How much meat do you think is in that pet food “with” chicken or beef? It’s not much…not much at all.
Question..in a 12.5 pound bag of Beneful Grain Free with Farm-Raised Chicken dog food, how much chicken do you think is included in the 12.5 pound bag?
AAFCO ingredient definitions allow both USDA condemned and/or USDA inspected and passed chicken to be used in pet food. Consumers are not told which (condemned or passed meat) is included in their pet food purchases (all feed grade pet foods allow condemned meat – human grade pet foods are required to include ONLY passed meat). As well, AAFCO definitions allow ‘chicken’ to be mostly skin and bones (little to no meat). But that argument aside, if actual meat was used in the above pet food…how much chicken meat do you think the above 12.5 pound bag contains?
The Beneful website tells consumers “Our grain free recipe combines wholesome ingredients like real, farm-raised chicken as the #1 ingredient…” Chicken as the #1 ingredient – that should mean a great deal of chicken is cooked in this pet food, right?
The recipe is proprietary, Purina is not required to disclose to consumers how much “real farm-raised chicken” is in the pet food. However, through pet food regulations we can make a good estimate.
Our clue to how much chicken is the word “with“. When a pet food name includes the word “with“ – such as Beneful Grain Free “with“ Farm Raised Chicken – regulations require the pet food to contain a minimum of 3% chicken. Maximum amount of chicken in a “with” named pet food would be 9%, as regulations require the name to be ‘Recipe’ or ‘Formula’ when 10% or more of named meat (in this case chicken) is included in the pet food. So…we know that this Beneful dog food is required to contain anywhere from 3% to 9% chicken – pre-cooking weight, moisture included.
A 12.5 pound bag of this Beneful dog food equals 200 ounces.
Minimum estimate: 3% of 200 ounces = 6 ounces of chicken in a 12.5 pound bag.
Maximum estimate: 9% of 200 ounces = 18 ounces of chicken in a 12.5 pound bag.
Side by side, below is an image of a 12.5 bag of Beneful Grain Free with Farm Raised Chicken and 18 ounces of raw chicken meat (the estimated maximum amount of chicken in this dog food)…
Here is what the estimated minimum and maximum amount of chicken looks like in a bar graph…
Taking this one step further, how much chicken is in what a dog would eat daily of this pet food?
The feeding instructions for a 15 pound dog is 1 1/3 cup of Beneful per day. The Purina website tells us each cup is 99 grams. A 1 1/3 cup daily feeding amount equals 132 grams.
Minimum estimate: 3% of 132 grams = 3.96 grams or 0.14 ounce of chicken per day.
Maximum estimate: 9% of 132 grams = 11.88 grams or 0.4 ounce of chicken per day.
Here’s what that looks like – the estimated amount of chicken a 15 pound dog would consume per day in Beneful Grain Free with Farm Raised Chicken…
The smallest estimate (3%) of chicken is about the size of a quarter.
How can the #1 ingredient of this dog food only amount to a quarter size piece of chicken (per daily recommended feeding for a 15 pound dog)?
The answer is weight…pre-cooking weight of chicken (or any meat). The FDA tells consumers…
“All ingredients are required to be listed in order of predominance by weight. The weights of ingredients are determined as they are added in the formulation, including their inherent water content. This latter fact is important when evaluating relative quantity claims, especially when ingredients of different moisture contents are compared.”
And the FDA tells consumers: “meat is very high in moisture (approximately 75% water)”.
When looking at the ingredients in the above Beneful dog food –“Chicken, pea starch, cassava root flour, chicken by-product meal, soybean germ meal, soybean meal, canola meal,…” – chicken is heavier (because of the moisture content) than starch and flour and meal ingredients (industry insiders tell me meat meal ingredients are similar in weight to flour). Thus, it is listed as the #1 ingredient. Weight of the meat and it’s natural moisture content is the reason chicken is listed as the first ingredient in a “with Chicken” pet food – not because there is a lot of chicken in the pet food.
This is NOT to say that a meat meal is a better 1st ingredient than a meat. Meat meal ingredients are double cooked – once when cooking raw material to make the meat meal, and again when making the pet food. Thus, a meat ingredient that is added raw into the cooking procedure of the pet food means less processing than a meat meal ingredient. But ‘meat’ only benefits the pet if there is enough meat in the pet food for the pet.
And again, the 3% to 9% amounts of meat only applies to pet foods using “with” in the product name; “with Chicken” or “with Beef”.
What about a cat food?
How much chicken do you think there is in this 2.75 ounce tub of Meow Mix Savory Morsels with Real Chicken Breast in Gravy Cat Food? An entire grilled chicken breast is displayed on the label, per the image – the cat food should contain lots of chicken…right?
Based on regulations the word “with” in the name tells us:
Minimum estimate: 3% of 2.75 ounces = 0.08 ounce of chicken per tub.
Maximum estimate: 9% of 2.75 ounces = 0.25 ounce of chicken per tub.
Below is an image of a 2.75 ounce tub of Meow Mix with Real Chicken Breast in Gravy with the estimated 0.08 ounce piece of chicken (minimum) and a 0.25 ounce piece of chicken (maximum)…
Here is what the estimated minimum and maximum amount of chicken in this cat food looks like in a bar graph…
And how much meat is in the recommended feeding amount for a 9 pound cat?
It’s very easy to estimate the amount of meat in a “with” named pet food. It’s a little more complicated to estimate the amount of the “with” meat per serving.
For the entire bag or can or tub of pet food, simply multiply the pounds or ounces of the container by 3% and 9%. Example – this 12.5 pound bag of Blue Wilderness with Chicken Cat Food contains the same estimate of chicken as the 12.5 pound bag of Beneful above.
A 12.5 pound bag of this Blue Wilderness cat food equals 200 ounces.
Minimum estimate: 3% of 200 ounces = 6 ounces of chicken in a 12.5 pound bag.
Maximum estimate: 9% of 200 ounces = 18 ounces of chicken in a 12.5 pound bag.
The percentage is exactly the same estimate as the Beneful dog food above, the graph looks identical:
Even though the Blue Wilderness websites states “protein-rich BLUE Wilderness contains a higher concentration of the delicious chicken you know she’ll love…” – because the name of the pet food is “with Chicken” – regulations require the manufacturer to include from a minimum of 3% to a maximum of 9% chicken. No more, no less.
Pet food consumers are not provided with much information – but at least we can estimate the amount of meat in a “with” pet food.
For pet foods that include the words “Recipe” or “Formula” or “Dinner” in the product name, the minimum amount of named meat is barely more than a “with” pet food; these pet foods are required to contain a minimum of 10% of the named meat in the pet food. Some will contain the minimum 10%, some will contain more (regulations allow up to 70%). Examples of these will be provided in another post in the near future.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
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Hope
June 15, 2018 at 3:50 pm
And that’s assuming these manufacturers are following regulations and being honest rather than, “I’m sure we won’t get caught putting no chicken in the bag just chicken flavoring and if we do get caught, well, no big deal since we’ve already made a billion dollars off of cheaper than cheap crap in a bag.”. Thanks Susan, a good post to repost and educate. You’re amazing!
T Allen
June 15, 2018 at 4:04 pm
Once again you’ve outdone yourself! Hope people are starting to catch on!
Stephanie
June 15, 2018 at 4:11 pm
I’m shocked. Thank you for the eye-opening, depressing information. It seems impossible to determine which can foods actually contan more meat than the formulations you defined.
jan
June 15, 2018 at 5:09 pm
As always, we are so GRATEFUL for your hard work and efforts! Bless you abundantly, Susan.
Deep Search
June 15, 2018 at 5:28 pm
The Blue Buffalo Wilderness adult cat kibble with chicken also contains menhaden fish meal and dried egg along with the deboned chicken and chicken meal. So it undoubtedly has more animal protein than some other kibble, but that’s not saying a whole lot. It is still 31% carb and contains pea protein, which isn’t appropriate for cats. The carbohydrate content is way too high in most grain-free and grain-filled dry cat foods and some canned diets. Grocery store brands of dry cat food and vet prescription brands are usually about 35%-50% carb.
Pet foods should be required to give the carb content, then it would be easier to determine just how much animal-based protein is actually in the food/diet.
Batzion
June 15, 2018 at 6:10 pm
I wonder what percentage is roadkill. Thank you, Susan. Looking forward to the next list of examples.
Matthew O'Leary
June 16, 2018 at 11:26 am
With Blue Buffalo, it actually says “with Chicken and LifeSource bits”, which technically means the 3-9% is the two combined together, not just the chicken alone – a great marketing ploy to put even less of the product in the bag.
jennifer hahn
June 17, 2018 at 9:19 pm
where is the beef??? Makes me so angry and now ith soy gmo etc amd the selective FDA enforcement it feels hopeless….we muct get the word out there and demand that this changes.
Roksanna Stephens
June 18, 2018 at 2:34 pm
I have tears in my eyes, my heart is aching for the animals who have to eat these …thank you once again for your wonderful research.
Paul
June 18, 2018 at 11:13 pm
Hi Susan –
There is a lot of misleading information in this post. You claim that to use a “with” claim, AAFCO states that the ingredient must be between 3-9% of the formulation, by weight. You are correct in that there needs to be at least 3%, however the maximum of this would be 24.9%, after which the pet food manufacturer would need to use a “recipe” or “dinner” claim.
The Beneful product you use as an example, this has “Chicken” as the #1 ingredient. It’s a little absurd to believe that this only has 9% (maximum) with this being listed the first ingredient. It is listed number one because it is the majority of this product, not because of water weight, but because it IS the #1 ingredient. Purina is not trying to be misleading here.
Susan Thixton
June 19, 2018 at 9:40 am
Per the 2018 AAFCO Official Publication – excluding water for processing – 3% is the minimum for a “with” pet food and 9% (or if you want to be technical 9.99%) would be the maximum. Excluding water for processing, 10% would be in the next category and would require a different descriptor such as dinner, formula or recipe. The 24.9% you mention is including water for processing. You can’t compare the percentages properly when one number excludes water for processing and the other includes. My numbers were accurate and were both consistent for excluding water for processing.
Cannoliamo
June 19, 2018 at 3:07 pm
I asked FDA how I can be sure of the nutritional value of specific ingredients on pet food labels and if I could trust the manufacturers to exclude ingredients from specific protein sources that triggered allergies in my cats and to help clarify the differences between pet food, animal food and animal feed requirements for me.
In the interest of sharing, this is the response I just received ….
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) FSMA Technical Assistance Network (TAN) has prepared a response for casenumber 00169596.
Response: The Preventive Controls for Animal Food (PCAF) rule applies to all facilities that are required to register with FDA under section 415 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) because they manufacture, process, pack, or hold animal food for consumption in the US. Pet food fits the definition of animal food as defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and the PCAF rule. See full definitions below:
FD&C Act, section 201(f): The term “food” means (1) articles used for food or drink for man or other animals, (2) chewing gum, and (3) articles used for components of any such article.
Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 507.3 (21 CFR 507.3): Food means food as defined in section 201(f) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and includes raw materials and ingredients.
Animal food means food for animals other than man and includes pet food, animal feed, and raw materials and ingredients. A processor manufacturing/processing pet food for consumption in the US is likely required to register with FDA. If so, the facility’s manufacturing/processing of the pet food is subject to the requirements of the PCAF rule, unless an exemption applies. Exemptions to the PCAF rule can be found in 21 CFR 507.5.
You expressed concern regarding the safety of pet food. Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C), a food is deemed to be adulterated if it bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health. FDA’s approach to contaminants in food is to handle instances of contamination on a case-by-case basis. If a contaminant is detected in a food, FDA will review relevant information, such as levels of the contaminant in the food, amount of food consumed, and toxicological information for the contaminant, to determine whether the level of the contaminant found in the food poses a health hazard, such that the food is deemed to be adulterated and subject to enforcement action (e.g., seizure of domestic foods in interstate commerce, detention or refusal of entry for imported foods) under the FD&C Act.
You expressed concern regarding the nutrition in pet food. For animal food, nutrient deficiencies or toxicities are considered a chemical hazard because animals often consume one animal food type as their sole source of nutrition. Animal food distributed as a sole source of nutrition should be formulated to meet the minimum nutrient requirements established by the National Research Council (NRC) when available for the intended species (including life-stage and production class). Information in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, including NRC publications, also may be used to identify the maximum inclusion rate of certain nutrients. Another helpful resource for formulating a nutritionally adequate pet food is the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) dog and cat food nutrient profiles.
You expressed concern regarding allergens and ingredients. The PCAF rule requirements, found in Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations part 507 (21 CFR part 507), do not include requirements regarding food allergens in animal food (which includes pet food), and thus animal food facilities are not required to have an allergen program in place. The PCAF rule does not include allergens because FDA is not aware of evidence indicating that foodborne allergens pose a significant health risk to animals. Animals with actual food allergies typically have digestive disorders or dermatologic conditions, not the anaphylactic reaction that humans have to the major food allergens as defined by § 201(qq) of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic act (FD&C Act). We discuss this in comment and response 259 in the preamble of the final PCAF rule, found on page 56244 of volume 81 of the Federal Register, which can be accessed at the link below: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-09-17/pdf/2015-21921.pdf.
Thank you for contacting FDA’s FSMA TAN.
Cheryl Bond
July 1, 2018 at 7:05 pm
As per their response….
“Animals with actual food allergies typically have digestive disorders or dermatologic conditions, not the anaphylactic reaction that humans have to the major food allergens as defined by § 201(qq) of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic act (FD&C Act). ‘
They act like these allergies are not debilitating, nor cause pain or suffering to the animal experiencing them! Just because they might not go into anaphylactic reaction, doesn’t mean that it’s not of serious concern!
The whole “big petfood industry” simply cares nothing really for the animals!
On another note, besides what food your cats are having reactions to, vaccinations can & do cause immune dysregulation that can cause many kinds of symptoms, one being allergic reactions to foods because of gut disbyossis.
Cannoliamo
July 1, 2018 at 7:34 pm
Thanks for the response. “Mr. Chubbers” thanks you too.