U.S. Food and Drug Administration
FDA Consumer magazine
May-June 2001
Table of Contents
Pet Food: The Lowdown on Labels
By Linda Bren
Choosing a pet food from among the cans, bags, and boxes stacked on store shelves can be a daunting experience. Which formulation of food is best? Is my dog old enough for "adult formula"? Does my cat really need "premium"? Will Fido be healthier on "natural" food and will Fluffy fully appreciate "gourmet"?
U.S. consumers spend more than $11 billion a year on cat and dog food, according to the Pet Food Institute. And pet food manufacturers compete for these dollars by trying to make their products stand out among the many types of dry, moist, and semi-moist foods available. Pet food packaging carries such descriptive words as "senior," "premium," "super-premium," "gourmet," and "natural." These terms, however, have no standard definition or regulatory meaning.
"But other terms do have specific meanings, and pet foods, which are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), must carry certain information on their labels. Consumers can be confident that their pets are eating a nutritionally sound food if they understand the full significance of these labels."
My comment: How about SAFE FOOD?? No added MELAMINE, CYANURIC ACID, etc??
