Pet owners occasionally find it difficult these days to pick a pet food for your pet. The choices are infinite and the labels are not only confusing, but they can be misleading. If you know how pet food labels work, you can make a more educated buying decision the next time you shop for pet food .
Pet food labels have an information panel and a main display panel. The main display panel contains the names such as the brand, the manufacturer, etc. The Association of American Feed Control Officials governs a products name and what ingredients it contains.
When shopping for pet food, pay close attention to wording. Products that say wording like beef entrée or beef dinner, they are only required to have 10% beef content. Products that just say beef are required to have %70 beef. Along the same lines, if it is worded ‘with beef’, it need only contain 3% beef and if it says ‘beef flavor’ it may contain less than 1% of the product!
A key to finding high quality food for your particular pet is to be sure to check the bag for the AAFCO statement that tells you this food has passed its feeding trials.
The other portionsection of the label is the information panel, that must have statement of ingredients and a guaranteed analysis. The ingredients on the analysis will be listed in order of weight. The analysis will tell you the percentage of crude fat, proteins, fiber and moisture in the product. Even though the percentages are listed, the quality of the ingredients is not stated.
Pets are very sensitive to changes made to their food. Before making a change, pay attention to their coat, eye clarity and how they are acting. If all is well, you may be better off sticking with what you are currently using. Any pet nutritional information or concerns can be answered by a qualified veterinarian based on your specific pets needs.
Many pet owners become consumed with what to feed their pet and fail to consider how they feed their pet. elevated dog bowls are considered a great choice, especially for taller dogs. There are a lot dog bowls and cat bowls to make a selection from, it is up to you to pick the proper feeder for your pet but keep in mind to stay away from plastic containers. They tend to keep the germs around to make for a hazardous eating situation for your pet. Many pet owners opt for having two sets of pet feeding bowls to make sure that one set is always clean. It is so tempting to just keep reusing the same bowl without washing but do not fall into this trap, your pet’s health may depend on it. Look into pet supplies online for great deals and convenience.
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June 6th, 2009 - 7:16 pm
The other frustrating part about AAFCO and those labels on the food – that’s what is supposed to be there. According AVMA Journal, they found the actual measurements to be “significantly” different.
Link to Feb 2009 AVMA Journal article:
http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs/10.2460/javma.234.3.347?journalCode=javma
That, along with the information about how the recent Nutro Cat food recall came about, puts a glaring spotlight on the fact that 1) QA on incoming ingredients failed, no tests to confirm specifications were done 2) QA on finished goods (the foods you buy that your pet eats) failed, no tests to confirm the product actually met the standards as advertised.
If we’re going to have animals as “family” then we are becoming obligated to protect their health by calling the pet food companies and asking very specific questions. They are profoundly efficient at non-answers and it’s hard to be sure they really told you the truth. If you ask “how much”, for example, they could tell you they don’t know the “exact amount”. On the other hand, if you ask what is the range of levels of X, then they might actually give you an idea of what is in the food. BUT, that can only happen if they do QA tests on the ingredients and QA tests on the finished pet food.
I seriously doubt that Nutro is the only one not doing sufficient QA on nutrient profiles of their finish products. Products that are sold and fed.
Where does that leave the pet parents as consumers?
Marion Nestle had some good summary recommendations:
http://www.foodpolitics.com/2009/06/whats-up-with-nutro-pet-foods/
“For everyone: Insist that the companies that make foods for people and pets tell you what is in their products, where the ingredients come from, whether they are testing, and what the results of those tests might be.”