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Confused by pet food labels? Find out how to interpret product names, nutrition facts and more — and what to expect from upcoming label changes.
Pet food labels can be confusing. Ingredient names are unclear, package claims seem misleading, and important information can be hard to find. The good news is that changes are underway to make pet food labels easier to read and understand. However, it will take time for companies and regulators to fully implement them.
While we wait, let’s review how to read pet food labels – and how the approved changes will make life simpler when you’re choosing a food for your dog or cat.
The Pet Food Label Modernization project
In the US, the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is a non-regulatory group of state and federal officials responsible for writing the “model” rules and regulations for pet food. Each state adopts these regulations through its legislative process.
In 2015, AAFCO launched the Pet Food Label Modernization (PFLM) project to clarify and update the existing regulations. The goal was to increase transparency, more closely align pet food labeling with human food labeling, and improve consumer understanding.
AAFCO approved the new PFLM labels in 2024. However, consumers may not consistently see them on store shelves for several years.
There are several reasons for the delay. Some changes require new laboratory testing, With limited facilities, companies may face long wait times. State legislatures may also need to update their laws.
Additionally, pet food companies may have a large back-stock of printed labels. They will need time to use up old labels and design and produce new ones. Some companies produce hundreds of brands, flavors, and sizes of pet foods, so it’s a big job.
This all means it will take time for companies to make these changes. AAFCO has provided a six-year phase-in period for the new labels. On the plus side, some pet food companies are already using the new labels. Any new products also must sport the updated look.
Reading pet food labels
It’s important to note that despite these changes, basic pet food label information remains the same. Required elements include the intended species, package quantity (weight, volume, or count), feeding directions, calorie content, and the guarantor’s name and address (manufacturer or distributor).
- The name of the food tells you its major ingredients – e.g. “beef dog food,” must contain 95% beef.
- If there is a qualifier, like “dinner,” “nuggets,” or “entrée,” the named ingredients must comprise 25% of the food. For example, “beef and rice formula” must contain 25% beef plus rice. There must be more beef than rice, since beef is listed first.
- Ingredients that follow the word “with” must be present in the food at 3% — for example, “beef dinner with giblets.”
- A “flavor,” such as “beef flavor dinner,” may not actually contain beef meat, but rather beef digest or by-products that provide that taste.
Manufacturers must list all pet food ingredients in descending order by weight. Water is heavy, so wet ingredients are listed first. For commercial dry foods, “meat” listed as the first ingredient may be a watery slurry made from that meat, and not necessarily actual meat.
The nutritional adequacy statement comes in two basic forms: complete and balanced; or for intermittent or supplemental feeding.
“Complete” means the product contains all required nutrients, and “balanced” means the nutrients are present in the correct ratios.
Complete and balanced foods must be able to sustain the dog or cat without added supplements (other than fresh water). Manufacturers must prove this either through a feeding test…or more commonly, by chemical analysis.
Pet food formulators use software to analyze nutrients in each ingredient to ensure the formula meets AAFCO’s minimum nutritional requirements (nutrient profiles).
The nutritional adequacy statement must also specify the life stage the pet food is meant for: e.g. gestation/lactation, growth, adult maintenance, or all life stages. “All life stages” foods essentially meet the requirements for pregnancy/lactation and growth.
There is no life stage called “senior,” “mature,” or any similar term. Such foods need only meet the adult maintenance standard.
Before the PFLM project, regulators required labels to list crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, and moisture percentages. This is no longer the case. These items must still be guaranteed, but they’re in a different place and format — e.g. fiber is now placed under carbohydrate.
Also, labels no longer use the term “crude” (although the tests for protein, fat, and fiber have not changed), and the format of the label is very different.
A look at the new pet food labels
In order to bring pet food labeling more in line with the familiar Nutrition Facts box on human food labels, AAFCO has created the Pet Nutrition Facts box (see image below).
As illustrated, the box now incorporates the guaranteed analysis and includes per quantity measurements as well as percentages. You’ll also find the calorie and nutritional adequacy statements inside this Pet Nutrition Facts box.
On the downside, the Pet Nutrition Facts box will become unreadable if it’s shrunk too much. On very small cans and packages, the label may not look very different at first glance. However, the order and location of information will be more consistent.
Additional changes: expanded information
Further changes should help clarify pet food label information. The calorie statement now shows total calories, as well as how many come from protein, fat, and carbohydrates. “Total carbohydrate” now separates out the amount of fiber (an indigestible carbohydrate).
Labels can now use familiar vitamin names and group them in parentheses, instead of listing only technical sources. Manufacturers can also use new safe handling instruction graphics to improve food safety.
Understanding how to read pet food labels is essential for making informed decisions about your dog or cat’s nutrition. While it can be confusing, the PFLM project aims to improve clarity, consistency, and transparency with its new changes.
Ultimately, pet food labels should be easier to read and understand. This will help you choose the best products for your dog or cat’s health and well-bring.
Pet food labels: change takes time
Believe it or not, pet food labels are one of the most highly regulated aspects of the whole pet food industry. Labels require certain information, and there are rules about everything, right down to font size and color. This means changing pet food labels is a major process.
Defining pet food
“Pet food” refers to any product that provides nutritional value to dogs or cats. This includes complete daily diets, veterinary prescription foods, treats, snacks, broths, milks, mixers, toppers, chews, and supplements.
Under the regulations, “pet food” is only for dogs and cats. Other animals, like gerbils, turtles, goldfish, and parrots, are known as “specialty pets.”
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Jean Hofve, DVM, earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University. In addition to conventional veterinary training, she studied veterinary homeopathy, homotoxicology, Reiki, and other holistic modalities. She has researched pet food and feline nutrition for nearly two decades, and is an expert on holistic pet health and the commercial pet food industry. She is an official advisor to AAFCO, the organization that sets pet food rules and standards in the U.S. and Canada. Dr. Hofve co-authored the book Holistic Cat Care.
