BUZZWORDS DESCRIBING PET FOODS: DECIPHERING FACT FROM FICTION TO INTERPRET MYSTERIOUS MARKET CLAIMS JULIE CHURCHILL DVM, PHD DACVN (continued)
Of all of these, the two most useful pieces of information on a pet food label are 1) the manufacturer and 2) the nutritional adequacy statement. What follows is a suggested approach to assessing labels and pet food products for indicators of a product’s nutritional value and potential impact on pet health. Suggested in descending order of importance: 1 THE MANUFACTURER INFORMATION The manufacturer’s name and contact information should be provided. Contact the manufacturer whenever you have questions about a product. This can provide you with valuable information as well as an indication of how willing a company is to work with the veterinary profession. The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) (Baldwin 2010) and the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA, 2011) Nutritional Assessment Guidelines includes an excellent list of questions or considerations to ask of manufacturers. qualified nutritionist. Appropriate qualifications are a PhD in animal nutrition or board-certification by the American College of Veterinary Nutrition or European College of Veterinary Comparative Nutrition. • The manufacturer should test its diets with AAFCO feeding trials. If AAFCO feeding trials are not conducted, the manufacturer • The manufacturer should employ at least 1 full-time
should, at a minimum, ensure that diets meet AAFCO nutrient profiles through analysis of the finished product. • The manufacturer should own the plant or plants where the food is manufactured. • The manufacturer should practice strict quality-control measures. Examples include certification of a manufacturer’s procedures (e.g., Global Food Safety Initiative, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, or American Feeding Industry Association); testing ingredients and end- products for nutrient content, pathogens, and aflatoxins; materials risk assessments; and supplier audits. • The manufacturer should be able to provide a complete nutrient analysis for any dog or cat food of interest (not only the guaranteed analysis, which is listed on the label, but the average [typical] analysis as well). The manufacturer should be able to provide exact values for all nutrients. This should ideally be provided on an energy basis (i.e., grams per 100 kilocalories or grams per 1,000 kilocalories), rather than on an as- fed or dry-matter basis, which does not account for the variation in energy density among foods. • The manufacturer should be able to provide the number of calories for any food on any requested weight or volume basis (e.g., per
gram, per pound, per cup, or per liter). • The manufacturer should conduct and publish research in peer- reviewed journals. negative advertising or fear-based misinformation in their advertising or website. 2 NUTRITIONAL ADEQUACY STATEMENT (NAS) Additionally, this author values manufacturers who do not use A statement of nutritional adequacy developed by AAFCO is required on all pet food packages. The nutritional adequacy statement confirms 3 important features of that pet food product: 1) The product is complete and balanced. This means that the product is intended to provide all the nutrient requirements as the sole source of nutrition. If the statement reads “intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding” it should not be considered complete and balanced and should be avoided for everyday feeding unless overseen by a veterinarian (as some of the therapeutic diets are labeled). 2)The life stage. When a product is complete and balanced, the NAS should identify the life stage for which it is intended. AAFCO defines nutrient profiles and feeding trial requirements for growth (including an addition of large breed puppy), reproduction and adult maintenance, and all-life stages only. (continued)
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