How to Read a Dog & Cat Food Label

Do you know what your dog or cat is eating?  Please take the time to review the list of ingredients printed on your bag of dog or cat food.  Ingredients are listed in order of their volume percentages.  Compare the ingredients and decide for yourself.  Look for a natural pet food that contains the hallmarks of a high-quality food and none of the hallmarks of a low-quality food.  A good pet food will contribute to a healthy coat, good energy level, balanced temperament, and flawless health.

High quality food should contain the following:

**Superior sources of protein.  This means either whole, fresh meats, or single source meat meal.  (For example chicken meal rather than chicken by-products.)

**A whole-meat source as one of the first two ingredients.  Meat is the most natural source of protein for cats and dogs and contains the amino acids most important to pet health.  A mix of meat proteins (such as chicken and fish) helps round out the amino acid profile of the proteins included in the food.  If a list of ingredients begins with whole chicken followed by three or more grains and no other meat proteins, it is likely that the food contains considerably more grain than meat.

**Whole, unprocessed grains, vegetables, and other foods. A previously unprocessed food has the best chance of surviving the food-making process with some of its nutrients intact.

High-quality food should NOT contain the following:

**Food fragments.  Fragments are lower-cost by-products of another food manufacturing process such as brewer's rice  (a waste product of the alcohol industry), wheat flour, and rice flour.  Most foods contain at least one fragment as makers attempt to keep the food affordable.  Beware of a product that contains several frag­ments of a single food. Some food makers do this to disguise an excess of a low-value ingredient. Remember, the law dictates that each ingredient is listed separately by weight. So when you see a list of ingredients that begins "lamb, rice flour, rice bran, brewer's rice. . ." you should be aware that there is far more rice in the product than lamb.

**Meat by-products.  Using an animal by-product (or more than one animal by-product) for a food's main protein source is indicative of a low-quality product.  (i.e. chicken by-product).  Animal by-products are any part of an animal not acceptable for human consumption.  Ingredients listed as by-products are not required to include actual meat.  Using an animal by-product (or more than one animal by-product) for a food's main protein source is indicative of a lower-quality product.

**Corn products.  The presence of corn products - particularly if they are high on the list of ingredients - may indicate that corn has been used instead of a more expensive alternative.  About 25% of the corn produced in the U.S. today is genetically modified.  Corn is more difficult to digest.

**Corn gluten meal.  Corn gluten meal is a concentrated source of protein that can be substituted for costlier animal protein.  In many bargain dry dog and cat foods, corn gluten meal provides a large proportion or the total protein in the food rather than more digestible forms of protein such as meat.  Any pet food containing corn should be avoided.

**Meat and Bone Meal (MBM).  MBM is a convenient catch-all term for whatever offal and refuse happens to be rendered that day.  This is where the worst stories about pet food come from.  Many renderers accept for processing such items as road kill, euthanized pets from shelters and veterinary clinics, downers and animals who diet on the farm, during transport, or at a slaughterhouse, cut-away cancerous tissue, fetuses, out of date supermarket meats, restaurant waste and other unappetizing ingredients.  Needless to say, the presence of MBM on a label is a signal that the food is of inferior quality.

**Animal Digest.  Material which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and undecomposed animal tissue.  The animal tissues used shall be exclusive of hair, horns, teeth, hooves and feathers, except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably...  Animal digest comes in a liquid or powder form that is typically sprayed onto finished kibbles to add flavor.  It is found primarily in low quality pet foods.

Indicators of a Low-Quality Dog or Cat Food:

**Generic fats or proteins.  Ex. Animal Fat.  Animal fat can be just about anything; recycled grease from restaurants or an unwholesome "mystery mix" of fats.  Animal protein is far inferior to beef protein or chicken protein.

**Artificial preservatives.  BHA, BHT, Ethoxyquin, and propylene glycol. Have been known to cause cancer.

**Artificial colors.  Your pet doesn't care what color his food is and doesn't need daily - lifetime - exposure to these unnecessary chemicals.

**Sweeteners.  Corn syrup, sucrose, sugar, ammoniated glycyrrhizin, and other sweeteners are sometimes added to lower-quality foods to increase their appeal. Dietary sugar can aggravate health problems in pets including diabetes.

**Flavors.   A high-quality food does not require flavoring to be palatable.

**Poor Sources of Protein - Soybean Meal, Wheat, Corn Glutens, Corn Meal, Whole Corn, Crushed Corn and Ground Corn are commonly used for their protein content in many pet foods.  These ingredients are generally poor sources of protein vs. meat.  They are often difficult to digest & to use by the body.  Also can cause G.I. problems. Meat & bone meal can contain an unknown quantity of bone, which is an inferior protein.