I am passionate about food labeling for people. I am also an animal lover. We have five beautiful, loving cats and I like to feed them the best food I can. That means that I read the pet food labels as much as I do people food. In our household, we see our cats as furry children. Do we spoil them too much? Probably. But I want to return their love and affection with proper care.
Understanding Terminology on Pet Food Labels
The FDA regulates American pet food labels and requires manufacturer’s list ingredients in order by weight. However, marketing terms sometimes get in the way. Data Label, a UK label manufacturer, invested in researching pet food labels to help clarify some of the terminologies. For example, some pet food manufacturer’s may list “animal by-products” or “meat-meal.” What exactly do these terms mean?
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Meat and Animal Derivatives vs. by-products
Flesh, meat, or animal derivatives are actual meat that most people would think about eating. Animal by-products are things people would not think of as food at all. By-products are offal leftover from the slaughterhouse such as feet, undeveloped eggs, or heads. If a label reads “Beef Flavored Dog Food,” it probably contains more by-product than actual meat under FDA labeling laws. - Meat meals, made by rendering mammal tissues, are not meat. Since the rendering process kills harmful bacteria, sometimes, pet food maker sometimes harvest the meat from sick or dying animals, expired grocery store meats, offal, and butcher shop discards.
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Not Whole Meat
These ingredients are not “whole” meat. Dehydrated, dried, powdered, concentrated, or meals. - While guidelines exist dictating that natural foods should contain no artificial flavors, preservatives, or colors, “natural” has no legal definition. Look for “free-range” and “organic” ingredients if you are looking for the most natural foods for your furry four-footed friends. Be warned, though, that currently, there are no legal guidelines on what other ingredients may be in a pet food labeled organic, unlike organic labeling for human food.
- “Premium,” “Gourmet,” and other such terms have no legal definition, either. These foods, which frequently carry a more hefty price tag often have the same ingredients as more competitively priced competitors.
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Other FDA Requirements for Pet Food Labels
- Guaranteed crude analysis for certain ingredients including protein, moisture, fat, and fiber.
- Lists feeding instructions for animal bodyweight.
- Calorie Statement
- Labels must also contain a nutritional adequacy statement indicating that the product is 100% nutritionally adequate or state that it is intended only for supplemental feeding.
Questions for you
Did I share anything that surprised you?
Do you have any pets?
This is a sponsored post and all opinions are my own.
Alicia Taylor
We enjoy hosting parties and my husband and I are both avid gamers. You can find me on PS4 as SunshineFlaGirl. We also play tabletop RPGs and eurogames.
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20 Comments
Carol Graham
October 7, 2017 - 12:12 pmWe have rescued over 30 dogs. Most of them were close to death. We brought each of them back to “life” and they lived full, healthy lives for many more years. We only use raw food, both meat and vegetables. We have not been to a vet in many years other then to get their nails clipped and one time because our little Dachshund was attacked by a Bull Mastiff.
Alicia Taylor
October 7, 2017 - 7:54 pmI’m glad it’s working for you! I hope that little Dachshund is ok!
Melanie Poulos Walsh
October 3, 2017 - 10:53 amIt’s so hard to know what the labels mean for people food, let alone pet food. I appreciate you spelling out the differences as they aren’t always so obvious. I want to make sure I’m feeding my pets well.
Louise x (@withlovefromlou)
October 3, 2017 - 5:29 amWe don’t have any pets, so this is never something I’ve really been aware of. But if we ever do decide to go ahead and buy one we’ll make sure we take extra care to triple check what we’re buying for them!
Louise x
reesann723
October 2, 2017 - 8:23 pmMy dog has a very sensitive stomach and is allergic to a lot of bad ingredients. I need to check this out!
keikilani
October 2, 2017 - 7:54 pmIt’s crazy that we have to read labels for our dogs now! It’s not so simple as just buying a bag off the shelf. This is good information to know.
Lauren From The Block
October 2, 2017 - 7:14 pmIt should be second nature now to look at what goes into a food product now It doesn’t matter for yourself or for your pets. Labels are so important nowadays
Alicia Taylor
October 2, 2017 - 7:42 pmYes – but even then – I read labels and had no idea that some of those ingredients meant they be using diseased cows as part of the ingredients.
Nicole Aguilar
October 2, 2017 - 6:44 pmYou know what? I need to be better about this. My fur babies deserve to have their labels read just like I read my own.
Alicia Taylor
October 2, 2017 - 7:43 pmWe could all use more diligence.
brandidcrawfordgmailcom
October 2, 2017 - 5:53 pmI really need to start paying attention to pet food labels. I’m huge on reading for myself, but I need to consider my 5 pound Yorkie, Angel, too!
Laurie Floyd
October 2, 2017 - 2:45 pmI don’t have a pet but if I did I would definitely care about the ingredients in their food! They deserve to be healthy, too!!
Milena Barrett
October 2, 2017 - 1:20 pmThis was an interesting post. I never thought much about what goes into my pets food, but it’s important!
swood97
October 2, 2017 - 12:17 pmWe have just started reading the food labels on our pet food. Our dogs are older now and their digestive systems seem to be changing. They need a healthier food so we are on a mission to find the right one for them.
Alicia Taylor
October 2, 2017 - 12:37 pmYes. My kitties are also a bit on the middle aged side. They definitely have special needs when they get older.
loisaltermark
October 2, 2017 - 11:55 amThanks for such important information. It can be so confusing to try to make sense of food labels, and we have to be as diligent with our beloved pets as with our human family!
Rebecca B.
October 2, 2017 - 11:53 amWe have started reading labels due to one of our cats throwing up everything she etch. I am hoping to find the right food for her.
Alicia Taylor
October 2, 2017 - 12:06 pmI hope you get to the bottom of it.
irishred13
October 2, 2017 - 11:13 amI like you am big into food labels not only for us but for the pets too. We feed our animals good food that is made with ingredients I can pronounce, which is basically how we feed ourselves. REAL food!
Alicia Taylor
October 2, 2017 - 12:38 pmI thought I knew what I was reading. I can pronounce some of it -but when I found out that they can use sick and dying animals to make pet food ingredients, I was stunned. They don’t list that on the label.