Do you know how to read a pet food label?
This one has pretty pictures on the front.
This bag says all-natural ingredients.
This one says it’s holistic.
How are you supposed to know what is best?
You would think looking at the ingredient list would tell you everything you need to know. Turn the bag around, and look for ingredients that you can recognize. Surely, that’s a safe way to know that the food is good and safe for your pet.
However, it’s not, and we’re going to tell you why.
What is a pet food label?
Let’s start with the guaranteed analysis. The guaranteed analysis indicates minimum or maximum levels of nutrients like protein, fat, fiber and moisture.
You will not find the percentage of carbohydrates present in the food here. Also, the fact that this is either minimum or maximum levels makes it difficult to determine if this is the optimal level for your pet.
To figure out the amount of carbohydrates in your pet’s food, add together Protein + Fat + Moisture + Ash, then subtract from 100 and this equals carbohydrates.
You’ll quickly find out that most ultra-processed kibble diets contain 40-70% carbohydrate content. Keep in mind dogs and especially cats have no physiological requirement for carbohydrates. This calculation only works for dry, not wet food.
These are not guarantees of the quality of the food.
Moisture levels also vary between each product, which can make it very difficult to assess the true amount present in the product you are looking at. Make sure to use the above calculation to compare brands to each other.
The nutritional adequacy statement is AAFCO’s statement on how the food is tested to determine if it is adequate for your pet.
If the package states the food supports “all life stages,” be wary.
The product likely contains excessive nutrient levels necessary for the most demanding life stage, which is growth.
For example, the food might contain higher levels of protein and calcium for kittens, but those levels are inappropriate for an adult or senior cat.
This is one of the many reasons why we advocate looking at your pet as an individual, because requirements change based on life stage and if there are any disease conditions.
“Balanced For All Life Stages” Claims
AAFCO allows two basic methods for pet food manufacturers to substantiate their claims.
You would think that food trials are required, however, most foods choose to formulate food based on the AAFCO nutrient profiles.
This method is less time-consuming and cheaper because it only requires a calculation of the nutrient levels.
The feeding trial method is gold standard.
An example of an AAFCO statement using the feeding trial method would be: “Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that Brand X Dog Food provides complete and balanced nutrition for maintenance of adult dogs.”
Yet, when you look at what actually goes into a feeding trial, you may be surprised.
The protocol only requires 6 animals to pass based on a physical examination, not losing weight (becoming overweight is ok), and four blood values over 6 months! To learn more about these obscene requirements, check out Ryan Yamka, a board-certified animal nutritionist, and his article about AAFCO Feeding Trials.
Pet companies have stated that they can make a piece of leather fit the AAFCO requirements. I’m pretty sure leather is not a healthy meal for a pet!
Pet Food Ingredients – Are They Healthy?
Ingredients are the next part of the label, which can be tricky to read as a pet parent.
Ingredients are listed in descending weight BEFORE processing. You will usually see meat listed as the first ingredient because it is the heaviest, most dense to water still being present.
However, meat is comprised of usually around 75% water which once the kibble is extruded, the water content is left around 10%, which means the meat is probably now around 25% of it’s weight, whereas the dry ingredients, like corn, did not change much.
These varied weights also come into play with a tactic pet food companies use called ingredient splitting.
Ingredient splitting is a tricky way of subdividing a more abundant but cheaper ingredient into smaller portions.
For example, you may see corn broken down into:
Example of ingredient splitting:
- Corn gluten meal
- Corn flour
- Whole ground corn
By doing this, the weight of the corn is now divided into three which allows meat to still look like it is the number one or two ingredient in the food, even though it is not when you add all the separate corn ingredients together.
And finally, the “salt divider” rule.
If you don’t follow Rodney Habib, you need to start NOW! He has done amazing things for exposing the pet food industries for tricks like the above with ingredient splitting.
One of the other tactics pet food companies use is with the salt in foods.
AAFCO recommends that dry dog food contains at least 0.3% sodium, and that dry cat food contains at least 0.2% sodium, for both maintenance and to support normal growth and development, which are minimum recommended levels.
According to Dr. Marion Nestlé, Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and Malden Nesheim, Professor of Nutrition Emeritus and Provost Emeritus at Cornell University, in their book “Feed Your Pet Right”:
“Because most pet foods use similar formulas, our rule of thumb is that any ingredient that follows salt on the list must make up less than 1 percent of the diet. This has to be true for ingredients like vitamins and trace minerals because only tiny amounts are needed […]. Salt is a convenient marker of quantity.”
If you think your pet’s food has lots of healthy ingredients like blueberries and real food and it’s listed after the salt on the label, think again!
The company only has to put a tiny sprinkle of that ingredient in the food and they can list it on the ingredient list, and plaster the front of their bags with beautiful pictures of blueberries, cranberries, asparagus, and whatever else the consumer feels good about buying for their pet.
Always remember to educate yourself, and don’t just assume that the pet food companies have your pet’s best interests in mind.
To continue learning more about your pet’s food, check out How To Pick the Best Pet Food.
MORE NATURAL PET HEALTH INFORMATION
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2. Join our FREE Facebook Natural Pet Parent Community group for more natural health guidance.
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3. Inquire about our Healthy Holistic Pet For Life Blueprint program for even more guidance with your pets.
You may be spending hours and hours researching what is the best way to raise your puppy and other fur family and feeling lost, stuck and confused on what is the best path forward. Many pets are developing diseases early in life that are expensive, shortening their lives, and are stressful for pet parents to endure watching their pets not feel well. We’ve created a program that guides you through the 5 pillars of health to help you gain confidence in the essential areas of pet health that will help reduce disease from occurring, keep your pets healthy and happy, reduce vet bills and help you feel empowered and confident as a pet parent to tackle anything. The best part is you gain access to an incredible worldwide community of pet parents and weekly 2-hour Q&A’s with Dr. Katie to gain further clarification and get your questions answered. If you’d like to learn more, make sure to schedule a call with us here: Healthy Holistic Pet For Life Application
*Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your own veterinarian or doctor. The information contained in thenaturalpetdoctor.com is strictly for educational purposes. Therefore, if you wish to apply ideas contained in thenaturalpetdoctor.com, you are taking full responsibility for your actions. Please consult your veterinarian for medical advice for your own pets. Dr. Katie Woodley cannot answer specific questions about your pet’s medical issues or make medical recommendations for your pet without first establishing a veterinarian-client-patient relationship.