Lamb and Rice Formula, Chicken recipe, Real Beef Flavor... these are some of the descriptions found on dog food bags or cans. There are rules that govern what terms can be used to describe a food based on the ingredients. Understanding these rules will help you determine quality and ingredients at a glance.
Rule 1: The 95% Rule
This rule only applies to ingredients derived from animals, meaning it does not include grains or vegetables.
95% product's pre-cooking must be comprised of the ingredient advertised. As an example, "Beef dog food" must contain 95% beef product. This could be actual meat, by-product, or rendered bovine material.
In the case of a two-meat food, such as "Chicken and lamb", these two ingredients combined must make up 95% of the pre-cooked weight. Also, since chicken is listed first, it must be the predominant ingredient, meaning there must be more chicken than lamb.
Since this 95% rule does not apply to vegetables or grains, a product that lists a meat and a grain must contain at least 95% of the listed meat. For example, "Lamb and rice" must contain 95% lamb.
Foods that fit into the 95% rule are almost always canned.
Rule 2: The 25% "Dinner" Rule
The 25% "Dinner" Rule requires an advertised ingredient to compose at least 25% and less than 95% of the food's precooked weight.
Foods that meet this rule must contain a descriptive term in the name, such as "dinner", "formula", "entree", "nuggets", or "recipe". A "Chicken recipe" must contain at least 25% chicken products. These can be chicken meat, meal, or by-products. Since chicken makes up only a quarter of the food, it is important to investigate the primary ingredients as these may be fillers or other undesirable products.
If two ingredients are listed, such as "Beef and Liver Formula", the two ingredients must comprise at least one-fourth of the food's weight prior to cooking. However, neither can comprise less than 3% of the food.
Unlike the 95% rule, non-animal products can be included in this descriptor. In the case of a "Lamb and Rice dinner", 25% of the ingredients must be made of lamb and rice. Just as in the 95% rule, ingredients must be listed in order of quantity. In this example, there must be more lamb than rice.
Rule 3: The 3% "With" Rule
For a food to list the term "with" on their packaging, the advertised ingredient must comprise at least 3% but less than 25% of the total pre-cooked weight.
A dog food advertised as "with real beef" must contain at least 3% beef.
Rule 4: The "Flavor" Rule
Dog foods advertised as having a certain flavor must contain only enough of the ingredient or imitation product to produce that flavor.
When a product is listed as having a "chicken flavor", this food could contain a trace amount of chicken by-product, meal, or even artificial chicken flavor.
An example:
An unsuspecting consumer walks into a pet food store and sees four dog foods:
- "Real beef dog food"
- "Real beef formula"
- "Dog food with real beef"
- "Beef flavor dog food"
Food number one contains 95% beef. The second food contains 25% beef, while the third product contains 3% beef. The last food contains no beef, only artificial flavor.
It remains important to read the ingredient list, but using the four naming rules will help you quickly weed through dog foods to decide which products deserve a deeper look.
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Comments
You're right about these things in the article. On a relatied topic, it's very disheartening to see how the industry confuses people about "lamb meal," "chicken meal," and so on. A named meat meal is a much better protein source than just "lamb" or "chicken." It's the same meat, with most of the water removed. Eukanuba (and I'm sure others) capitalize on the fact that most people don't know that, so they proclaim on their bag, "Made with Lamb, Not Lamb Meal!" People think they're getting more quality that way. Not true. They're getting a lower quality, less expensive protein source that way that actually provides less protein per ounce. It's just one of many ways that major dog and cat food producers deceive people and cheat their animals.
Thanks again for a great informative article. Do you plan to do one on dog treats?
This just all seems to run togeather for me anyways. It seems like the food makers want to make our lives HELL when trying to find a good food for our pets!! WHY???
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