Deciphering Pet Food Labels

[Ann Stewart]

It may seem difficult these days to choose a pet food for your pet.
The varieties are endless 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 name of the product and its ingredients are
governed by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, or
AAFCO.
When shopping for pet food, pay close attention to wording. If the
product name includes things such as 'beef platter', 'beef entree',
'beef dinner', etc. it only has to contain 10% beef. However, if it is
worded as 'beef', it must contain 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!
Pet foods can sound like they are going to meet your pets nutritional
requirements, but the only way you can be sure is to look for a
statement on the bag from the AAFCO stating that the food has passed
their feeding trials.
The other portion of the label is the information panel, which must
include an ingredient statement and a guaranteed analysis. This
analysis contains percentages of crude fat, protein, fiber and
moisture in the food. While the percentages are listed, this still
does not tell you the quality of the crude fats, proteins, etc. The
ingredients should also be listed in descending order by weight.
Before you think about changing your pet's diet, pay special attention
to your pets coat, eyes and his behavior. If he looks healthy, you may
not want to upset his system by changing his food. Ask your vet for
more information on pet nutrition and what might be the right pet food
for your furry friend.
Also when considering a new pet food also take the time to consider
what you will put the food in. A stainless steel dog bowl or an
automatic cat bowl may be the right choice. Whatever pet bowl you do
decide on please stay away from using plastic bowls for feeding.
Plastic bowls can hold onto germs and create a potentially unhealthy
eating situation. 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 don't
fall into this trap, your pet's health may depend on it.

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