Pet Food labels

Percent of owners that read the food label beofre making a pet food purchase

90%

Percent of owners that care about “freshness” of food

80%

Percent of owners concerned about pet food safety and then the percent of those who are fresh pet food buyers

86%; 97%

Percent that says “made with real ingredients” is most important

62%

How labels are made

With a combination of science based information and marketing

Who regulates labels and ingredients

FDA - Food and Drug administration

Who provides industry standards and recommendations that align with state and federal laws?

AAFCO

AAFCO

Association of American Feed Control Officials

Percent of owners that want more label information

84%

Top purchasing Factors

• Food quality

• Nutritional information

• Ingredient quality

• Brand name

Regulartory oversite by FDA

• Product identification

• Ingredients properly listed

• Net quantity displayed

• Manufacturer information - name and address

Regulatory oversite by AAFCO

• More specific than FDA

• Label formatting

• Nutrient adequacy

• Caloric statement

Regulatory oversite by state government

• Uniform state feed bill

• State department of Agriculture

• Office of the Indiana State Chemist (OISC)

Commerical pet food need to be nutritionally COMPLETE

• Includes all nutrients needed to meet the animal’s daily requirements in adequate amounts

• Fed as sole ration to maintain life stage without additional nutrients other than fresh water

Commercial pet food needs to be BALANCED

• Nutrients must be in proper proportions relative to each other

• Based on recommendations for a given set of physiological requirements (Life stage)

Statement of adequacy is necessary

• “[Name of product] is formulated to meet the nurtitional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food nutritent profiles for [specific life stage]”

• “Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that [name of product] provides complete and balanced nutrition for [specific life stage]”

Not a complete and balanced food

When labeled for “intermittent” or “Supplemental” feeding

• Veterinary therapeutic diets may be for supplemental use only

Required Components of a Pet Food Label

• Product Name and intended species

• Net quantity statement

• Ingredient list (descending order by weight)

• Guaranteed analysis

  • Protein (min %)

  • Fat (min %)

  • Fiber (max %)

  • Moisture (max %)

• Nutritional adequacy statement

• Feeding directions

• Manufacturer contact information

Required on the front of packaging

1. Product name

2. Species to be fed (designator)

3. Net quantity in package

Additional components on the front of packaging but not required

• Manufacturer’s name

• Vignette

• Bursts and Flags

• No health claims unless substantiated

“Natural”

• No chemically synthesized ingredients, except vitamins/minerals

  • No artificial flavors

  • No artificial colors

  • No preservatives

“Organic”

Must follow rules and regulations of the USDA National Organic Program (NOP)

• Certified seal >95% certified organic content

• “Made with organic” > 70% organic ingredients

• No genetically engineered ingredients

• <70% organic ingredients can list specific ingredients as organic in the ingredient list

Flavor Designation

• Protein name only (beef, chicken, etc.)

• Dinner, Platter, Formula, Recipe, Entree

• With… (beef, chicken, etc.)

• (beef, chicken, etc.)… Flavor

Flavor = Protein name only

Contains 95% or more of listed protein

Flavor = Dinner, Platter, Formula, Recipe, Entree

Contains 25% of listed protein

Flavor = With…

Contains 3% of listed protein

Flavor = …Flavor

<3% - 0% recognized by pet only

“Fresh”

• “Pet food in this context refers to pet food made with human-grade, fresh ingredients, often cooked at low temperatures and delivered to the owner in a refridgerated or frozen state.” pg 49, DIS Pet food Production and ingredient Analysis, Match 2025

• AAFCO does not have a definition

Marketing terms with no legal definitions

• Holistic

• Gourmet

• Human grade

• Senior, Mature Adult

• Grain-free

“Grain-Free”

May only exclude cereal grains such as wheat, rice, corn, barley, oats, rye, sorghum (Psudocereals: Millet, quinoa, buckwheat)

What you’ll find on the information panel

• Nutritional adequacy statement

• quaranteed analysis

• Feeding guidelines

• ingredient list

• manufacurer’s contact information

Additional information included on the information panel but not required

• Calorie content

  • excet for “light/lite” or weight control foods

    • dry dog food must contain <3100 kcal/kg

    • Current regulation requires kcal to be listed

• Exact levels of nutrients

• Digestibility and nutrient bioavailability

By-Products

• Secondary products produced from the processing of a principal product

  • Additional products that are made when making a primary food product

  • More than one byproduct can be made from processing a single food product

  • AAFCO defined

  • This word does not have to be included in the ingredient list

Meat byproducts may include

• Organs

• Blood

• Bone

Meat byproducts cannot include

• Hair

• Horns

• Hooves

• Teeth

• Feces

Poultry byproducts may include

• Viscera

• Feet

• Necks

• Bone

Poultry byproducts cannot include

• Feathers

• feces

Grain/Vegetable Byproducts

• Brewer’s rice

• Rice bran

• Wheat bran

• Wheat gluten

• Oat hulls

• Corn meal

• Corn gluten meal

• Beet pulp

• Tomato pomace

• Fruit peels

• Brewing spent grains

• Mixed tocopherols

Byproducts provide:

Amino acids, vitamins, and minerals as well as palatability to the food

As-fed

• Product labels show nutrients on an as-fed basis

• Includes moisture (water)

• Nutrients ni high-moisture foods appear diluted

Dry matter

• Is what is left when all moisture is removed

• To compare foods, remove the moisture component to concentrate the nutrients

Converting AF to DM

1. Subtract moisture content from 100%

   • this gets you % dry matter

2. Divide crude _____ as fed by the dry matter % and multiply by 100

   • this gets you crude ____ of dry matter