Dog Food Labeling - It"s All in the Name - Do You Know What"s in Your Dog Food by Reading It?
When a person buys a pet, one of the often overlooked questions they forget or fail to ask themselves is, "What will I feed my pet?" Going to a pet food store, this can seem to be an overwhelming dilemma.
With products ranging multiple rows, it's hard to separate the good from the bad and the truth from the fluff.
When you read a label however, the product name gives you the first answers to you question of "What's in this one?" The AAFCO (Association Of American Feed Control Officials) gives four very distinctive rules on what it takes to label dog food and pet food in general.
What this article hopes to accomplish is to make you, the reader and pet owner, aware of these rules and most importantly to inform you that what you read may not always be so cut and dry.
95% Rule This is a rule specifically geared toward foods consisting of mostly poultry, meat, or fish.
It's mostly found in wet dog food (canned food).
A common label may read "Beef for dogs,""Chicken for Dogs," "Trout for Cats.
" In order to use this labeling, the product must contain 95% of this ingredient minus the water used for processing.
Counting the water, this number lowers to at least 70% of this ingredient.
This is the most accurate labeling and the easiest to interpret.
This means that a food named, for example "Chicken and Liver Dog Food" must consist of 95% Chicken and Liver" The most dense ingredient must be named first and then the secondary ingredient.
This rule only applies to meat and animal products by the way, so if it contains rice like in "Beef and Rice Dog Food" this would be mislabeled unless the food contained 95% Beef.
25% Rule This rule applies to foods that have between 25% and 95% of the named ingredient.
In order to name this food, an additional descriptive word must be added to the labeling.
"Beef Dog Food" which is under 95% beef must now be labeled something like "Beef Dinner for Dogs" Similar descriptive words would include "Formula," "Meal," "Entree" and so on.
In this instance, the named ingredient may be leaped and no longer the "Main Ingredient" When finding this type of food it is always smart to just read the label and find out what is more prevalent in the food then the ingredient you're seeking.
This shows you that there is a lot of room for something to be considered a "Dinner or Formula.
" It's not nearly as cut and dry.
3% Rule That's right, there's a 3% rule.
This rule applies to foods that implement the famous "with" label.
Maybe you've seen them.
"Dog Food with Beef," "Dog food with Chicken," etc.
These foods are stating that the food contains 3% or greater of the ingredient.
The only different word is "with" and all of the sudden the dog food can mean something completely different than you were thinking.
In these cases, once again, make sure you read the label.
There's no telling what is more prevalent in this food than the target ingredient.
The Flavor Rule This rule is the most vague of them all.
It means that as long as there are traceable amounts of the ingredient you are targeting, it can be included in the product name as long as the word flavored is sprinkled in.
Examples include "Beef Flavored Dog Food" or "Dog Food with Chicken Flavoring" There may be less that 1% of Beef or Chicken in these meals but the amount is traceable, meaning there is "some" I would stay completely away from these.
They are garbage!
With products ranging multiple rows, it's hard to separate the good from the bad and the truth from the fluff.
When you read a label however, the product name gives you the first answers to you question of "What's in this one?" The AAFCO (Association Of American Feed Control Officials) gives four very distinctive rules on what it takes to label dog food and pet food in general.
What this article hopes to accomplish is to make you, the reader and pet owner, aware of these rules and most importantly to inform you that what you read may not always be so cut and dry.
95% Rule This is a rule specifically geared toward foods consisting of mostly poultry, meat, or fish.
It's mostly found in wet dog food (canned food).
A common label may read "Beef for dogs,""Chicken for Dogs," "Trout for Cats.
" In order to use this labeling, the product must contain 95% of this ingredient minus the water used for processing.
Counting the water, this number lowers to at least 70% of this ingredient.
This is the most accurate labeling and the easiest to interpret.
This means that a food named, for example "Chicken and Liver Dog Food" must consist of 95% Chicken and Liver" The most dense ingredient must be named first and then the secondary ingredient.
This rule only applies to meat and animal products by the way, so if it contains rice like in "Beef and Rice Dog Food" this would be mislabeled unless the food contained 95% Beef.
25% Rule This rule applies to foods that have between 25% and 95% of the named ingredient.
In order to name this food, an additional descriptive word must be added to the labeling.
"Beef Dog Food" which is under 95% beef must now be labeled something like "Beef Dinner for Dogs" Similar descriptive words would include "Formula," "Meal," "Entree" and so on.
In this instance, the named ingredient may be leaped and no longer the "Main Ingredient" When finding this type of food it is always smart to just read the label and find out what is more prevalent in the food then the ingredient you're seeking.
This shows you that there is a lot of room for something to be considered a "Dinner or Formula.
" It's not nearly as cut and dry.
3% Rule That's right, there's a 3% rule.
This rule applies to foods that implement the famous "with" label.
Maybe you've seen them.
"Dog Food with Beef," "Dog food with Chicken," etc.
These foods are stating that the food contains 3% or greater of the ingredient.
The only different word is "with" and all of the sudden the dog food can mean something completely different than you were thinking.
In these cases, once again, make sure you read the label.
There's no telling what is more prevalent in this food than the target ingredient.
The Flavor Rule This rule is the most vague of them all.
It means that as long as there are traceable amounts of the ingredient you are targeting, it can be included in the product name as long as the word flavored is sprinkled in.
Examples include "Beef Flavored Dog Food" or "Dog Food with Chicken Flavoring" There may be less that 1% of Beef or Chicken in these meals but the amount is traceable, meaning there is "some" I would stay completely away from these.
They are garbage!
