"Until we have loved an animal, a part of our soul remains un-awakened." - Anatole France

How to Read Pet Food Labels

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What is AAFCO?

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) was formed in 1909 to establish a framework for uniform regulation of the feed industry. Although not a government agency, AAFCO operates within the guidelines of U.S. federal and state legislation including laws administered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
With so many brands and varieties of pet foods available, it is often difficult to decide which food is the best for your pet.

We have a few tips to keep in mind when choosing a pet food; the most important one is: check the AAFCO Statement! 
You can usually find this just underneath the nutritional facts on the package as a small blurb. Here is an example of one of these statements:.
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There are 3 different AAFCO statements:


Feeding Trials, Lab analysis and and analysis compared

Each pet food has one of these statements, but it's important to understand the differences between the key words being used.  

ANALYSIS COMPARABLE 
Laboratory analysis of finished product is compared with nutritional values from a similar product fed to dogs and cats according to AAFCO protocols.

AAFCO Statement

 "ABC" Dog (Cat) Food provides complete and balanced nutrition for (appropriate life stage) and is comparable in nutritional adequacy to a product which has been substantiated using AAFCO feeding tests."

What this means

All they have done here is look at another pet food's nutritional values that was accepted by AAFCO and mimicked those values in their own food. 
The down side of this type of food is that you don't know which food they mimicked and very often it will be a low quality brand.
FEEDING TRIALS

Feeding trials

Finished product that has been laboratory tested is fed to dogs or cats according to AAFCO protocols.

AAFCO Statement

 "Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that ABC Dog (Cat) Food provides complete and balanced nutrition for (appropriate life stage)."

What this means

What has happened here is the pet food company has tested their product with actual pets. Trials will have been conducted to test the effectiveness of the food so that they know  the  works not just in theory but also in reality.
A bonus to this type of food is that the palatability of the food has also been tested. Pets have willingly eaten this food so there is a bigger chance your pet is willing to eat it as well.



​Laboratory analysis

Finished product is compared to minimum nutritional values established by AAFCO Nutrient Profiles for dogs or cats.

AAFCO Statement

 "ABC Dog (Cat) Food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog (Cat) Food Nutrient Profiles for (appropriate life stage)."

What this means

This is the medium grade pet food. In theory this food should be good for your pet. However, these types of food have not been tested on actual pets. 
The down side of this type of food is that mixing items you would NEVER feed to your pet can contain the same "nutritional values" as a high grade food. Theory does not always work in reality!

Stay away from a pet food that claims it is for "all life stages" ! 

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To claim a food is good for a certain life stage means meeting the minimum nutritional values according to each life stage. For instance, puppies will require more nutrients for growth, while adult dogs will need more of a maintenance overall.   The minimum nutritional value has been met for the adult life stage because the nutritional value in the food will be much higher due to the puppy life stage.  Each value will be increased until all values meet the minimum of each life stage.
 
Each life stage has its own protocol. Life stages are the same for both dogs and cats and are defined as:
  • Adult Maintenance
  • Growth
  • Gestation/Lactation
  • All Life Stages
→ Essentially, an "all life stages" pet food is geared only
towards puppies, nothing else.
In Short:
 - Look at type of AAFCO statement; feeding trials, lab analysis, or analysis comparable.
- Find the life stage for which the food is recommended; not "All Life Stages"
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