Pet Food Analysis

Pet Food Analysis refers to the recommended 'nutrient profiles' established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) and/or feeding tests and trials. It is generally recommended that you choose a product that has undergone one of these organizations' feeding tests and trials.

The analysis lists minimum or maximum amounts of the crude nutrients that may or may not be present in the product. However, it does not help you to compare nutritional value between products unless you break it down by water content.

The way to do this is to convert comparison products' nutrients to a dry-matter percentage. The easiest way to get a near comparison is to multiply crude percentages in canned food by four, realizing that canned food contains 68-80% moisture, or about 25% dry matter.

If you want a true calculation, divide the percent guarantee by the percentage of dry matter, then multiply by 100.

For example, the analysis on that can of Beef Dog Food may read 75% moisture (which means 25% dry matter), 10% protein and 3% fat. Therefore:

• 10% protein converts to 10/25 x 100 = 40% of dry matter
• 3% fat converts to 3/25 x 100 = 12% of dry matter

Use those numbers to compare the product with a dry product that has 25% moisture content. It may have the same protein and fat content.

Next: Nutritional Statements