It's important to remember that while the ingredients used in your pet's food certainly matter, it's the nutrients contained within these ingredients that your pet will use to fuel their body. Think of nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, fibre, and water as being like the 'building blocks' of ingredients.
It may sound obvious, but not every pet food is formulated to be complete and balanced in line with international guidelines. Your pet should be fed a complete and balanced diet which provides all nutrients essential in the correct amounts for their species and life stage. Under this topic, there are a number of questions you should ask.
a) Is the food balanced in line with AAFCO feeding trials?
There are international guidelines set out for pet food manufacturers which detail minimum levels of nutrients for each lifestage. The most widely used guidelines are those set out by AAFCO (which stands for Association of American Feed Control Officials). Always look at the label of your pet's food to check it contains an AAFCO statement. But also keep in mind note that these are guidelines only, and usually only detail 'minimum' requirements.
b) If the food is complete and balanced, how did the company determine this?
Rather than simply meeting AAFCO requirements, many higher-end premium pet food brands conduct laboratory analyses and feeding studies to determine the optimum levels of nutrients in their food, as well as regular batch testing to ensure consistency. (So, it's not just the high quality food you pay a little more for - it's the extra attention to safety standards too!)
c) Who formulates the diet, and what are their qualifications?
Any reputable pet food company will provide transparency around the expert who formulated their diets. Appropriate qualifications are either a PhD in animal nutrition or board-certification by the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN) or the European College of Veterinary Comparative Nutrition (ECVCN). While not often listed on the label, this information should be available on the website of any good pet food brand.
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