It is important to be familiar with the information on pet food labels and be able to evaluate what they do and do not tell the customer about the food. Each state has its own specific regulations governing what is permitted or not permitted on a pet food label. What is common, however, is that all states have available to them model guidelines developed by an organization known as AAFCO.

AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) is a non-profit organization that writes, regulates and enforces animal feed laws. AAFCO members are state feed officials and representatives from the US Food and Drug Administration. Their basic goal is to provide a mechanism for developing and implementing uniform feed laws, regulations, standards, definitions and enforcement policies for regulating the manufacture, labeling, distribution and sale of animal feeds resulting in safe effective and useful feeds.

There are eight items that must appear on pet food labels according to AAFCO guidelines. They are:

• Brand Name
• Purpose Statement (dog or cat food)
• Guaranteed Analysis
• List of Ingredients (ordered by weight, from highest to lowest)
• Directions for use and Any Warning or Caution Statements
• Name and Address of Manufacturer
• Quantity Statement (Net weight)
• AAFCO nutritional claim

Guaranteed Analysis

All pet food manufacturers are required to list a guaranteed analysis which must include the following:

Although not required by law, some other manufacturers also list other items such as ash, or certain vitamin or mineral contents. The word 'crude' is used because the methods estimate the levels using rather simple methods. While a product may contain 10% protein, there are no guarantees as to the amino acid makeup or the digestibility of the protein. In other words, the guaranteed analysis does not guarantee the quality of the nutrient.

It also does not guarantee that the product contains the exact amounts listed. It only guarantees the percentages the manufacturer claims the product meets. Thus a label might claim "Crude Protein, minimum 10%" and actually contain 20% protein without being in violation, although in reality the numbers are usually close to these minimums since both protein and fat are among the most costly nutrients in pet food. Also, be aware that these levels are based on an average test sample and may not be the actual levels found in any specific bag.

If you add up the protein, fat, fiber and moisture percentages listed in the Guaranteed Analysis, you'll find the numbers never add up to 100%. For example, a dry food may have listed:

Guaranteed Analysis:

The total adds up to 51%. What is the other 49%? For canned, semi-moist and dry foods figure that minerals (ash) make up about 2.5, 5.5 and 7.5% respectively, so the remainder is comprised of carbohydrates, sometimes called nitrogen-free extract. This means, in reality, that the nutrient in the largest amount in this example is carbohydrates, not crude protein.

List of Ingredients

AAFCO requires pet food manufacturers to list ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight. If an ingredient requires a preservative (antioxidant), the preservative must be listed with that ingredient. For example: Poultry Fat (Mixed Tocopherols used as a preservative) might be listed as such. One good rule of thumb is: the top five ingredients will make up more than 80% of the food . Therefore, the ingredients listed at the end are usually part of a vitamin/mineral mix and often times make up less than 0.1% of the food.

Net Weight

This is how much the contents of the bag or can weighs, including water. It is possible to find bags and cans of different pet foods that are exactly the same size, but with net weights that vary by several pounds or ounces.

AAFCO Nutritional Claim

There are three methods AAFCO and pet food manufacturers use to ensure the nutritional adequacy of pet foods:

1. A claim that the food is formulated to meet nutritional guidelines established by AAFCO. For example: "Brand XX is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Dog Food Nutrient Profile for the maintenance of adult dogs."

2. A claim that the food has been proven to meet AAFCO nutritional guidelines by completing animal feeding trials. For example: "Animal feeding tests using the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) procedures substantiate that Brand XX provides complete and balanced nutrition for maintenance of adult dogs."

3. A claim that the product is a member of a product family which is nutritionally similar to another product which has been fed to animals as in number 2. In this case, the product making the claim is similar to a product that has been fed to animals. This type of claim is typically used on wet foods where a manufacturer might make as many as 40 different flavors that are nutritionally similar.

Claim #1 indicates the food is formulated to meet AAFCO guidelines. This is accomplished either by having the finished product analyzed for all the required nutrients or by calculating the nutrient levels in the finished diets and then comparing either of these values to those in the AAFCO Dog/Cat Food Nutrient Profile. The Dog/Cat food Nutrient Profiles are a series of nutritional standards for pet foods currently consisting of 4 profiles:

•  cat maintenance, cat growth and reproduction

•  dog maintenance, dog growth and reproduction

Each nutritional profile includes minimum levels for all nutrients known to be required by dogs or cats. For many nutrients, maximum levels are also specified. Foods which meet or exceed the minimums but which do not exceed the maximums specified by the AAFCO Nutrient Profile can then be labeled as having been formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by AAFCO. This type of claim does not require that any feeding trials were performed or completed before the product is placed for sale.

Claims #2 involves feeding the diet to dogs or cats and taking a number of measurements. These measurements include body weight, food consumption, a variety of blood parameters and a complete physical exam performed by a licensed veterinarian. The length of the test ranges from 10 weeks for a growth test to 26 weeks for a maintenance test. This claim is more expensive and takes longer to achieve. It means the food has been proven to sustain a certain dog or cat's particular life stage (i.e. growth or maintenance) through actual feeding trials.

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