Pet Food and Nutrition

INTRODUCTION

While there is certain basic information all pet food labels must have on them by law, manufacturers can still be quite 'creative' in trying to convey attributes of their products on packaging. After all, pet foods, like most other goods purchased by people, 'compete' in a very competitive marketplace. That is why the history, philosophy, reputation, integrity and leadership of the company is so important in helping your team make the correct nutritional decisions for your practice and for your clients. This module will help you understand pet food labels, making you even more valuable as a resource for accurate information.

LABEL DESIGN 

A pet food label is divided into two main parts:

•  The Principal Display Panel 
• The Information Panel 

The principal display panel is the primary means of attracting the pet owner's attention to a product and should immediately communicate the product identity (see Figure 1). The information panel is defined as "that part of the label immediately contiguous and to the right of the principal display panel" and usually contains important information about the product. In the United States and some other countries, several items are required by law to be included on the principal display panel and information panel (Table 1).

PRINCIPAL DISPLAY PANEL

Product Identity

The product identity is the primary means by which pet owners identify a specific pet food. In the United States, the product identity must include a product name, but may also include a manufacturer's name, a brand name, or both. The brand name is the name by which pet food products of a given company are identified and usually conveys the overall image of the product. The product name provides information about the individual identity of the particular product within the brand.

Pet foods are best assessed initially by looking at the product name on the principal display panel. The product name is usually descriptive of the food and in the United States is subject to AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) regulations about composition of ingredients. Percentage rules are important. Let's use beef ingredients as an example:

• The term "Beef" in a product name requires that beef ingredients be 95% or more of the total weight of all ingredients (exclusive of water used in processing).
• The term "Beef dinner," "Beef platter," "Beef entree" or any similar designation requires that beef ingredients be at least 25% but not more than 95% of the total weight of all ingredients (exclusive of water used in processing).
• The term "With Beef" requires that beef ingredients be at least 3% of the total product (exclusive of water used in processing).
• The term "Beef flavor" only requires that beef is "recognizable by the pet." The beef flavor. designation usually indicates that beef is less than 3% of the total product. An ingredient that gives the characterizing flavor (e.g., beef digest, beef by-products) can be used instead of the actual named flavor, beef. 

In the United States, the maximum moisture content in all pet foods should not exceed 78% unless they consist of stew, gravy, broth, juice, or a milk replacer that is so labeled. High-moisture pet foods in cans, trays or pouches will have a product name with the terms "in sauce," "in aspic," "in gravy," "in meaty juices," or some similar designation.
 

Designator

The words "dog food" or "cat food" or some similar terminology is called the Designator or Statement of Intent and must appear conspicuously on the principal display panel of pet foods sold in the United States. These terms clearly identify the animal for which the product is intended and that the product is not for human consumption.

Net Weight

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations state that the principal display panel shall bear a declaration of the net quantity of contents. The term net weight is used most often. Net weight descriptions must be placed on the principal display panel within the bottom 30% of the panel in lines generally parallel to the base of the package.

Product Vignette

The term product vignette refers to a vignette, graphic, or pictorial representation of a product on a pet food label. The picture or other depiction of the product or ingredients on the label should not look better than the actual product or ingredients.

Bursts and Flags

Bursts and flags are areas of the principal display panel that are designed to highlight information or provide specific information with visual impact. New products, formula or ingredient changes, and improvements in taste are most often highlighted. The time allowed for a burst or flag to be on the label varies with the type of information. "New" or "New & Improved" can only appear on the label for six months, whereas a comparison such as "Preferred 4 to 1 over the leading national brand" can remain on the label for one year, unless re-substantiated.
 

Nutrition Statements

Nutrition statements appearing on the principal display panel are usually brief. Examples include "complete and nutritious," "100% complete nutrition," "Dogs 1-6 years" or some similar designation. A nutritional adequacy statement on the information panel must substantiate nutrition claims such as these on the principal display panel. Manufacturers can substantiate these nutrition claims by meeting the appropriate AAFCO nutrient profile or successfully completing a protocol feeding trial. Nutrition claims substantiation is discussed in more detail below.

INFORMATION PANEL

Ingredient Statement

The ingredient panel provides general information about which ingredients were used to make a given pet food and their relative amounts. Pet foods sold in the United States must list each ingredient of the food in the ingredient statement. Ingredients are listed in descending order by their predominance by weight according to the product's formula. AAFCO has established the name and definition of a wide variety of ingredients. The ingredient names must conform to the AAFCO name (e.g., poultry by-product meal) or should be identified by the common or usual name (e.g., beef, lamb, chicken).

The ingredient panel can be useful if specific ingredients are contraindicated for certain animals or an owner has an ingredient concern. This is especially important if a pet has an allergy to an ingredient in a food. However, reviewing a pet food label provides no information about the quality of the ingredients used. Contacting the manufacturer or nutrition experts for additional information is the best way to compare the quality of pet foods.
 
The nutritive value of ingredients cannot be identified from the ingredient statement. A pet owner must rely on the reputation or word of the manufacturer to assess the nutritive value of the ingredients appearing on the list. Pet food additives such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidant preservatives, antimicrobial preservatives, humectants, coloring agents, flavors, palatability enhancers, and emulsifying agents that are added by the manufacturer must be listed in the ingredient statement.
 

Guaranteed Analysis

In the United States, pet food manufacturers are required to include minimum percentages for crude protein and crude fat and maximum percentages for crude fiber and moisture. Guarantees for other nutrients may follow moisture, but a nutrient need not be listed unless its presence is highlighted elsewhere on the label (e.g., "contains taurine," "calcium enriched"). These percentages generally indicate the "worst case" levels for these nutrients in the food and do not reflect the exact or typical amounts of these nutrients. See Figures 10 and 13 for Guaranteed Analysis examples from Science Diet® products.
 

• Crude Protein (Minimum % on label)
• Crude protein refers to specific analytical procedure that estimates protein content by measuring nitrogen. Crude protein is an index of protein quantity but does not indicate protein quality (amino acid profile) or digestibility. Crude Fat (Minimum % on label)
• Crude fat refers to specific analytical procedure that estimates the lipid content of a food. Because fats have more than twice the energy density of protein and carbohydrates, crude fat can be used to estimate the energy density of the food. If the moisture and crude fiber content of two foods are somewhat similar, the food with the higher crude fat guarantee will usually have the higher energy density. Crude Fiber (Maximum % on label)
• Crude fiber represents what remains (mostly cellulose and lignin) after plant material has been treated with certain solutions. Crude fiber is an estimate of the indigestible portion of the food.

Moisture (Maximum % on label)

Small differences in moisture content of canned pet foods can result in marked differences in dry matter content and therefore the economics of feeding a given pet food. The dry matter content of the food contains all of the nutrients except water.
 
What appears to be a small difference in water content of a food produces a marked difference in dry matter content. Guarantees are usually expressed on an "as is" or "as fed" basis. It is important to remember to convert these guarantees to a dry matter basis when comparing foods with differing moisture content (e.g., canned vs. dry foods). The Commercial Pet Foods module covers this concept more fully.
 

Ash

Ash consists of all noncombustible materials in the food, usually salt and other minerals. Some companies just list 'Ash' (which is legally acceptable). Others, like Hill's®, break down the ash content on the label even further (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium…). A high-ash content in dry and semi-moist foods may indicate a high magnesium content. Excessive magnesium intake may be one risk factor for feline struvite urolithiasis.
Nutritional Adequacy Statement

Since 1984, regulations in the United States have required that all pet food labels, with the exception of products clearly labeled as treats and snacks, contain a statement and validation of nutritional adequacy (product description). When a claim of "complete and balanced," "100% nutritious," or some similar designation is used, manufacturers must indicate the method and lifestage that was used to substantiate this claim.

AAFCO regulations allow two basic methods to substantiate claims.

• The Formulation Method requires that the manufacturer formulate the food to meet the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles or Cat Food Nutrient Profiles.
• The Feeding Trial (protocol) Method requires that the manufacturer perform an AAFCO-protocol feeding trial using the food as the sole source of nutrition. 

AAFCO nutrient profiles are published for two categories: 1) growth and reproduction and 2) adult maintenance. The formulation method allows the manufacturer to substantiate a "complete and balanced" claim by calculating the nutrient content of a food using standard nutrient information about ingredients. Table 2 lists some of the wording that connotes this type of claim. The formulation method is less expensive and time-consuming, but has been criticized because it does not account for acceptability of the food or nutrient availability.
 
The feeding trial (protocol) method is the preferred method for substantiating a claim. Feeding tests can result in a nutritional adequacy claim for one or more of the following categories: 1) gestation and lactation, 2) growth, 3) maintenance, and 4) complete for all lifestages. AAFCO has published minimum testing protocols for adult maintenance, growth, and gestation/lactation. A food that successfully completes a sequential growth and gestation/lactation trial can make a claim for all lifestages.
 
The required terminology for labels of pet foods that have passed these tests is as follows: "Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that (brand) provides complete and balanced nutrition for (lifestage)." The inclusion of the term "feeding test," "AAFCO feeding studies," or "AAFCO feeding protocols" in a nutritional adequacy statement supports the idea that the food has successfully completed a minimum feeding protocol (Table 2).

AAFCO feeding trials are minimum protocols. This type of test will usually detect nutrient deficiencies but might not detect some nutrient excesses that may be harmful when fed over a longer period.
Commercial pet foods that have undergone AAFCO-prescribed feeding tests provide reasonable assurance of nutrient availability and sufficient palatability to ensure acceptability (i.e., food intake sufficient to meet nutrient needs).

Pet foods that are clearly labeled as snacks or treats may make a nutritional adequacy claim but are not required to do so. Pet foods that do not meet AAFCO requirements by either of the standard methods will have a nutritional statement as follows: "This product is intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only."
There are certain products (such as Hill's® Prescription Diet® formulas) that are intended for use by, or under the supervision or direction of a veterinarian. These products will state this fact, which is important in regards to keeping the client in contact with the veterinary health care team. The food must include a supplemental feeding statement or the appropriate AAFCO lifestage claim.

Few, if any, homemade recipes have been animal tested according to prescribed feeding protocols.

Feeding Guidelines

In the United States, dog and cat foods labeled as complete and balanced for any or all lifestages must list feeding directions on the product label. These directions must be expressed in common terms and must appear prominently on the label. Feeding directions should, at a minimum, state, "Feed (weight/unit of product) per (weight unit) of dog (or cat)" and frequency of feeding. These feeding statements are general guidelines at best. Because of individual variation, many animals will require more or less food than that recommended on the label to maintain optimal body condition and health. Feeding guidelines should always be considered starting points only. Once again, that is why your involvement in helping your clients with feeding recommendations and follow up is so important.


Material written by Belchertown Animal Hospital.