Standing in the pet food aisle can feel like reading a foreign language. Bags promise premium, natural and holistic nutrition, and the photos look appetizing. The most useful information, though, is usually in the smaller print. In the United States, pet food labeling is shaped by federal rules and by model regulations developed by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, known as AAFCO, which many states adopt. Here is how to make sense of the main parts.
The product name tells you more than you think
Under AAFCO’s model rules, the wording of a product name signals how much of a named ingredient is in the food. As a general guide:
- “Beef Dog Food” or “Salmon Cat Food”: the named ingredient makes up most of the product, at least 95 percent not counting added water.
- “Beef Dinner,” “Chicken Entree” or “Salmon Formula”: the named ingredient makes up at least 25 percent, not counting water. Other ingredients may make up the majority.
- “With Chicken”: the named ingredient needs to be only 3 percent of the product.
- “Chicken Flavor”: there must be enough to be detected, but no specific percentage is required.
So “Chicken Cat Food” and “Cat Food With Chicken” can be very different products.
The ingredient list
Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, including their water content, before processing. That means ingredients with high water content, like fresh meat, can appear near the top even if they contribute less to the final dry product than ingredients further down. The ingredient list is helpful for identifying things your pet should avoid, such as a known allergen, but it does not tell you on its own whether a food is high quality or complete.
Guaranteed analysis
This panel lists minimum percentages of crude protein and crude fat, and maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture. Some foods list more. These figures are on an as-fed basis, so comparing a canned food, which contains a lot of water, to a dry kibble directly can be misleading. Your veterinarian can help you compare foods on a more equal footing if you need to.
The nutritional adequacy statement
This may be the single most important line on the label. It tells you whether the food is intended to be complete and balanced, and for which life stage, such as growth, adult maintenance or all life stages. It also tells you how that was determined: either the food was formulated to meet established nutrient profiles, or it went through feeding trials.
If a product is labeled for intermittent or supplemental feeding only, it is not meant to be a pet’s main diet. Treats and some toppers fall into this category. Puppies and kittens need food appropriate for growth, and large-breed puppies may have specific needs, so check that the statement matches your pet.
What labels do not tell you
Words like “premium,” “gourmet” and “holistic” generally have no official definition. “Natural” has a defined meaning in AAFCO guidance, but it does not mean a food is better for your pet. Feeding directions are starting points, not rules. The label cannot tell you whether a food suits your individual pet’s health, so bring the bag or a photo to your veterinarian and ask. For more background, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has consumer information on pet food at fda.gov.
