Most of us are probably familiar with industrial cat food.
We are even sure that many of us feed them to our pets.
Have you ever thought about the requirements and standards for cat food? Who and how regulates the safety and composition of cat food? And not only for cats but for dogs as well.
And can we mix something in there ourselves and sell it as pet food?
Today we’re going to look at where the “legs” in terms of standards, guidelines, and requirements for cat food come from.
Table of Content:
- Global organizations involved in the development of pet nutrition guidelines
- What is the organization AAFCO?
- Who is FEDIAF?
- What are the NRC requirements?
- Differences in AAFCO, FEDIAF, and NRC standards
Global Organizations Involved in the Development of Pet Nutrition Guidelines
You may have seen the acronyms AAFCO or FEDIAF on your cat’s food label.
It may say something like: “…to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles.“
Similar text will tell you that your food meets some standard or nutrient profile. We’ll come back to those a little later.
For now, let’s talk about where this text on the package comes from.
Right off the bat, you can’t just take ingredients, mix them up, and get some semblance of food.
It doesn’t work that way. Your food should contain a minimum and/or maximum level or amount of specific nutrients — for example, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and more.
Actually, what these organizations do is that they have developed some nutrient profiles for dog and cat foods based on their research. These nutrient profiles contain exactly the acceptable levels of nutrients.
Compliance with these nutrient profiles is indicated on the packaging and is often mandatory.
Historically, there have been several global organizations that have been recognized as authoritative.
- AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials).
- The European Federation of Pet Food Producers – FEDIAF (Fédération Européenne De l’Industrie des aliments pour Animaux Familiers).
- NRC (National Research Council).
Let’s talk more about each organization to understand what the differences and nuances are between them.
What is the Organization AAFCO?
AAFCO stands for “The Association of American Feed Control Officials”. It is a non-profit organization consisting of government inspectors, veterinarians, and scientists from the United States and Canada.
AAFCO consists of officials responsible for regulating the sale and distribution of animal feed and drugs.
This association also establishes standard ingredient definitions and nutritional requirements for pet food.
AAFCO has been in existence since 1991 (for dogs) and 1992 (for cats). It publishes annual pet nutrition recommendations when new research results are available.
In order to be labeled “complete and balanced” in the U.S., food must meet AAFCO requirements.
In addition to nutritional guidelines, AAFCO contains “AAFCO Guidelines for Pet Food Labels.” They include:
- Product name and brand name
- Types of animals for which the feed is intended
- Net amount
- Guaranteed Analysis
- The list of ingredients
- Nutritional adequacy statement (full and balanced value)
- Feeding guidelines
- Manufacturer’s name and location
Cat food labels often have a section on nutrition. It may contain a list of ingredients, calories, feeding recommendations, and a “guaranteed analysis” chart.
A guaranteed analysis should show the amount of each individual nutrient contained in the feed.
An “AAFCO Nutritional Adequacy Statement” may also often be added, indicating whether the product has been tested for long-term feeding in accordance with AAFCO recommendations.
We’ll look at what they mean a little later in this guide.
AAFCO is the guideline used for most commercial formulations in the United States. They are based on NRC requirements and are adapted to commercial diets, such as considering ingredients with lower bioavailability, extrusion, and commercial forms of additives. Not recommended for use in raw diets.
What are AAFCO nutrient profiles?
According to AAFCO, a balanced pet diet comprises three basic components: proteins, fats, and certain vitamins and minerals.
The amount needed depends on your pet’s breed, age, and stage of life.
For example, puppies and kittens need more protein, fat, calcium, and phosphorus for growth and development than adults.
Too little of these nutrients can cause deficiencies and too much can cause health problems.
To ensure that pets are fed properly, AAFCO has developed nutrient profiles.
These list the necessary nutrients for each type of pet and the minimum (and sometimes maximum) amounts needed for a balanced diet.
For both dogs and cats, there are two main nutrient profiles:
- Adult maintenance: adult and mature animals.
- Growing and breeding: young, growing animals and pregnant or nursing females.
When shopping for pet food, choosing an option that matches your dog’s or cat’s nutrient profile is essential. For example, kittens need food that fits their growth and recovery profile.
AAFCO publishes specific dietary nutrient requirements for cats and dogs each year. As we mentioned earlier, these are based on one of two life stages – adult maintenance or growth and reproduction.
The list of AAFCO requirements will look something like this:
Protein: 26% (30% for growth and reproduction profile):
- Then there is a breakdown of specific amino acid needs.
Fats: 9%
Minerals:
- includes calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, iodine, and selenium.
Vitamins:
- includes vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, niacin, pyridoxine, folic acid, vitamin B12, choline, and biotin.
How does AAFCO pet food certification work?
Pet food for AAFCO compliance can be validated in one of the following ways:
- Laboratory analysis shows that the feed meets one of the nutrient profiles.
- A food test proves that animals stay healthy as long as they eat them.
As a reminder, it is the feed manufacturers, not AAFCO, who perform all the tests.
Choosing the right cat or dog food is not an easy task for us.
There are many factors to consider when making your choice. However, most veterinarians would agree that whatever commercial pet food you choose, ideally it should be AAFCO approved.
What are the nuances of AAFCO?
Although the AAFCO recommendations are considered to be of fairly good quality, the system is not perfect either. Shortcomings of AAFCO labeling and testing include.
1. AAFCO does not test products itself
As we mentioned earlier, AAFCO does not actually test pet food itself.
Although some laws (we’re talking about the U.S.) require that food be truthfully labeled, having an AAFCO nutritional statement on the package does not guarantee the quality of the product.
That’s why it’s so important to always buy your cat food from trusted manufacturers.
2. Minimum, but not always maximum, levels of nutrient requirements
AAFCO includes minimum required levels for all nutrients, but not always maximum levels.
This is because the maximum safe levels for all pet food ingredients are not known.
3. The final product may vary
When pet food manufacturers conduct lab tests, they can check the nutrient content of the ingredients, not the final product.
These are the ingredients that can vary in nutrient content.
In short, the final product may not exactly match the tested feed.
4. Approach to testing
The AAFCO feeding trials require testing the food on only 8 animals.
Such a small sample is definitely not representative of the entire large population of pets who will be eating this food tomorrow.
In addition, the test animals must eat these new foods for no more than 26 weeks (about 6.5 months). This time period is much shorter than the lifespan of most of our pets.
Who is FEDIAF?
FEDIAF — is the European Federation of Pet Food Producers, founded in 1970.
It is an organization that publishes nutrient recommendations for pet food.
The federation brings together organizations from 26 European countries (these are not necessarily European Union countries) through 18 national or regional pet food associations.
FEDIAF represents about 650 companies producing more than 90% of pet food in Europe.
The national organizations in FEDIAF represent producers, packers, and importers of finished pet foods, including foods for dogs, cats, birds, and other pets.
As a competent partner, FEDIAF cooperates with many European authorities for the implementation of pet food legislation. The main objective is to ensure the production and distribution of safe, nutritionally balanced, and palatable pet food.
How does FEDIAF work?
The federation works through a structure of committees, which are represented by trade associations from member countries (70% of the votes) and feed companies (30% of the votes).
Pet food, like food for humans, is strictly regulated. This can guarantee the highest standards of hygiene, safety, and food quality.
Since 1970, European legislators have adopted a series of directives and regulations that have had a direct impact on all phases of pet food production and marketing.
There are hundreds of pieces of legislation, all of which are regularly revised to adapt to scientific and technological developments.
The areas covered by FEDIAF include:
- official requirements for the operation of pet food plants;
- rules for the labeling of pet food;
- general rules for advertising;
- raw materials of animal and plant origin;
- the use of supplements according to their usefulness, effectiveness and safety;
- sanitary and hygienic measures (including special health certificates for trade and processing of meat products);
- sampling and analytical methods to control raw materials and finished products;
- special sanitary and safety measures, as well as control of declarations on labels;
- use of dietary feeds for animals whose metabolism is temporarily or irreversibly impaired.
What are FEDIAF Basic Codes?
Globally, there are 3 sets of basic FEDIAF codes:
- “Guide to good practice for the manufacture of safe pet foods”;
- “FEDIAF Code of good labeling practice for pet food”;
- “Nutrition guidelines for complete and complementary pet food for cats and dogs”.
We will not go into the details of the codes in this article – their purpose can be understood from their titles.
For example, one of the appendices of the Packaging Code talks about how the data itself should be designed on the packaging (layout, fonts, contrast, etc.). See the image below.
What are nutritional standards for cats according to FEDIAF?
FEDIAF (like AAFCO) publishes recommended nutrient levels for cats.
The FEDIAF standards are also based on dry matter. This means that as you add more ingredients and therefore more dry matter, the values will constantly change.
What are the nuances of FEDIAF?
In recent years, various sources have recorded information that FEDIAF may be lobbying large feed manufacturers.
There are precedents regarding FEDIAF’s claims about the alleged benefits of carbohydrates in feed.
We can assume that it is theoretically possible since there are representatives of global corporations on the committees: Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Mars Petcare, Nestle Purina PetCare, and others. See the image below.
Murmeo’s comment. We will not now go into the truth and the proceedings. Let this be the subject of our future articles and investigations.
What are the NRC Requirements?
And so, the National Research Council (NRC) is a division of the National Academy of Sciences (USA).
The NRC has been publishing reports on the nutrient requirements of many animal species since the 1940s.
NRC publications for dogs in 1974 and for cats in 1978 formed the basis for the nutrient recommendations used by most pet food manufacturers in the 1970s and early 1980s.
However, these recommendations were often based on information extrapolated from other species and provided only one recommendation for all life stages combined.
In 2006, the NRC published updated recommendations for dogs and cats.
The recommendations already included minimum and maximum amounts or concentrations for each nutrient.
This makes it easier to make a complete and balanced diet for healthy animals.
What are the NRC nutrient requirements?
Both AAFCO and the NRC list it:
- minimum nutrient requirements;
- maximum nutrient requirements for components with potential toxicity.
Problems with NRC requirements
- are not always based on real fresh food ingredients;
- are considered a bit outdated. After all, the first edition was published in the 1980s, and the current edition was published in 2006.
- huge conflict of interests.
The latest version of the 2006 NRC requirements, however, was not based on human food ingredients. They are based on “the use of nutrients in ingredients commonly manufactured and commercially available“.
“Commonly produced ingredients” can mean genetically modified ingredients (GMOs) and semi-finished meat products, including those derived from dead, sick, dying, and incapacitated animals.
The NRC does not receive direct financial support for the nutrient requirement series and is therefore dependent on sponsorship for each report.
However, there are some restrictions on the proportions of funding that can be accepted from sponsors. After all, they may be perceived as having a financial interest in the results of the report.
To protect its reputation, the NRC has clearly defined methods that all committees must follow. In doing so, they affirm that their work is based on high-quality scientific evidence and discussion.
These methods include analysis of bias and conflicts of interest among committee members, public access to information about committee composition and meetings, and protocols for external review of the draft report before release.
What Are the Differences Between AAFCO, FEDIAF, and NRC standards?
It should be noted that it is rather difficult to compare the respective requirements of the above organizations.
First, the order of the nutrients in the tables is different, so looking at the three documents at the same time can be confusing.
In addition, although there is a common table in all the documents in which nutrient requirements are expressed in units per 1000 kcal ME (metabolic energy), these units may be different.
For example, the NRC specifies requirements for vitamins A, D, and E in RE (retinol equivalents) in µg and mg, respectively.
Therefore, it is necessary to convert these units for comparison with the IU units used for these vitamins in AAFCO and FEDIAF.
The NRC expresses nutrient requirements in three ways:
- as a minimum requirement;
- as adequate consumption;
- as the recommended quantity.
The NRC’s recommended tolerance values are designed for practical application by composition and ingredient; therefore, they are most appropriate for use compared to the AAFCO and FEDIAF values.
To summarize, it makes sense to pay attention to the standards of all three companies.
FEDIAF makes extensive use of the NRC. AAFCO makes extensive use of the NRC. Many dietitians actively use the NRC…or FEDIAF…or AAFCO.
Summary
Each of these organizations has different nutritional guidelines, and they all disagree on what constitutes a complete and balanced diet.
There is no consensus on which guideline is the best or “right” one. It is up to us as pet owners to research and decide for ourselves which one is right for your pet.
We hope we have clarified a little bit about these acronyms AAFCO, FEDIAF, and NRC. Now we all know a little more 🐱.
And when buying food don’t forget to look at the back of the package – maybe you’ll see familiar words there.
Frequently Asked Questions
A big “respect” from us for trying to make sense of such a difficult topic. If you liked our article, we will appreciate a link to it in social networks, on other sites, or on forums. Let’s become more educated together …
Article Reference: https://murmeo.com/en/what-international-requirements-for-pet-foods-exist/
