Pet Food Part II: Reading the Ingredient List

Last post we started a series of discussions on interpreting pet food labels, starting with the importance of the AAFCO statement, a simple statement indicating:

whether the food is complete and balanced,

what type of pet the food is for and

for what life stages the food is suited for.

One of the next big items to address is the ingredient list…
Just like ingredient lists of foods designed for human consumption, items on the ingredient list are listed from most to least, by weight. Items at the top of the list (major ingredients) should be clearly recognizable by name, while items towards the end of the list (minor ingredients) may include vitamins and minerals or preservatives and stabilizers and, as such, may have less commonly-identifiable names.

AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials) set definitions for just what makes up these major ingredients, which are classified as either raw or rendered. Despite the “raw” label, even raw products are cooked during the manufacturing process to destroy any harmful bacteria, while “rendered” products are cooked and then heated in order to remove most moisture and fat, leaving behind protein and minerals, which are then ground into a uniform size.

An important side note here — truly raw diets cannot typically achieve AAFCO certification, but there are a few companies out there that have gone the extra step to ensure that they still meet the AAFCO guidelines for being nutritionally complete and balanced. However, we do not typically recommend feeding your pet a truly raw diet for public & patient health reasons. A great article on this topic from a veterinary nutritionist can be found here.

Raw – cooked during the manufacturing process to kill harmful bacteria
Meat

skeletal muscle, tongue, diaphragm, heart, esophagus, with or without overlying sinew, nerve tissue, and fat

“meat” may be from cattle, pigs, sheep or goats

if from another species (i.e. venison, bison) must be specifically identified

Meat Byproducts

clean parts other than meat – i.e. lungs, spleen, liver, brain, kidneys, blood, bone, stomach and intestines freed of their contents, lungs

if from another species (i.e. venison, bison) must be specifically identified

Poultry

flesh and skin, +/- bone, excluding feathers, head, feet, and entrails

may include the bone when ground (may be called deboned poultry if bone is removed)

Poultry Byproducts

heads, feet, cleaned viscera, “giblets” (heart, gizzard, liver)

Rendered – cooked and heated in order to remove most moisture and fat, leaving primarily protein and minerals, then ground into a uniform size (aka – ‘meal”)
Meat Meal

“mammalian tissues, excluding added blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents…”

may be from animals other than cattle, pigs, sheep or goats without indicating which species

must meet certain minimum requirements for crude protein, fat, fiber, phosphorous, and calcium

Meat and Bone Meal

Similar to meat meal, but can include bone in addition to whole carcasses

Also has minimum requirements for crude protein, fat, fiber, phosphorous, and calcium

Animal Byproduct Meal

definition designed to cover individual rendered animal tissues that do not meet the criteria set forth elsewhere

“may include whole carcasses, but often includes byproducts in excess of what would normally be found in meat meal and meat & bone meal”

Poultry Byproduct Meal

clean parts of the carcass such as necks, feet, eggs, intestines (excludes feathers)

Also has minimum requirements for crude protein, fat, fiber, phosphorous, and calcium

Similar to poultry byproducts, except in the rendered form

Poultry Meal

Similar to poultry, but in the rendered form: flesh and skin, +/- bone, excluding feathers, head, feet, and entrails

So, as you can see, some definitions/classifications that commonly get a bad rap — i.e. “byproducts” — are actually some of the most nutrient-rich portions of an animal. In fact, these are often the tissues an animal in the wild would go for first — liver, spleen, kidneys — as they tend to be much more nutrient dense than skeletal muscle. Thus, it is important to keep an open mind when coming across the term “byproducts.”

Visit AAFCO and FDA for further information about food labels and ingredients.