AAFCO stands for the Association Of American Feed Control Officials. This association is responsible for setting the standards and guidelines for the commercial production of pet foods. AAFCO tests the ingredients used and applies a minimum nutritional value that pet food manufacturers must follow. Having this minimum value however, allows for much interpretations to the standards, making the quality of the food produced less than desirable. The AAFCO stamp of approval on a label of dog food just means that the food meets minimum requirements.
One can quite easily get misinformed when reading a dog food label. Much of the information provided can be vague or misleading. In order for us to know what exactly it is that we are feeding our dogs, we must learn how to read what is on the label correctly. By doing so we can give our animals a more nutritious variety of foods.
Because of the constant exposure to the marketing tactics of pet food manufacturers, many of us have are loyal to a certain dog food brand or product name. We have been led to believe that this brand has high quality food products. The first rule to remember when reading a label is that if the product label mentions an ingredient such as “beef chow” for example, then that product must contain 95% of that ingredient by weight if the product is a dry product and 70% if it is a wet or canned product. If the label includes words such as “dinner” or “formula” then only 25% of that ingredient is required.
Pet food labels list their ingredients by weight. Ingredients weighing the most are listed first. Taking the above example into consideration, a “dinner” labeled product will only contain 1/4 of the mentioned product. So even though the ingredient is part of the labeled product name it is not necessarily the main ingredient. Corn or bone meal is more than likely the main ingredient. Both these ingredients can be found in cheap discounted or generic brands.
In many cases the main ingredient is not mentioned in the title. Instead we see such words as “flavored” as in “chicken flavored.” There is no set required percentage for these items. We will also see the words like “Premium” or “Natural” on the labels. Premium dog food is a worthwhile product to checkout. Most premium products do follow the AAFCO standards for a nutritionally balanced dog food product. “Natural” just means that there are no artificial ingredients such as colors, preservatives and flavors in the product.
A sure fire way to find the best dog food products when reading the list of ingredients is to find the first fat ingredient such as “chicken fat.” All the ingredients before the fat source are the main part of that food product. The fewer the ingredients the better. All the other items on the list are used for flavoring or preserving the product. By finding where the fat source is listed we can then find ingredients that maybe harmful to our dogs such as corn gluten.
Not all dog food brands are bad. We can find the right commercial dog food for our dogs by just taking a little extra time in reading the labels more thoroughly. By knowing what is really in that can or bag can help us to maintain a healthier and more nutritious menu for our best friends.
As dog owners we are in total control when it comes to feeding our dogs. Knowing what the best dog food is, what are the right dog food ingredients and what dog food nutrition they provide can sometimes be confusing. Find out more about commercial and homemade dog food recipes by visiting www.onlinedogfoodrecipes.com.
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