How to Read a Dog Food Label

In a world of ready made, packaged, and frozen foods empower our nutrition by becoming more diligent in reading nutritional labels.  As humans, we have become more health conscious society by including exercise on a regularly basis and becoming more aware of what we consume.  By doing all of this, it enables us to lead a healthier lifestyle that in effect adds more quality years to our lives which can be shared with our loved ones, including our best furry friends.

If we already reading nutritional labels for ourselves, why aren't we doing it for our pets too?

Below are 7 key points to use when reading dog food labels to help you make a more educated decision on picking the right food for your dog:

1. When reading the ingredient listed on pet food labels, what do they mean?
• Similar to people food, pet foods must list ingredients by weight starting with the heaviest first.  However, if the first ingredient is a type of meat the key thing to remember is that meat is about 75% water - according to the FDA.  Therefore, without water weight, meats will probably fall lower on the ingredient list unless they are meat meals.  Meat meals, such as chicken meal or meat and bone meal, are considered concentrates of animal protein because most of the water and fat have already been removed.
2. What are byproducts and are they good for my pet?
• Many pet foods list among their top 5 ingredients, chicken meal (byproduct) or meat meal (byproduct), but what exactly is it?  Byproducts are the innards of the animal used to product the food.  For instance, liver is a byproduct, which is rich in nutrients such as vitamin A.  Other byproducts include blood, bone, brains, stomachs, udders, and cleaned intestines (according to the AAFCO - Association of American Feed Control Officials).
• Byproducts should not include hair, horns, teeth, and hooves, although there is an allowance exception because sometimes these items may "inadvertently" get added during processing.
• All of these byproducts are not allowed for human consumption, but by regulation they are ok for pet consumption.  Like all organic matter, once the byproducts are removed from the animal, they should be refrigerated immediately to prevent spoilage.  However, it is not uncommon for these byproducts to be laying in a pile in a hot container for a while until they are ready to be stored.  Currently there are no way to monitor and ensure the pet food processing is being done properly, which could account for all of the product recalls due to salmonella outbreaks.
3. What are all of those chemical looking names found on the ingredients list?
• When you have to try to sound out the word through saying it's syllables slowly over and over again, more than likely these are preservatives, artificial colors, and stabilizers that can be found in the pet food.  Any of these items must either be approved by the FDA or be generally recognized as safe.  
• Manufacturers must list all of the preservatives they add, but they may not necessarily list the products that are processed elsewhere.  For example, some of the ingredients processed elsewhere may have been preserved with a synthetic preservative like BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), or ethoxyquin - these preservatives stop fats from turning rancid and keep dry dog food fresh for about a year, but their safety has been questioned by some consumers and scientists.  However, according to the FDA, these preservatives are perfectly fine to be used in dog food.  Some manufacturers no longer use these synthetic preservatives due to the controversy these preservatives may cause skin allergies, reproductive problems, cancer, and organ failure in some dogs.  Instead, they have switched to using natural preservatives such as vitamin E (mixed tocopherols), vitamin C (asorbic acid), and extracts of various plans, such as rosemary.  However, these foods have a shorter shelf life period. Be sure to check the food's "best buy" date on the label before buying or feeding it to your pet.
4. How can I make sure the food meets my dog's needs?
• Look for a statement of nutritional adequacy on the label that model regulations set by the AAFCO that establish the minimum amount of nutrients needed to provide a complete and balanced diet.  Usually the statement says "formulated to meet AAFCO standards".
• Make sure you have the right life stage the food has been formulated for, such as Puppy, Adult, Senior, or all life stages.  The nutritional needs for maintenance of dogs at each stage is different.
5. What is the "guaranteed analysis"?
• All dog food labels must list the minimum amount of protein and fat in the food and the maximum percentage of fiber and moisture. At least 10% of the daily diet by weight should be protein, and 5.5% should be fat - according to the national research council.  Dog foods typically contain higher amounts because dogs may not be able to digest all the nutrients in the food.
6. What do "natural" and "holistic" labels mean?
• Foods labeled as "nautral" should contain very few, if any, synthetic ingredients.  Whereas "holistic" is a marketing term, like "premium" and "super premium" - where there are no rules that controls how they are used.  Therefore, it doesn't make the food brand any better than others so your best bet is to read the label before buying.
• Another marketing use is "Made with human grade ingredients" or "made in a USDA-inspected facility".  Beware of these marketing tricks because they are difficult to confirm these claims are actually true.
7. What is organic pet food?
• There is no official definition for it, but the USDA's National Organic Program which sets rules for using an "organic" label is currently reviewing the issue.