How do I compare diets using the pet food labels?
Unfortunately, it is impossible to make a good comparison based simply on the can or bag label on your pets diet. What is typically declared on a can or bag label are: • Guaranteed Analysis: This is a measure of crude protein, fat, fibre and other elements of the diet. It is reported as either a minimum or maximum level. This is a simple laboratory assessment it indicates nothing about the quality, digestibility, or nutrient delivery of these elements. • Ingredients: Ingredients are listed in order of weight of inclusion in the recipe. There can be considerable variation in the quality of what appears to be the same ingredient from the label. For example, there are many different grades of corn, cereal protein sources, chicken meal, etc. The consumer has no way of determining, from the label, what grade of ingredient is used in the diet formulation. This is why it is easy to review the ingredients of pet foods, think they are similar in quality, and be completely wrong. One diet that a
