What is nutritional adequacy?
Pet food must contain proper amounts of protein, calcium and other essential nutrients that a healthy animal needs. When buying pet food, look for packages that contain statements like these: “Formulated to meet AAFCO’s nutrient requirement” or “animal-feeding tests using AAFCO’s procedures substantiate that this product provides complete and balanced nutrition.” The first statement indicates a lower nutritional standard, meaning the food was tested in a laboratory and found to contain the recommended amounts of protein, fat, fiber and moisture. But, as noted on peteducation. com, a “combination of shoe leather, used motor oil and coal would meet this standard.” The second standard means that the food was found to provide adequate nutrition after being fed to one group of animals for six months. Is it correct to assume that a food consists primarily of the first item on a package’s list of ingredients? The Center for Veterinary Medicine says ingredients are listed in order of their wei
