There’s more in a pet food name than most pet food consumers know. Key words in a pet food name – required by regulations – can give consumers clues to how much meat is actually included in the pet food.
When you buy a chicken TV dinner – you can clearly see how much chicken is in your dinner. When you buy chicken soup, you can clearly see how much chicken is in the soup – perhaps the amount of chicken within that soup has even influenced your purchase (buying a soup that contains more chicken). But when you buy a chicken pet food (or any other meat variety pet food), consumers are provided with little information as to how much chicken is actually used in the pet food.
Little information until we take a close look at the regulations.
In the massive AAFCO book of animal feed/pet food regulations, there are numerous pages regarding pet food labels and several pages specific to “Brand and Product Names”. These Brand and Product Names regulations state that…
A dog food with the name: Chicken Dog Food – is required to consist of at least 70% chicken (of the dog food total weight). Regulations require a pet food that includes an ingredient stated in the product name (this example ‘Chicken’) – with nothing else stated in the product name (more below) – to consist of a minimum 70% of that stated ingredient. Same regulations for cat food.
A dog food with the name Chicken Adult Formula Dog Food – is required to be only 10% chicken (of the dog food total weight). Here, the word ‘Formula’ is the key. Regulations state that pet foods that include the “descriptor” Formula, Dinner, Platter, Entree and Recipe – along with an ingredient in the product name (in this example ‘Chicken’) to consist of a minimum of 10% of the stated ingredient. So the pet food examples below, because these pet foods include the word ‘Formula’ in the product name, they are required to include ONLY 10% chicken (of the total product weight).
A dog food with the name Chicken & Rice Dog Food Adult Recipe (two or more ingredients stated in the pet food name) – is required to be only 3% chicken (of the dog food total weight). Pet food regulations state that pet foods that include two or more ingredients in the name of the product, are only required to include 3% (minimum) of the stated ingredients.
A dog food with the name Adult Dog Food with Chicken – is required to be only 3% chicken (of the dog food total weight). Pet food regulations state that product names that include the word “with” – such as ‘with Chicken’ – are required to consist of only 3% (minimum of the total pet food weight) of the stated ingredient. The regulations are specific that the word ‘with’ must be the same size, style, color and case print than the rest of the words in the product name.
And a dog food with the name Adult Chicken Flavor Dog Food – is not required to contain any chicken at all. Regulations allow a pet food with the descriptor ‘Flavor’ stated in the product name to include no (zero) amount of the stated ingredient. Regulations require the word ‘Flavor’ to be the same size as other words in the name and the company must provide substantiation of the flavor claim if they are asked.
A look at a few actual pet food examples…
The name of this Hill’s Science Diet pet food is “Crafted Grain Free Herbed Chicken & Chickpeas Recipe” Dog Food. There are no regulations governing the words ‘Crafted’, ‘Grain Free’, or ‘Herbed’. Regulations require these words to be truthful and non-misleading.
With two ingredients being listed in the name (Chicken & Chickpeas), regulations only require this dog food to contain 3% chicken (minimum of total product weight).
The name of this Purina Beneful pet food is “Healthy Radiance with Real Salmon” Dog Food. There are no regulations governing the words ‘Healthy’ or ‘Radiance’ or ‘Real’. Regulations require these words to be truthful and non-misleading.
Because the name includes ‘with’, regulations only require this dog food to contain 3% salmon (minimum of total product weight).
The name of this Merrick pet food is “Purrfect Bistro Chicken Pate” Cat Food. There are no regulations governing the words ‘Purrfect’ or ‘Bistro’ or ‘Pate’. Regulations require these words to be truthful and non-misleading.
It is unknown if this pet food is using the word ‘Pate’ as a descriptor (‘Pate’ is not a recognized descriptor per AAFCO regulations). If ‘Pate’ is being used similar to accepted descriptor words such as Entree or Dinner or Recipe, regulations require this dog food to contain 10% chicken (minimum of total product weight). If this pet food is not using the word ‘Pate’ as a descriptor, regulations require this pet food to contain 70% chicken (minimum of total product weight).
The name of this Big Heart Brands Meow Mix pet food is “Tender Centers Salmon & White Meat Chicken Flavors“. There are no regulations governing the words ‘Tender Centers’ or ‘White Meat’. Regulations require these words to be truthful and non-misleading.
Because the name states “Salmon & White Meat Chicken Flavors”, regulations do not require this pet food to contain any salmon or white meat chicken.
Unfortunately for pet food consumers, learning these pet food name regulations is no guarantee that the pet food contains 70%, 10% or even 3% of the stated meat. The reason…there is little to no enforcement of regulations in pet food. It is doubtful that any state or federal authority performs DNA analysis of any pet food to provide consumers assurance that the product meets regulatory requirements. Also – unfortunately for pet food consumers – a pet food that would contain 70% meat is allowed by FDA regulations to be sourced from diseased meat — without any disclosure to the consumer. But…understanding the regulations does give you a foundation to know more of what you are feeding your pet – and gives you regulation requirements to base your questions to pet food manufacturers on.
The best – call your pet food manufacturer and ask how much chicken or beef or whatever meat listed on the label is included in the pet food ( a percentage of total product weight). If they claim this is proprietary information (many of them will), you can assume the food barely meets the minimum requirement (if that). In my experience, pet foods that add more meat than what is legally required are more than happy to tell you exactly how much meat is in their pet food.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food
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Peter
March 31, 2015 at 9:31 pm
In the case of Merrick cat food, the name “Pate” refers to the consistency of the food. Merrick made this change when the company reformulated all their cat foods (uh… they “improved” them, of course), which enfolded redesign of the labeling. Merrick then created 3 consistencies/textures; pate, minced, and morsels. The minced and morsels are sliced and chopped consistency.
When Merrick “improved” their cat foods, the ingredients were changed, with the proportions altered. In some cases, the “expensive” ingredients were changed (decreased). The calorie count on many of the flavors increased, and the price increase was about 10% across the board. Quite a recipe, really.
Common sense will tell you that “minced” and “flaked” foods often have less “food” in the can, relative to the stated weight. After all, which has more chocolate, a container packed “solid,” or, one with the ingredients the consistency of marbles… in which there are air pockets (filled, in this case, with “improved” “gravy”).
Merrick can claim they “improved” their line all they want. The fact is they undertook the change to cut costs. There is less food in the can, and the other changes are negative. And by the way, after eight years of loyalty… my cats don’t like it. A complete betrayal, by this formerly trustworthy brand.
Rita
April 1, 2015 at 10:57 am
I noticed one of Merrick’s “improvements” was more salt! Some of Merrick’s recipes have as much as 2% salt. And of course “natural flavors” which I suspect may be MSG but I sure hope not. It was rather insulting when they reformulated, hiked the price and told us the food was “Improved”. My cats won’t eat ANY of the foods they used to eat which leads me to think the quality of the ingredients is steadily declining as pet food producers think of more and more inedible waste to dump into the food.
Peter
April 1, 2015 at 2:17 pm
Merrick has also pursued the tack that many so-called “premium” brands have taken: aerating the foods to cut costs. The textures are no longer solid, but “fluffy,” and common sense will tell you that there is less food in the can. There are simply less meals per can than before they were “improved.”
Jemster
April 2, 2015 at 8:19 am
At one time a few years ago I used to buy Merrick treats because they were supposedly healthy…then they had a recall so I quit buying them. I checked into it and was told that they would start irradiating all their treats to prevent any future problems! Well, I don’t want irradiated treats either!!
Peter
April 3, 2015 at 5:39 am
Simple question: If a food or treat is “healthy” and “wholesome,” why would it need to be irradiated?
Johanna
March 31, 2015 at 10:13 pm
Susan, this is excellent! The graphics really help simplify so that even people like me can understand ;-). Willl be sharing this for sure. Thanks for all you do, keep up the good work!
Abra Karhan
March 31, 2015 at 10:43 pm
THANK YOU, may I hand out photocopies to my all my friends?
Susan Thixton
March 31, 2015 at 11:00 pm
Yes – you have my permission to share.
Regina
March 31, 2015 at 11:54 pm
I knew that the way the product name was worded gave an indication of how much of a meat is actually in a pet food, but I had no idea how quickly the percentage went down to ten, then three percent!!!!
No way in heck I’m gonna buy something with only 10% meat for my cats!!!
And, Susan, I just LOVE how you compared the new Hill’s Science Diet “Crafted” line with Beneful!!!!!
I will never understand how Hill’s is still so blindly bought by so many people. As for the topic of this article, most of their foods don’t even mention ANY meat in the name of the food!!!! (Indoor formula, Oral Care formula, etc). If you ask people what meat is in their Hills food, they don’t even know! Of course, if they actually read the ingredient list, they will have to wade through a bunch of grain ingredients to maybe find something edible in there for their cats.
Even folks who are trying the new Hill’s Ideal Balance, because it claims to be healthier, well doesn’t that then imply that the Science Diet stuff is NOT healthy??? Who would trust a company that sells stuff that they know is not healthy???
I just can’t believe people are so stupid. Or do they just not care???
This article is great information to share with unsuspecting pet food/feed consumers. A great follow-up article for those unsuspecting consumers would be how some ingredients are split into different items to hide how much is really in there! Corn, corn gluten meal, ground corn, whole ground corn, corn grits, etc. etc. etc.
Peter
April 1, 2015 at 2:09 pm
Most people do care about their pets. But we must confront the societal phenomena you describe, Regina: the strange way that consumers simply grab anything that is on the shelf (commonly, at the supermarket) and feed it to their pets, without questioning the quality. It’s more than just marketing. It is an odd disconnect from rationality.
You’ll meet highly educated, “caring” pet parents struggling to dump the 40lb. bags of dry food into their cart at the big box store… and they never consider how something that works out to 40 cents a pound just can’t be any good for them! Its frightening!
Jemster
April 2, 2015 at 8:11 am
A lot of people are just sadly lazy. Dump some dry over-processed and unhealthy krapple in a bowl and it’s done Then they wonder why their pet is sick. It is maddening to me that people say they love their pet but yet don’t do any research regarding the quality of the food they’re feeding.
Anne
April 1, 2015 at 7:01 am
“Good Info..”.thanks!
Celeste
April 1, 2015 at 7:09 am
Very well done, Susan — nice & clear. I’m definitely sharing this one!
Jean McCarthy
April 2, 2015 at 8:10 am
And, remember that “meal” of any kind is a filler made from decaying meat, diseased animals, and by-products.
Mike L
April 10, 2015 at 6:56 pm
@ Jean McCarthy –
This is news to me. Could you please provide sites/published documents (including here as I may have missed ’em) that detail what you’ve shared? This is not a challenge, just me wanting to read up more on the serious subject.
Many thanks in advance,
Mike
Jean Mccarthy
April 11, 2015 at 12:46 pm
Hi Mike,
Meal is a by-product of a process called rendering. The quality of the meal is determined in part by what goes into it. So, if diseased, decomposed animals, etc are used, then garbage in, garbage out. There may be some high quality meals produced, but we as consumers generally do not have the resources to determine which dog foods contain them. There are many sites that you can google…”dog food contents meal”…that you will find revealing reading. A few are: dogfood advisor.com, Meat Meal -the Mystery Concentrate…
“the Shocking Truth About Commercial Dog Food
Dog Food Project.com, Meat vs Meat Meal
Truth About Pet Food.com, a Pet Food Ingredient By-product Meal, Meat..!,,also Pet Food and Rendering Plants by Jerry E.
Lots to read!
Gitta
April 2, 2015 at 8:17 am
If you think about it: 3% of the total weight of the bag or can is chicken for example. How much chicken protein is that then per meal? That means whatever is the guaranteed minimum percentage of protein – it is most likely plant based with very varying degrees of digestability. If a food is in the lower range of minimum protein levels and consists of primarily proteins with low bioavailability – the step to deficiencies can’t be a big one. Especially for growing dogs, pregnant and lactating dogs. Now, how can such a food claim to be balanced and complete and tested? Oh well – test dogs only need to survive 6 months and how many foods are actually tested that way? Common advice for dog owners of non-working dogs is to make sure they don’t feed a food with a high protein content.
If my math is right there are 16 oz per lb. So, a 5 pound bag of dry food is 80 oz. 3% of that is 2.4 oz of chicken for that whole 5 pound bag. I think it would take a microscope to find the chicken in a single meal. Now, note on the picture of the Crafted Science Diet is a chicken leg. Now, does a cooked chicken leg not weigh more than 2.4 oz????? I won’t even discuss that the type of chicken in that bag may not even be a distant relative to the one pictured on the bag.
In any other area this would be called fraud and be illegal.
Gloria JH
April 2, 2015 at 1:16 pm
I’m grateful for your work. I take care of about 18-19 feral-born cats some are outside some we have inside the house with varying degrees of socialization.
I’m convinced that healthy food equals more healthy cats and I would rather spend my $$ on healthy food rather than on vet visits – not to forget to mention a healthy cat is a happier cat.
Because of the comments here about Merrick I guess I’ve been in a “fool’s naïve paradise”. I’ve been foolishly spending $$ on this expensive canned food from Merrick because I thought I was getting the protein. Boy!, I am sure disappointed, although not too surprised.
So, Susan, with you as the Tip of the Arrow, guiding me through this maze of confusion I am better informed.
Thank you for your continuing education, however, I’m afraid that I am unable to attend all the classes so when I miss something – well, that’s on me!, Thanks, Susan! 🙂 Gloria
Jean Mccarthy
April 3, 2015 at 8:22 am
But, I think if you buy Merrick canned 96% meat, you are on the right track…cans are heavier and contents dense.
Gloria JH
April 3, 2015 at 12:17 pm
You’re right there! 🙂 I should have considered that before, thanks for reminding me, Jean. g
Rita
April 3, 2015 at 1:36 pm
Merrick’s protein level is just fine. For example, the Duck Pate has 43.22% protein on a dry matter basis. The problem with Merrick, in my opinion, is the high salt content. (altho it seems all the “premium” foods are now very high in salt) The Duck Pate has 2% salt!! This is WAY high and would be really bad for a cat with heart issues. If you look at the Merrick 96% meat, salt is high up in the ingredient list and there is yeast extract (MSG) in it as well. Some of their recipes have really unbalanced ratios of calcium to phosphorus. For example, the phosphorus in Grammy’s Pot Pie is more than double the calcium which is SO bad for the kidneys. Anyhow, I know this is off the topic of the article but thought the info might be helpful to some. I think it is really important to ALWAYS ask the companies for complete nutritional analysis and then convert to dry matter basis so you know exactly what your pet is eating.
Gloria JH
April 3, 2015 at 2:24 pm
Pet food – The Maze of Decisions
I mostly buy Weruva, Wellness, Merrick, Royal Canin Urinary SO, some TOW kibble.
The outside, feral-born “colony”, I buy mostly Friskies canned.
I have this variety because I care for so many cat sand they have various appetites. I purchase a number of brands to make everybody happy — I prefer canned or pouch food because of the moisture content, but grain-free kibble is also on the menu – and, Sadly!, I have two on a Veterinary Diet – canned with kibble as treats – like my first sentence means – food ingredients are never stagnant and one needs someone like Susan to guide us through the maze.
Now IF I were younger, smarter, and with more energy I would probably be feeding raw -and- on occasion the feral-born do get raw chicken breasts.
Jean Mccarthy
April 4, 2015 at 6:06 pm
You are welcome…it takes a village
Ellie
April 3, 2015 at 5:23 pm
This is excellent information especially since most consumers have no idea what they are looking at when they look at the name or any of the other information concerning the pet food they buy.
Pet food manufacturers have a huge book of rules and the consumer has nothing except this forum when it comes to being informed about what they are feeding their pet.
Mike L
April 10, 2015 at 6:59 pm
Superb article Ms. Thixton! Easy to follow, perfect supportive graphics – this is just the sort of document we can share with others to help educate. Many, many thanks.
Mike
DogLover
April 13, 2015 at 8:28 pm
Could anyone decode taste of the wild “high prairie canine formula with bison and roasted venison”? Ingredients are: Bison, lamb meal, chicken meal, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, canola oil, egg product, beef, roasted venison, natural flavor, tomato pomace, ocean fish meal, potato protein, salt, choline choride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, probiotics, vitamins and minerals. Protein is 32% and fat is 18%.
Johanna
April 14, 2015 at 10:50 am
Based on what I’ve read here, the “with” would indicate 3% each of bison and venison. However, keep in mind that these are not human grade and are therefore made with ingredients not deemed safe for human consumption (especially in the case of “meal” such as your TOTW lamb and chicken meal) including rancid store meats ground with the foam packaging intact, as well as diseased segments of meats and tumors which have been removed from human-grade meat and “denatured” by being shredded and sprayed with petrol-based chemicals. AND that is just assuming that they are telling you the truth on the label- consider that many studies which have been done show that labeling is incorrect, and many times the meat protein listed on the label is not included in the product. Speaking from my own experiences, I know how expensive these “high-end” kibbles can be, and trust me, it’s way cheaper (and WAY better for your pets health) to just feed real food. If prep time is an issue, you can cook chicken in a pressure cooker and the bones will soften to paste and will be perfectly balanced with minerals and calcium, plus you can add some veggies for added nutrients.
Peter
April 14, 2015 at 4:32 pm
The water content of TOTW is so high–I’ve had cans that were more like soup– that there simply cannot be much “quality” ingredients in the can, regardless of what the focus is, specifically. This is an increasing problem with many “super premium” foods, there just isn’t any food in the can.
Guylaine
May 18, 2015 at 4:47 pm
Why did I find different numbers on the FDA website for the percentages? They talk about 95, 25 and 3% for the same explanations…
Susan Thixton
May 18, 2015 at 5:01 pm
I’m not sure – if you provide the link to that page I’ll try to respond.
Guylaine
May 24, 2015 at 12:01 pm
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm047113.htm
Toony L.
June 2, 2020 at 8:32 am
After reading this article, I don’t know what to feed my dog anymore T_T
Thank you so much for the insight, but it makes me really sad that I have been unable to find any commercial dog food without at least one of the words that you mentioned above.