Last Updated: 27/08/2026
How to Read Pet Food Labels: A Vet Guide
Pet food labels can be confusing. Check out this guide to help decipher what all those ingredients mean in terms of health and nutrition for your pet.
Author: Dr Teagan Lever BVSc (Hons)
Reading Time: 6 minutes - short read
While the packaging of pet food often looks delicious enough for a human dinner, the real story of what’s inside is hidden in the fine print on the back. Understanding how to decode those labels is one of the most powerful ways to support your pet's long-term health. By looking past the marketing and into the ingredient list, you can ensure your dog or cat is getting the high-quality protein and balanced nutrients they need to stay wagging and purring for years to come. Once you've got labels sorted, our guides to the best dog food and best cat food in Australia can help you put that knowledge into action.
In this article
- What do pet food names like “Dinner” or “With Chicken” actually mean?
- What does ingredient order actually tell you?
- Real meat vs meat meal: What is the difference?
- Are cereals and fillers bad for my pet?
- What does “and/or” on an ingredients list actually mean?
- How do I know if a food meets nutritional guidelines?
- FAQs
What do pet food names like “Dinner” or “With Chicken” actually mean?
AAFCO (the Association for the American Food Control Officials) sets strict rules for pet food naming, so a bag's name tells you more than you'd think.
100% rule: reserved almost exclusively for treats like “All-Beef Jerky” – aside from processing water and tiny amounts of preservative, the product is entirely that ingredient.
95% rule: a “Beef Dog Food” or “Chicken and Rice Cat Food” must be at least 95% named ingredient excluding water, or 70% including water. When two ingredients are named, the first listed must be the larger quantity.
25% rule (“Dinner” rule): words like “Dinner,” “Entrée,” or “Platter” only need the named ingredient to make up 25% of the product, or 10% including water.
“With” rule: “With Chicken” only requires 3% chicken – a big drop from the 95% rule, so check the ingredient list for what makes up the other 97%.
Flavour rule: “Chicken Flavoured” needs no minimum meat at all, just an ingredient that provides that taste, like chicken fat or digest.
What does ingredient order actually tell you?
Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, before cooking, so the first ingredient contributed the most and the last the least. If corn starch appears near the top, the product contains more of it than anything listed after.
For “premium” ingredients like smoked salmon or roasted turkey, check where they sit in the list. If they're near the bottom, you're only getting a small percentage, and may be overpaying for it.
One catch: dehydrated meat or “meat meal” can appear lower on the list than you'd expect, simply because it's lighter than fresh meat. Ingredient order matters, but it should always be read alongside what “meat meal” actually means, below.
Real meat vs meat meal: What is the difference?
Meat meals are highly concentrated, dehydrated meats. Uncooked meat is around 75% water, most of which is lost during cooking. Meat meal starts at only 5-10% water, so its weight barely changes from raw to finished.
Because ingredient order is based on pre-cooking weight, a food using fresh meat can look “less meaty” on the label than it actually is, once the water cooks out. That's why most premium pet foods use meat meal alongside or instead of raw meat, to keep the finished product genuinely high in meat protein rather than mostly cereal.
For more on what's actually in your pet's food, see our guide to pet food ingredients.
Are cereals and fillers bad for my pet?
“Cereals” means grains like rice, wheat, barley, rye, or oats. In the right balance with protein, fat, vitamins and minerals, they're genuinely beneficial. Used to excess, though, grains act as “fillers” – they add bulk without much nourishment and pass straight through as waste. Cereals are cheaper to source than meat, so budget foods often lean on them to bulk out a bag.
What does “and/or” on an ingredients list actually mean?
Watch for ingredient lists that don't commit to one protein – for example, “meat and meat by-products (beef, poultry and/or lamb).” That “and/or” means the manufacturer can use any one, two, or all three, depending on what's cheapest at the time. It might be pork one batch and chicken the next.
The same applies to grains listed only as “cereals” rather than named individually – there's no way to know what's actually in the bag.
Because the recipe can shift between batches, pets fed these formulas are more prone to sudden stomach upsets like diarrhoea or vomiting when the mix changes.
In clinic, variations in ingredients are one of the most common causes of tummy upsets for pets. While owners may not be changing the brand they are buying, the formulations themselves may change from batch to batch.
For a closer look at how this plays out in budget vs premium food, see whether cheap pet food is really saving you money.
How do I know if a food meets nutritional guidelines?
Most pet food manufacturers adhere to guidelines set out by AAFCO (Association for the American Food Control Officials). While AAFCO doesn't actually do testing on individual brands, it has released strict minimum requirements, established through years of testing, for all minerals and macronutrients as appropriate for different lifestages (ie puppy, adult, etc).
How to check it meets requirements: If pet food has established that it meets requirements, it will have a statement on its label that indicates whether the food is in line with AAFCO guidelines. If this statement is missing from a label, the food may not be balanced to provide all the nutrition your pet needs, and it is best avoided.
FAQs
Choosing the right food shouldn't be a guessing game. By focusing on the order of ingredients, looking for specific meat sources and ensuring there is an AAFCO statement on the bag, you can feel confident in your choice. Want to go further? Compare pet food side-by-side, or find out whether premium pet food is worth the extra cost. Next time you reach for a bag, flip it over - your pet’s health starts with what’s listed on the back.
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History
Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space and we update our articles when new information becomes available.
Thu Aug 27 2026
Edited by Dr Belinda Stancombe BVSc (Hons)Dr Teagan Lever BVSc (Hons)
Head Veterinarian, BVSc (Hons)
Pet Circle's Head Veterinarian, Dr Teagan graduated from the University of Queensland in 2010 and went on to work in small animal and mixed practice in various locations around QLD & ACT before joining Pet Circle in early 2016. Dr Teagan has special interests in dermatology, nutrition and preventative health care. She feels privileged to witness the special bond people share with their pets on a daily basis and enjoys forming lasting relationships with pet parents and their fur children.
