1. Interpreting Pet Food Labels
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2. Pet food labels are regulated at two levels
Pet food labels are regulated at two levels. The federal regulations are enforced by the ______ and the state regulations are enforced by the ______________.

3. PRODUCT NAME: Product names are dictated by the _____________ of named ingredients. The AAFCO has _____ primary percentage rules. These rules pertain to the ___________ based protein only.

4. THE ____ RULE This applies to products consisting primarily of ______; beef, poultry or fish.

5. THE 95% RULE These foods have ______ names such as Beef for Dogs or Tuna Cat Food. At least ______ of the product must be the named ingredient (_______), not counting the water added for processing. Counting the added water, the named ingredient must still comprise ______ of the product.

6. THE 95% RULE If the food name includes a ___________ of protein ingredients then the ______ together must comprise _____ of the total weight. The ______ ingredient named must be of _______ proportion. E.g. Chicken and beef dog food must contain a _________ % of chicken

7. THE 95% RULE The 95% rule only applies to ingredients of _________ origin. _______ can not be used as a component of the 95% total. For example, a Lamb and Rice dog food would be misnamed unless the product contained at least ________ lamb.

8. THE ____% RULE If the named ingredients comprise at least ___% of the product but less than ___% then the pet food name must include a qualifying descriptive term such as “_______, ________, _______, ________ or __________.” Therefore “Beef Dinner for Dogs” only has to contain ___ beef

9. THE 25% RULE
The ________ ingredient is not always the named ingredient so “Chicken Cat Food” may contain more fish than chicken.

10. THE ___% RULE or the “______” rule
THE ___% RULE or the “______” rule. This rule was intended to apply to ingredients that appeared ___________ the product name. Therefore, a label may include a _________ and at least _____ of that ingredient is added.

11. THE 3% RULE The ________ also allows the term “with” indicating that 3% of that ingredient has been added. This can become confusing for the consumer because Cat Food with Tuna (___% tuna) is very different from Tuna Cat Food (___% tuna).

12. THE ________ RULE With this rule a specific percentage of the named ingredient is not required BUT the product must contain an amount ________ to be __________.

13. THE FLAVOR RULE With respect to flavors, pet foods often contain “_______” which are material treated with heat, enzymes and/or acids for ___________________. Therefore Chicken Flavored Cat Food may ____ actually ________ any chicken at all!

14. _______________
Any statements such as “________” or “______” are only permitted for __ months and then must be removed from the package.

15. Product Identity
Any ___________ or __________ statements are permitted for ____ year and must be substantiated by evidence. To remain on the label after one year, the claim must be ________________.
E.g. 3 out of 4 pet owners prefer Ms. Rob’s Gourmet Dog Food over the leading brand. I must be able to _____________ this.

16. WHAT ELSE HAS TO BE PRINTED ON THE BAG
WHAT ELSE HAS TO BE PRINTED ON THE BAG? _______ cat and dog food labels must contain ______ pieces of information.

17. #1 ______________

18. #2 _____________________________.
This identifies the food as ______ or _____ food.

19. #3 The ____________Statement
#3 The ____________Statement. This tells you _____________ product is in the bag.

20. #4 The _____________ _________ and ___________ Not all labels include a street address, but by _____ it should be listed in either a ___________ or _________________.

21. #5 _____________________ All ingredients are required to be listed in order by weight including their water content. This is an important point because meat is very high in moisture.

22. So in comparing foods: Pet food A may list “______” as its first ingredient and pet food B may list corn first and “_________” second. ______ is approx. ____% water but in _________, water and fat have been _________, so it is only ___% moisture. When comparing the foods on a dry matter basis (mathematically removing the water). Pet food B has more _______ source protein.

23. #6 ___________________ The label must state the __________ percentages of crude _______ and crude ______ and the ________ percentages of crude _____ and ___________.

24. Crude The term “_______” itself refers to the specific method of _______ the product, NOT to the _________ of the nutrient itself.

25. Crude protein
Measures the total ________ content of a product. From that, estimates the amount of protein within that product.
Crude protein measurements include _________ from _________ as well as from ____________________________ sources. 

26. Guarantees are declared on an “________” or “_____” basis, this represents the amounts present as it is found in the can or bag. This doesn’t have much bearing when the guarantees of two products of similar __________ content are compared.

27. To convert a ______________ to a dry matter basis, divide the nutrient guarantee by the dry matter percentage.

28. It is very important to check the ___________ percentage
It is very important to check the ___________ percentage. The ______________ percentage for pet food is _____% EXCEPT for products labeled as _____, ________, _______ etc. These products may contain as much as ______% moisture

29. #7 __________________________ Statement The AAFCO mandates that “______________________” pet food must be substantiated for nutritional adequacy by one of two means…

30. The ______ method is for the pet food to contain ingredients ____________ to provide __________________ that meet an established profile. Presently, the AAFCO Dog or Cat Food Nutrient Profiles are used. Products substantiated by this method should include the words,
"(Name of product) is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO (Dog/Cat) Food Nutrient Profiles."
This means the product contains the ___________ of _______, ________, and other ___________ _______________ needed to meet the needs of the healthy animal.

31. The _________ method of substantiating nutritional adequacy is for the product to be _______ following the AAFCO Feeding Trial Protocols.
This means that the product, or “______" member of a “______“ of products, has been fed to dogs or cats under strict guidelines and found to provide proper nutrition.
These products should bear the nutritional adequacy statement:
“_______________ tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that (name of product) provides ___________ and ____________ nutrition."

32. Regardless of the method used, the nutritional adequacy statement will also state for _________________(s) the product is suitable, such as "for __________," or "for ______."
A product intended “____________________" meets the more _____________ nutritional needs for ___________ and ____________. Although the higher levels of nutrients would not be harmful to the healthy adult animal, they are not really necessary.
Occasionally a product may be labeled for a more specific use or life stage, such as “_______" or for a specific size or breed. However, there is little information as to the true dietary needs of these more specific uses, and no rules governing these types of statements have been established. A “_________" diet must meet the requirements for adult maintenance, but no more.

33. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO)
A ____________ membership association of ____, _______ and ________ agencies charged by law to regulate the ______ and ____________ of animal feeds and animal drug remedies.
* Ensure ____________ protection
* Safeguarding the ___________ of animals and humans
* Provide a level playing field of orderly commerce for the animal feed industry.

34. #8 ______________________ Feeding directions instruct the consumer on ___________ product should be offered to the animal. At __________, they should include verbiage such as "feed ___ cups per ___ pounds of body weight daily." On some small cans, this may be all the information that can fit. The feeding directions should be taken a rough ____________, a place to start.

35. If a _________ statement is made on the label, it must be expressed on a “____________________" basis. Kilocalories are the same as the "Calories" consumers are used to seeing on food labels.
Kilocalories (kcal): a unit of energy of ______ calories. _________ calories = __ kcal
A “kilogram" is a unit of metric measurement equal to 2.2 pounds.
___ kilogram = ___ lbs

36. Other Label Claims
Many pet foods are labeled as “ ," and some now are “ " and even “__________." Other products are advertised as “ " items.
Products labeled as premium or gourmet are not required to contain any different or _____________ ingredients, nor are they held up to any higher nutritional standards than are any other complete and balanced products.

37. Other Label Claims
The term “_______" is often used on pet food labels, although that term does not have an official definition either. For the most part, "natural" can be construed as equivalent to a lack of artificial __________, artificial ________, or artificial ________________ in the product.
As mentioned above, artificial flavors are ______ employed anyway. Artificial colors are not really necessary, except to please the pet owner's eye. If used, they must be from approved sources.

38. Any product labeled as organic must be _________ certified.
Natural vs Organic
“Natural” ________ the same as "organic." The latter term refers to the conditions under which the plants were grown or animals were raised. Farmers who grow organic produce and meat don't use _______________ methods to __________, _________ weeds, or ___________ livestock disease.
For example, rather than using __________ weed killers, organic farmers may conduct more ______________ crop rotations and spread _________ or _________ to keep weeds at bay.
Any product labeled as organic must be _________ certified.

39. Meat is defined as “the clean flesh of slaughtered animals and is limited to ..striated muscle with or without the accompanying and overlying fat and the portions of skin, sinew, nerve and blood vessels that normally accompany the flesh.
Meat

40. Meat Meal
Meat meal is rendered product from mammal tissues exclusive of any added blood, hair, hide trimmings, horn, manure, stomach and stomach contents. Therefore during the __________ process it could contain parts of animals we may not think of as meat.

41. Meat By Product
The ______________, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals.
It __________, but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low temperature fatty tissue, and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents.
It does ___________ hair, horns, teeth and hoofs. It shall be suitable for use in _______ food. If it bears name descriptive of its kind, it must correspond thereto.

42. Chicken By-Product Meal
The ________, ________, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.

43. _____________ is not necessarily a negative thing.
Once an animal has been carved into specific cuts (ribeye, T-bone, fillet etc.)
The __________ animal cuts are __________ together and called ___________. It is generally better to look for by-products that come from a single species.

44. Questions