How to Read a Pet Food Label? A Guide to Knowing What Your Pet Eats

How many times have you picked up a bag of pet food and tried to understand what was written on it? The ingredient list seems endless, the nutritional analysis is full of percentages, and there are statements like "with chicken" or "rich in protein" that don't always mean what they seem.

Learning to read a pet food label is one of the most useful things you can do as a cat or dog owner. You don't need to be an animal nutrition expert – you just need to know where to look and what each section is really telling you.

This guide explains everything, step by step, in a simple and practical way.

What must be included on the label?

In the European Union, pet food labels are regulated by law. This means that certain information must appear on all pet food packaging. These are:

• The product name and type
• The animal species it is intended for
• The net quantity (by weight or volume)
• The expiry date or best-before date
• Storage conditions
• The name and address of the person responsible for the product
• The batch number
• The ingredient list
• The declared analysis (crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre, and moisture)
• Additives (vitamins, minerals, preservatives, colourants, etc.)

If any of these elements are missing, it's a red flag regarding the manufacturer's transparency.

How to analyze the ingredient list?

The ingredient list is probably the most important part of the label.

Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight – meaning the first ingredient on the list is present in the largest quantity in the food, and so on until the last. In good dog or cat food, animal protein should appear among the first ingredients.

What are "meat meals"?

When the label says "chicken meal" instead of "chicken," it's not necessarily a problem – meat meal is dehydrated meat and has a much higher protein concentration than fresh meat. 100g of fresh chicken contains a lot of water; 100g of chicken meal does not. Therefore, in a dry food, meat meal can be a concentrated and nutritious form of animal protein.

What you should question is when the list begins with ingredients like "cereals" or "derivatives of vegetable origin" without specifying which, before any animal protein appears. This indicates that the food contains more cereal than meat.

Beware of generic names!

Expressions like "meat and animal derivatives," "fish and fish derivatives," or "oils and fats" are vague categories that allow the manufacturer to change ingredients from batch to batch without altering the label. Higher quality foods tend to specify ingredients – "chicken," "salmon," "sunflower oil" – instead of using generic categories. More transparency on the label usually reflects higher product quality.

The ingredient splitting trick

An ingredient can appear divided into several forms to make it seem as if there is less of it than there actually is. For example, if a food has "corn," "corn flour," and "corn gluten" as separate ingredients, each appears to be present in small amounts – but if you add them up, corn could be the main ingredient. This is a legal practice, but it's worth being aware of.

How to interpret the analytical constituents? 

Below or next to the ingredient list, you will find the "analytical constituents." These are generally four mandatory values:

• Crude protein: The total percentage of protein in the food. For dry food for adult cats, ideally above 30%; for adult dogs, above 25% is a good indicator. Very low values may indicate that the food relies more on cereals than on animal protein.
• Crude fat: Fat is an essential energy source and carries fat-soluble vitamins. It's not an enemy – it's necessary. In maintenance foods for adults, values between 10% and 20% are reasonable. Light foods have less, and high-energy foods have more fat.
• Crude fibre: Important for intestinal transit. Very high values may indicate excessive use of cellulose as a "filler." The ideal is moderate and quality fibre – such as beet pulp or chicory.
• Moisture: In dry foods, moisture is generally less than 10-12%. Higher values indicate that the food is wetter ( and therefore has fewer nutrients per 100g of product). In wet foods, moisture can reach 75-85% – so it's normal for protein and fat to appear in smaller percentages, which doesn't mean they are worse. Comparing a dry food with a wet food based on crude percentages can be misleading, precisely because of the moisture content. 

Additives – vitamins, minerals, and preservatives

Additives are ingredients purposely added to improve the nutritional value, preservation, palatability, or appearance of the food. They are divided into categories:

• Vitamins and minerals:  Mandatory to ensure a complete diet. They are declared with their technical names (vitamin A, vitamin D3, chelated copper, etc.) and the quantities per kilogram of product.
• Preservatives: Necessary to prevent the food from spoiling. Natural preservatives, such as vitamin E (tocopherols) and rosemary extract, are generally preferred by premium pet food manufacturers. Synthetic preservatives like BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin are legal but have been the subject of scientific debate – they are rarely found in good quality foods.
• Colourants and flavourings: Some manufacturers use colourants to make the food more visually appealing. It's important to understand that colourants serve the owner, not the animal. Their presence isn't necessarily a problem, but it indicates that the food was formulated with the buyer's visual appeal in mind.
• Functional antioxidants: Ingredients like vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and plant polyphenols often appear as technological additives. They are beneficial for the animal's health and indicate a more careful formulation.

How to compare two pet foods?

When comparing two pet foods to decide which one to buy, here's what you should consider:

First, compare the first and second ingredients – animal protein should appear before cereals. Second, look at the crude protein – the higher and more animal-based, the better. Third, check if the ingredients are specific ("dehydrated chicken") or generic ("meat and animal derivatives"). Fourth, evaluate the preservatives – natural ones are preferable. Fifth, read the "complete and balanced" statement – if it's not there, it's not a main food.

Price and quality do not always go hand in hand – there are affordable foods with good formulations and expensive foods with mediocre ingredients. The label doesn't lie if you know how to read it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is the first ingredient always the most important? Yes, ingredients are listed in descending order by weight before processing, from largest to smallest. The first ingredient is present in the largest quantity. Ideally, the first ingredient in a dog or cat food should be an identified animal protein (chicken, salmon, turkey, etc.).

Is "chicken meal" worse than "chicken"? Not necessarily. Chicken meal is dehydrated meat, with a higher protein concentration than fresh meat. In a dry food, meat meal is often an efficient protein source. What matters is the origin – "chicken meal" is more specific and preferable to "poultry meal" or "animal proteins."

What does "animal derivatives" mean? It's a generic category that can include by-products from different animals – parts that are not muscle meat, such as offal, bones, processed feathers, etc. It's not necessarily harmful to the animal, but it's less transparent than a food that specifies the ingredients. Premium foods tend to avoid this vague language.

Is a food with many ingredients better or worse? There's no rule. What matters is the quality and specificity of the ingredients, not the quantity. A food with 10 well-identified ingredients can be better than one with 30 generic ingredients.

What is FEDIAF and what does it have to do with the label? FEDIAF is the European Pet Food Industry Federation. It defines the nutritional standards that pet foods must meet to be considered complete and balanced. When a label indicates that the food complies with FEDIAF standards, it is a guarantee that it meets the minimum nutritional requirements for the indicated species and life stage.