DECODING PET FOOD NAMES

SHOP SMART: DECODING PET FOOD NAMES By Andrea S. Mullen, DVM and Nancy Smith Get out your decoder rings. It's time to find out where law, science and smart shopping meet--all in the name of your pet's food. Much attention has been given to deciphering the fine print on food labels, checking out ingredients and looking at charts call "guaranteed analysis." But what about the NAME of the pet food? Here are a few tips, courtesy of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, that can help you know what's in your pet's food by reading the "Big Print." When reading, remember that our cat companions are "obligate carnivores," meaning they need meat to survive and would only eat meat if they were in the wild. Dogs, on the other hand, are omnivores who can eat both meat and veggies. Dogs can survive on vegetable carbohydrates, but need meat to thrive. Read the name carefully. THE 95% RULE. If the pet food is named for a meat ingredient, it's got to be 95% of the named meat. "Beef for Dogs" must be 95% beef. "Tuna Cat Food" must contain 95% tuna. Look for the named product to be first on the ingredient list. THE 25% RULE or THE "DINNER" RULE: A food named "Beef Dinner" or "Chicken Formula Cat Food" or anything described as an entree or platter must contain only 25% of the named ingredient. Look for the named meat to be in the top four items on the ingredient list. Beware that fish could be the first ingredient in a "Chicken Formula." If there are two meats named in the "dinner," the two items together must equal 25% of the product. The second item must be at least 3% of the product. So, the "Chicken and Fish Formula" for cats should be at least 22% chicken and 3% fish. THE 3% RULE or THE "WITH" RULE: The item described as being "with" must be at least 3% of the food. "Dog Food with Beef" must only contain 3% beef. "Chicken Dinner with Cheese" should contain at least 3% cheese. THE "FLAVOR" RULE: The FDA requires that the description be in the same type size and style as the rest of the name. The good news: the "beef" in "Beef Flavored Dog Food" can't be highlighted in a star-burst or in a bold or bright color compared to the rest of the name. The bad news: there are no scientific standards requiring any "beef" be contained in "beef flavoring." As long as specially trained animals "detect" a beef flavor, the name can be used, even if the beef flavoring is actually composed of vegetable materials (like whey).