On AAFCO’s pages for advice to pet owners, it states (bold added):
“Even once a pet owner has selected the right pet food, if the pet eats too much or too little it isn’t receiving a complete and balanced diet.”
This advice from AAFCO acknowledges that pets eating the correct amount of pet food is significant for the pet to receive a complete and balanced diet. AAFCO has established Nutrient Profiles for cat foods and dog foods that include all the required nutrients. Those nutrients are required to meet a minimum level (and in some instances a maximum level) per 1,000 kcal of pet food. When the pet is eating the correct amount of food (kcal of food), the diet is complete and balanced.
AAFCO also tells pet owners they “should:
- read a label correctly
- select a food labeled for the pet’s species, life stage and condition
- follow feeding directions on the label“
But…there’s a problem. We found DRAMATIC differences in manufacturer recommended feeding amounts (recommended kcal per day).
With cat foods:
With dog foods:
Each one of the pet foods listed above are Complete and Balanced pet foods. They are all formulated per AAFCO Nutrient Profiles.
So…how can a dog food recommending 361 kcals per day and a dog food recommending 1275 kcals per day (3½ times more kcals) both be the correct amount of food (a complete and balanced diet) for a 30 pound dog?
One would assume that regulations for feeding directions would require pet food manufacturers to recommend amounts that provide a complete and balanced diet.
But, no. AAFCO’s regulations for feeding directions on pet food labels do NOT specifically require manufacturers to recommend an amount of food that guarantees a complete and balanced diet. These lax regulations allow some manufacturers to recommend feeding less (which would make their product appear to be less expensive to feed) and allows opportunity for some manufacturers to recommend feeding more (which would result in pet owners buying more pet food).
One would also assume that because a complete and balanced diet is so significantly important for pets, that regulatory authorities would validate the manufacturer’s recommended feeding amounts to assure the amounts are appropriate for the size of pet.
Again, no. As we have exampled above, clearly regulatory authorities don’t validate this pertinent information on pet food labels.
So what can you do?
Email your pet food manufacturer, ask them to provide you with recommended feeding amounts for your pet’s weight to assure they are receiving a complete and balanced diet.
We discussed this issue with FDA at our January 13, 2023 meeting. We are hopeful FDA will take prompt action to correct this problem. In the meantime, email your manufacturer and get their recommended feeding amount for your pet’s weight and their guarantee that amount provides a complete and balanced diet.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Bethany
February 1, 2023 at 2:51 pm
Primal changed their formula a couple of years ago and instead of four frozen raw nuggets per day, their online calculator now recommends seven nuggets. My cat companion is a healthy 10 lbs. on approximately 4 oz. or 4 nuggets a day. If I were to feed him the recommended seven nuggets a day he would be fat and unhealthy. Does this mean he’s not getting enough nutrients on four nuggets? Are my choices between a fat, unhealthy cat and a nutrient-deprived cat? These are false choices.
Susan Thixton
February 1, 2023 at 3:10 pm
Hi Bethany, you will need to ask Primal that question. It could be the food provides complete nutrition at 4 nuggets a day, or it could be it takes 7 nuggets. It depends on how Primal is formulated. They will have to be the one to answer your question.
Bethany
February 4, 2023 at 4:53 pm
Thank you, Susan. I will reach out to Primal. As such, I’ve been supplementing their feedings with Stella & Chewy’s frozen food hoping to balance out any missing nutrients. My holistic vet also recommends using multiple brands for this very reason.
Bethany
February 7, 2023 at 2:46 pm
Here’s Primal’s answer (I’m no less confused.):
“If your cats are maintaining a healthy weight with the amount of food you are currently feeding, then there is no need to change the amount. Our Feeding Calculator recommendations, while dynamic and can calculate using actual caloric content and feeding percentage per formula based on your answers to certain questions specific to your cats, are still only an estimate. Additionally, you can work with your family vet to determine your cats’ specific dietary needs. The best way is to ask them for a daily calorie limit and then use that value to determine the number of nuggets per day based on how many calories are in that recipe.”
Laurie Matson
February 1, 2023 at 8:08 pm
I’ve always fed both canned and dry every day and my dogs have done just fine.
Emily
February 2, 2023 at 7:54 am
These foods are also comprised of different ingredients. Foods that are full of cheap fillers will have more calories to get to the recommended nutrient levels established by AAFCO. A condensed nutrition is better for pets digestion and long term health. You get the same amount of protein in a 7oz steak than a pound of ground beef – but the steak is around half the calories and half the volume of food consumed.
A good article to highlight the inconsistency in feeding in the pet industry and how lax the regulations can be. However, since feeding can vary based on many different factors (age, size, breed, activity level), I doubt any company will guarantee their feeding guidelines. That doesnt make them a bad company, just that a 30lb, 13 year old, inactive lab is going to take a drastically different amount of food and nutrient requirements than a 2 year old 30lb active bulldog. Which is why some of those foods like Fromm have such a wide range in their feeding guidelines on a 30lb dog. And why they are called “recommended feeding guidelines” rather than a guarantee.
Shannon Latzke
February 3, 2023 at 8:18 am
This is not surprising in the least.
I have a certificate in canine and feline nutrition through Southern Illinois University. There are multiple formulas we use to calculate calories for cats and dogs based on need (growth, maintenance, weight loss, pregnancy and lactation, etc.) These amounts are probably recommended for maintenance, but they clearly aren’t following any well-established formula.
And yes, calorie density and ingredient composition are in play here. Fillers result in “gut fill”, so pets don’t get all the nutrients they need because they get full and can’t eat enough of the food. Bioavailability of the ingredients is also important (meat is more bioavailable than plant-based foods).