It is because of the AAFCO ingredient definition process that
the pet food ingredient list includes components names like wheat gluten, poultry by - product meal and sodium selenite.
What I learned was that it is virtually impossible for me to read
a pet food ingredient list and decide whether the ingredients are going to be good nutrition for my pets.
Corn is a carbohydrate, and should never be higher than fourth on
your pets food ingredient list.
Ancient grains, including sorghum, amaranth, quinoa, chickpea, buckwheat and chia, may help
pet food ingredient lists stand out.
Not exact matches
* See the Humane Society's
List of Toxic
Ingredients to
Pets for more information on
foods to avoid giving to
pets.
We took a look at
pet food brands, read their
ingredients list, and compared the details & prices and made this easy - to - use table to help you review and decide what top rated cat
food your precious fur baby will suit best.
I know many people who make sure that meat by - products are not on the
list in their
pet food ingredients, yet this crap is OK for human consumption?
I've always wondered why some packaged
pet foods offer exhaustive
lists of
ingredients.
As a result, I advise my readers to purchase natural, grain - free
pet food that's made in a FDA - inspected facility and to examine the
list of
ingredients carefully.
Other than choosing a dog
food that includes «fish» as a first -
listed ingredient, incorporating an iodine rich
food like fish into your
pet's diet can provide supplemental iodine.
Let's start by defining some common
ingredients listed on a
pet food ingredient panel - chicken, chicken meal, chicken by - product, and chicken by - product meal.
Consumers have developed a perception — even if it's not scientifically accurate — that if it's easier to pronounce, it's better for you, Adolphe says, so
pet food makers are responding with shorter, easy - to - pronounce
ingredients lists.
Choose
pet foods that carry a statement under the
ingredients list about using Association of Animal Feed Control Officials procedures to test the product.
You can determine the quality of the
pet food by reviewing the quality of the
ingredients, rather than whether the
food is
listed as «human grade.»
One
pet food may
list «meat» as its first
ingredient, and «corn» as the second
ingredient.
The
ingredients listed on your
pet's dog
food must be
listed in descending order by weight.
It's easy to identify the main protein sources in a particular can or bag of
pet food because they are always
listed in the first four
ingredients on the label.
The USDA requires that all
ingredients used in
pet foods be
listed in order of predominance by weight.
Read the back of a
pet food bag and you will see a long
lists of
ingredients that features a variety of preservatives and fillers.
We've
listed these
ingredients to avoid below but get into the habit of reading the
ingredient labels when you are looking for dry dog
foods or any other
food for your
pet.
Note: A prescription diet is needed for the test because over-the-counter diets are not considered trial
foods since
pet food companies often use
ingredients that are not
listed on the label.
It's important for
pet owners to know what they are feeding their furry four legged family members and when a cat
food company
lists the
ingredients in such detail I am more inclined to buy that brand than one that says our
food contains chicken, and rice.
This preservative is not always declared on the
ingredient list because it is added to some seafood prior to processing into
pet food.
The best way to determine the quality of a
pet food product is to review the
ingredients list.
They both must be
listed as
ingredients on the labels of
pet foods that contain them.
While the AAFCO statement can help tell you whether a
pet food product meets the standards of a regulating body, you will still need to look at the
ingredients»
list of the dried
food you're interested in.
You won't find grains or gluten in the
ingredients list as well, in case your
pet has
food allergies and sensitivities.
«When
pet parents are looking for natural
food for their
pets, the
ingredient list tells it all,» Werges said.
The fact that this
ingredient list is fairly short compared to many
pet food brands is a good thing.
Because
pet foods are manufactured in one plant and distributed by another, there is always a chance of contamination with products not
listed on the
ingredients label.
When shopping for high - protein, gluten - free cat
food you need to pay attention to two key parts of the
pet food label — the guaranteed analysis and the
ingredients list.
A few dog
food brands really do use nearly all certified organic
ingredients, so your best option is to choose from this
list or create your own homemade organic meals for your
pet.
Dr. William Burkholder, D.V.M., Ph.D, the Center for Veterinary Medicine's
pet food specialist, recommends looking at the
list of
ingredients, the life stage claim in the nutritional adequacy statement, and the company's contact information.
The
ingredient list is purposefully simple for
pets with
food sensitivities.
In addition, most commercial
pet foods contain a long
list of additives and preservatives, not to mention the potentially toxic changes that take place in the actual
food ingredients during processing.
AAFCO regulations state that a
pet food manufacturer must provide not only a guaranteed analysis on the
food label, but a
list of
ingredients presented in descending order with the
ingredient with the most weight
listed first.
By law,
pet food companies must
list their
ingredients with the most heavily used (as measured by weight) first.
The second binder
listed was actually a major
ingredient of the most recent major
pet food recall.
Some
pet food manufacturers are touting these on their
ingredient lists, thus indirectly acknowledging that supplements are of value and are not just hype or some consumer fad.
So again I must caution you to look past the attractive marketing claims and beautiful packaging, and go right to the
ingredient list to determine whether a newly niched
pet food formula is really all it's cracked up to be.
First of all, I will not even consider feeding any
foods that contain any of the following: meat by - products, poultry by - products, any
food with the actual words «meat meal» in the
ingredient list (meat meal could potentially contain anything such as diseased or dead / dying animals, including the possibility of euthenised
pets from shelters (yes with the euthenasia drugs still in their systems and sometimes even with collars still on), as well as a legal allowed % of plastic, chemicals and other unmentionables), soy, corn or any fragments thereof, wheat or any fragments thereof, any kind of gluten or gluten meals, sugar, artificial flavours, artificial colors, BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin
While the rules about
pet food labeling can be confusing, most manufacturers follow the regulations set forth by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), which require them to disclose nine different categories of information on their labels, including calorie content and an
ingredient list.
You will also notice tomato pomace later in the
list — another source of dietary fiber and also a controversial
ingredient within the
pet food industry.
More people are paying attention to the
ingredient list found on the label of
pet food.
When you look at an
ingredient panel, the
pet food ingredients are
listed from most to least by weight — so whatever contributes the most to the weight of the
food will be first on the label.
Most
pet owners are aware of the problems that have occurred in the past with certain
pet food recalls, so it is important that you choose
food from a company that has a lot of control over where it gets the
ingredients for its
food; even better if it
lists where it gets the
ingredients.
To reduce the risk of cancer from
pet food owners must become familiar with reading the
ingredients lists on their
pets food.
They have an unacceptable
ingredients list you can view, so you fully understand what's in your
pet's
food.
The
pet food label can still be helpful, just not for the
ingredient list.
In the past, veterinarians instructed
pet owners to check the fine print on the
ingredient list on each
food label in order to pick a new
food that is totally different in
ingredients.