What is the 95 rule for dog food

How to Read a Dog Food Label

We all want the best for our dogs, including nutrition. And anyone who has shopped for dog food knows, there are virtually unlimited options: Hundreds of brands with innumerable ingredients; wet, dry, and raw food; age-specific food; restricted diets, along with all sorts of advertising and marketing claims to decipher. The label is the best tool to use when you make a choice but can often be hard to understand. Were here to demystify how to read a dog food label.

Dog Food Label Format

All pet food labels follow roughly the same format:

• Product and brand name or unique identifier.
• Quantity in terms of product weight, liquid measure, or count, depending on the formulation of the food.
• Guaranteed analysis, which specifies the amount of specific nutrients.
• Ingredients, which must be listed in descending order by weight.
• Nutritional adequacy statement, which must be backed up by testing that proves the food provides a certain level of nutrients. It may also include the life stages the food is appropriate for.
• Feeding directions.
• Manufacturers name and address
• Calorie statement

Now that you know whats listed, what does it all mean? Lets take them one at a time.

Product Name

Theres more to the product name than clever marketing. The name will actually give you your first clue about the ingredients. Because so many pet owners base their buying decision on a specific ingredient, brands will try to highlight that ingredient in the product name. But its all in the wording. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) has four rules:

The 95% Rule

At least 95% of the product must be the named ingredient, for example, Chicken for Dogs, or Salmon Dog Food, must include at least 95% of chicken or salmon, respectively. In addition, this main product must be at least 70% of the total product when counting the added water. According to AAFCO regulations, the remaining 5% of ingredients will be those required for nutritional reasons, such as vitamins and minerals, and small amounts of any other ingredients.

The 25% Rule

When you see products named Beef Dinner for Dogs, Chicken and Sweet Potato Entre, or Lamb Platter, for example, this is the 25% rule in action. If the named ingredients comprise at least 25% of the product (not counting the water for processing), but less than 95%, the product name must include a qualifying term, such as dinner, entre, or platter. Counting the added water, the named ingredients still must comprise 10% of the product. If more than one ingredient is included in a dinner, the combination of the named ingredients must total 25% of the product. They also should be listed in the same order as found on the ingredient list.

The With Rule

When you see a dog food label, such as Doggie Dinner with Beef, the with ingredient need only be at least 3% of the product. Just the addition of that one word with dramatically changes the percentage requirement of the ingredient in the food and is a good reason to pay attention to the product name.

The Flavor Rule

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), if the label says, Beef Flavor Dog Food, then a specific percentage (of the beef) is not required, but a product must contain an amount sufficient to be able to be detected. For example, the word flavor must appear on the label in the same size, style, and color as the word beef.

Quantity

The quantity listed on the label tells you how much of the food is in the container. This may be measured by weight, liquid measure, or by count. Products can vary in density (think wet food vs. dry food, for example). So, if you really want to know how much a product costs, do a cost-per-ounce or cost-per-pound comparison.

Guaranteed Analysis

Many states have regulations requiring the minimum amount of nutrients a pet food must contain, as well as the maximum amount of moisture and crude fiber. Dog food labels must display the percentage of crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, and water. For those who like to get technical, the FDA provides a detailed explanation of how the guaranteed analysis is calculated on its website.

If there are specific guarantees, such as that the food is low-fat, then both the maximum and minimum percentage of the item must be guaranteed. If a product claims to have vitamin or mineral supplements, there must be a guarantee of the amount the product supplies.

Ingredients

According to Dr. Jerry Klein, the AKCs chief veterinary officer, the ingredients section is the most important part of the label to read. Ingredients must be listed in descending order by weight. Each ingredient must be listed individually, and, according to AAFCO regulations, terms describing collective ingredients, such as animal protein products arent allowed. In addition, ingredients must be listed by their common or usual name. The AAFCO has a detailed list of ingredients, their common names, and what they contain.

A word about byproducts: While we may not want to eat them, byproducts arent necessarily a bad addition in dog food. They include parts such as the liver, which is rich in vitamin A. Other byproducts include blood, brains, bone, stomach, and cleaned intestines. Meat meal may also contain ingredients we consider byproducts. It sounds gross, but your dog might not agree.

Nutritional Adequacy Statement

Look for the fine print on the side or back of the package. Many dog foods claim to be complete and balanced or 100% nutritious. These arent just marketing terms. Dr. Klein says, The phrase means that the food has met specific government standards and provides complete and balanced nutrition for all life stages of adult dogs, as determined by AAFCO. The food must contain the proper amount and ratio of essential nutrients for the needs of a healthy dog.

Often the nutritional adequacy statement identifies the life stage the food is appropriate for. AAFCO recognizes these stages:

• Gestation/lactation
• Growth
• Maintenance
• All life stages

Some products are labeled for a more specific use or life stage, such as senior or for a specific size or breed. The FDA says, 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. Thus, a senior diet must meet the requirements for adult maintenance, but no more.

The nutritional adequacy statement must be in a standardized format, which makes it easy to compare products.

Feeding Directions

This is pretty straightforward the label tells you how much you should feed your dog. This is listed either by the weight of the food per pound or measure of food per cup. However, as the FDA says, breed, temperament, environment, and many other factors can influence food intake. Feeding directions are guidelines, not regulations. Regardless of what the package says, consult your vet if you have any questions.

According to Dr. Klein, its also important to note the sell-by or best-used-by statement. He says, Due to the nature of the ingredients used in all dog foods, including fats and proteins, the food can go rancid. Expired dog food offers less nutritional value and can grow harmful bacteria or mold that can sicken your dog.

Deciphering the Descriptive Terms

There are so many new trends in pet food that it can be difficult to know exactly what youre getting. Is organic the same as natural? What does lite mean? Is grain-free a good thing? Does my dog need new proteins?

Organic

There are currently no official regulations specific to the labeling of organic foods for pets, although the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is developing some. In the meantime, dog foods that claim to be organic must meet the ingredient, production, and handling requirements of the USDAs National Organic Programto be considered organic. In simple terms, organic dog food is defined the same way organic human food is:

• No artificial preservatives, coloring, or flavoring
• No antibiotics or growth hormones in meat and meat by-products
• Little or no fillers

Is organic pet food better? The jury is still out on this. High-quality commercial dog food meets the AAFCOs stringent nutritional guidelines and lists any type of fillers fairly low on the ingredient list. Sometimes dogs with sensitive stomachs do better with organic food, and some organic foods have beneficial antioxidants. Organic food is, however, more expensive. Frankly, its your call.

Natural isnt the same as organic. The latter term refers to the conditions under which plants are grown or animals are raised. For the most part, you can construe natural as equivalent to a lack of artificial flavors, artificial colors, or artificial preservatives in the product.

Grain-Free

There is little veterinary science to support the benefits of grain-free dog food. That being said, Lisa Freeman, veterinary nutritionist and professor of clinical nutrition at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, notes that theres a possibility that an increase in a heart disease called cardiomyopathy is associated with eating boutique or grain-free diets, with some of the dogs improving when their diets are changed. Some dogs actually do better with the high-fiber content of grains.

The FDA is also reviewing grain-free diets because theres concern of a possible link between certain breeds of dogs and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) a type of canine heart disease that affects the heart muscle in certain dogs or breeds of dogs.

New Proteins

No, theyre not really new. They derive from sources such as bison, kangaroo, rabbit, and other exotic animals. Its tough to rate their benefits because they have different digestibility and nutrient profiles than the more common proteins. They may be suitable for dogs that have difficulty eating chicken, beef, or other meats.

Human-Grade Dog Food

The FDA and USDA highly regulates human-grade food, defined as a food that is legally edible and approved as nourishment for humans. However, according to the AAFCO, for a product to be human grade, all ingredients in the product must be human edible and the product must be manufactured, packed, and held in accordance with federal regulations in 21 CFR 110, Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packing, or Holding Human Food.

Also, human-grade dog food isnt necessarily safer, tastier, or less expensive than high-quality pet food. These products must also be clearly labeled for their intended use as animal food, such as including the phrase dog food in the same size as the phrase human-grade on the packaging.

Lite, Low-Calorie, and Low-Fat

To use any of these terms, the food must have a significant reduction of calories or fat compared to standard pet food. The AAFCO requires that labels making these claims must show the percentage reduction in calories or fats and must name a product for comparison.

Cheat Sheet for Reading Pet Food Labels

You probably now know more than you ever thought possible about all those words on your dogs food packaging. This information should make you a better-informed consumer, helping you to choose the best possible diet for your pup. Heres a quick cheat sheet to help you remember all of this when youre standing in the dog food aisle:

• The ingredient listed first is the greatest ingredient in the food by weight.
• The sell-by date will help prevent you from buying food that may have gone bad.
• The guaranteed analysis tells you how much protein, fat, fiber, and water the food contains.
• The quantity of different products should be compared on a cost-per-pound or cost-per-ounce basis.
• The feeding directions are recommendations, not rules. Check with your vet.

*Labeling is regulated on the federal level by the FDA, which establishes standards for all animal food. Some states have their own regulations, which are often adopted from the regulations of the AAFCO.

The Secret to Reading Dog Food Labels

Looking at the back of dog food packaging can be overwhelming all the long words and numbers written in the smallest font possible are enough to make you want to turn the can around and look at the picture of the happy-looking dog on the front instead.

However, all responsible dog parents should be able to navigate this mass of information and disinformation to know what theyre serving up to their pets every day. Thats why weve put together this explainer to make it all clear.

Product Name

This is most likely to be one of the easiest things to locate and youd be well within your rights to think its a fairly self-explanatory description of what can be found inside. However, manufacturers have been known to use a bit of linguistic subterfuge to disguise the real contents.

Thankfully, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the government department in charge of regulating the pet food industry has set a few rules as to what phrasing can be legitimately used.

The 95% Rule

If a producer calls a recipe something straightforward like beef dog food or chicken dog food, that recipe must contain at least 95% beef or chicken by weight. This quantity excludes water and when this is added back into the equation, the named ingredient must make up 70% of the contents weight.

This rule also applies when there are two named ingredients for example, beef and liver dog food but the ingredient appearing first must be the one thats higher in quantity.

The 25% Rule

Now 95% is quite a big target to hit and one that many high-quality recipes might not meet. In these circumstances, you might see certain qualifying terms used in the name things like lamb dinner, salmon platter or chicken entre. Formula and recipe are often used in this context, too.

By law, a manufacturer must use this styling when the named ingredient includes anything less than 95% by weight but more than 25% (again, this figure excludes water and changes to 10% when its re-added).

The With Rule

Now heres where things get a little sneaky. Say you see a product called dog food with venison, how much venison do you think needs to be included? Only 3%. What makes up the 97%, you ask? In some cases, you probably wish you hadnt asked.

However, theres an even worse offender when it comes to dog food names read on if you dare

The Flavor Rule

Pick up a can that reads as turkey flavor dog food and youd expect it to include at least some part turkey. Well, it does, but only enough to impart its taste to a specially trained tasting animal.

We could be talking about seriously microscopic quantities of turkey here and even then, it could be from mysterious sources such as meal and by-products. This is definitely one to avoid.

Other Descriptors

As well as named ingredients, pet food manufacturers are no strangers to littering titles with positive-sounding adjectives. However, some of these are meaningless, while others can only be used if certain standards are reached.

Natural

This is an increasingly fashionable word used to describe dog food and one that parents keen to avoid nasty artificial ingredients might be especially happy to see.

The FDA doesnt monitor the term natural in the same way as it does with named ingredients, but the AAFCO plays an important role in preventing disingenuous usage of the word.

The organization defines natural dog food as the following:

a feed or feed ingredient derived solely from plant, animal or mined sources, either in its unprocessed state or having been subject to physical processing, heat processing, rendering, purification, extraction, hydrolysis, enzymolysis or fermentation, but not having been produced by or subject to a chemically synthetic process and not containing any additives or processing aids that are chemically synthetic except in amounts as might occur in good manufacturing practices¹

Now, the AAFCO as a body has no authority, but the majority of states have adopted the AAFCO Model Bill and Model Regulations which decree that pet food manufacturers must comply with this description should they want to use the word natural in the name.

Organic

Similarly, organic is another term sometimes spotted on pet food packaging and again, this means the product inside must meet certain criteria.

Any food labeled as organic needs to comply with the criteria set out in the US Department of Agricultures (USDA) National Organic Program. At the moment, these rules are the same for human food as they are for pet food.

The USDA is quite strict on this front and carries out regular enforcement, so you can be fairly sure any pet food labeled as organic is just that.

Low-fat/calories/lite/lean

This is altogether more slippery terrain. Theres no legally enforced benchmark that self-proclaimed healthier dog foods need to meet in order to label themselves as such.

The only thing that the AAFCO Model Regulations (which remember, not all states have adopted) say on the topic is that the claims should not be false or misleading.²

If parents want to be properly sure of a dog foods nutritious content, they need to inspect the figures on the back of the packaging (which well teach you how to do below) or lean on the expertise of a trusted authority on the subject such as ourselves!

Gourmet/Premium

There are a lot of parents out there who want to be reassured their dogs are eating the crme de la crme of pet food, so its only understandable if their heads are turned by products claiming to be gourmet, premium or some equally fancy term.

We have news for you this is all marketing. Again, the only way you can tell if a product is truly outstanding is by looking at the ingredient list or casting an eye over our meticulously researched lists.

Human-grade

Similar to gourmet or premium, human-grade is another descriptor that actually means very little when you delve a little deeper.

The AAFCO states human-grade has no definition in animal-feed regulations³. Instead, the term is used by manufacturers to boast of the quality of their ingredients i.e. meeting the strict standards set for human food.

As already mentioned, dog food is subject to strict regulation by the FDA already, so the ingredients will have already been judged safe for canine consumption.

Whats more, it doesnt automatically follow that human-grade means better. For starters, there are lots of foodstuffs and ingredients that humans can eat which are not good for a dogs insides chocolate and peanuts, for example.

Similarly, think of all the highly-processed and dubiously-sourced products you can find in your local supermarket that have been designed for humans, and contrast these against some of the top-quality dog food recipes which are inedible for humans.

Again, parents can beat this marketing bluster by inspecting the ingredient list themselves and weighing up the quality of the recipe in comparison to others.

Ingredients

In the AAFCOs Model Regulations that many states have adopted into their law books, theres a requirement for pet food manufacturers to include a comprehensive list of ingredients on the packaging. We probably dont need to tell you to be highly suspicious of any products for which this is missing.

For the vast majority of dog food, it will be present and these will be written in descending order by pre-cooked weight (i.e. the predominant ingredient first, followed by the second-most predominant, and so on).

In the states that have adopted the AAFCOs Model Regulations, all of the ingredients must be one of the following:

• A substance found on the organizations database of defined ingredients
• A well-known foodstuff listed on its Common Food Index
• A substance recognised as Generally Recognized as Safe by the FDA
• An approved food additive in 21 CFR 573.⁴

Guaranteed Analysis

OK, so youve read the ingredient list, but its hard to tell from these words alone how nutritious the recipe is. This is where the Guaranteed Analysis comes in handy.

Another of the AAFCOs recommendations adopted into many state laws, the Guaranteed Analysis outlines the minimum percentages of crude protein and crude fat, plus the maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture. This is usually calculated in third-party laboratories.⁵

This information is useful as it can tell parents at a glance if a food is really high in protein or low in fat. These metrics can also be used to calculate the fat-to-protein ratio (FPR), which is a useful indicator of how much unhealthy fatty meat is used in the recipe. We work out this figure for every dog food product we review and publish it against the industry averages.

AAFCO Nutrient Profiles

Another quick way to check the quality of dog food from its packaging is by checking if it meets one of the AAFCO Nutrient Profiles.

These are the required ingredients and nutrient levels the AAFCO has decided dogs need for a complete and balanced diet. Its up to pet food manufacturers to independently test their products against these criteria and if they meet them, a statement can be printed on the packaging.

This usually reads as (Name of food) is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO (Dog/Cat) Food Nutrient Profiles for (nutrient profile).

Currently, there are two nutrient profiles: Growth and Reproduction (G), suitable for expectant mothers and newborn puppies; and Adult Maintenance (M), for grown-up canines. Some foods are designated as suitable for All Life Stages (A).

However, there are things you should be aware of when it comes to AAFCOs nutrient profiles, particularly if you have a large breed puppy or dog. We go into more depth about this here: AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.

Feeding Directions

Once youre confident the contents of the packet are worthy of your dogs tummy, the next thing to work out is how much to give them, something complicated by the fact that each dog is unique a Great Dane wouldnt be too happy with a Pomeranian-sized portion.

Helpfully, the AAFCO recommends pet food manufacturers should include a section outlining the suggested amount to give to dogs throughout the day, often distinguishing between pets of different sizes and ages.

However, its important to remember that these are only educated guesses and theres a range of other factors you should take into consideration when it comes to weighing up their dinner, everything from breed and temperament, to their current health and the time of year.

If youre ever unsure of the correct amount of food to serve your dog, your vet will be able to offer professional guidance on the topic.

Manufacturers Name and Contact Details

Another AAFCO requirement is for the manufacturers name and contact details to be visible on the packaging. If this is missing which will be illegal in some territories ask yourself why a company might wish to hide away and look for an alternative instead.

And remember this

Its best practice to keep hold of dog food packaging even if you decant the contents into another container, as you might need those contact details or the ingredients if your dog gets sick or has an allergic reaction, or you might need the batch number if theres a recall.