Often Refered To As AAFCO Statement)
|
According to AAFCO,
the nutritional
adequacy statement is “perhaps the most important part of a pet
food label.” This statement helps pet parents match our pet’s general nutritional needs with a
product.
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Ingredient Statement
The ingredients in a pet food label must be listed individually and in order from most present to least present. The
first 5-7 ingredients are what pet parents should examine most carefully!
Ideally, the ingredients statement lists protein first and other wholesome ingredients after. For example, the first
5 ingredients in pawTree’s Freeze-Dried Raw Food Chicken
Recipe are chicken, chicken liver, chicken hearts, garbanzo
beans, chicken gizzards, dried sweet potatoes and chicken bone broth.
Guaranteed Analysis
AAFCO has specific requirements for the minimum amount of protein and fat and the maximum amount of fiber and moisture. Pet food labels display the percentage of crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber and moisture. “Crude” refers to the specific method of testing, not the quality of the nutrient, which can vary.
Feeding GuidelinesFeeding guidelines on a pet food label tell us how much food to give our fur babies, based on their weight and life stage. Remember that feeding directions are just guidelines! Specific metabolism, daily activity, age, genetics, health status, environment, outdoor temperature and other factors can all affect how much food our four-legged companions need. Rely on veterinarian recommendations or pawTree’s pet profile when establishing a meal routine for your pet. Calorie ContentAll pet food packages are required to have a “Calorie Content” heading and list the product’s kilocalories per kilogram and kilocalories per household measurement (per cup/can) or unit (e.g. per treat). Caloric listings help us understand how much to feed our fur baby and are especially helpful in knowing how many treats and reward foods to give out! |
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Feeding Guidelines
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Feeding guidelines on a pet food label tell us how much food to give our fur babies, based on their weight and life stage. Remember that feeding directions are just guidelines! Specific metabolism, daily activity, age, genetics, health status, environment, outdoor temperature and other factors can all affect how much food our four-legged companions need. Rely on veterinarian recommendations or pawTree’s pet profile when establishing a meal routine for your pet. Calorie ContentAll pet food packages are required to have a “Calorie Content” heading and list the product’s kilocalories per kilogram and kilocalories per household measurement (per cup/can) or unit (e.g. per treat). Caloric listings help us understand how much to feed our fur baby and are especially helpful in knowing how many treats and reward foods to give out! |
Now you know! Pet food labels help us match our sweet fur baby to the food they need to thrive. All of
pawTree’s cat
and dog food complies with AAFCO guidelines and lists product information both on our packaging and website,
so you
don’t have to look very far to get the facts.
The right food recipe can make a huge difference in your fur baby’s wellbeing, and our pets rely on us to make the
best nutritional choices for them. Now that you can decipher the labels, it’s
time to learn what recipe is best for
your fur baby!
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