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Information from the Association of American Feed Control Officials

A pet food is the sum of its thoughtfully blended parts, with the quality of the food overall being more important than the presence of any one particular ingredient. Taste of the Wild labels contain such reader-friendly information to guide pet owners on what they’re actually feeding their pets.

But what do the terms on your pet food product label mean?

1. Check the product name.

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) has strict rules regarding pet food product names:

The 95% rule ­— Pet food meeting the 95% rule has very few ingredients and simple names, such as “Kitty’s Favorite Tuna Food.” This means 95 percent (and not lower than 70 percent) of the food must be the named ingredient. The water added for processing and added vitamins and minerals is not counted.

The 25% or “dinner” rule — If a pet food names an ingredient that accounts for at least 25 percent of the total product weight (not counting water for added processing) but less than 95 percent, labels should include a qualifying term in the label like dinner, platter, entrée or formula.

The 3% or “with” rule — Add the word “with” to the product name. The food is only required to include 3 percent of the named ingredient.

The flavor rule — The pet food must contain enough of the named ingredient for the ingredient to be detected. A specific percentage of the ingredient is not required.

Rule of thumb: the product name says a lot about the presence of the named ingredient in the product.

2. If you get confused about the guaranteed analysis section of your pet food label, just check the ingredients list.

AAFCO has established names and definitions for many ingredients used in cat and dog foods. If there isn’t an AAFCO name for a particular ingredient, then the common name (for example, peas, potatoes, cranberries) is used.

As for the unfamiliar names like pyridoxine hydrochloride, ascorbic acid and ferrous sulfate, these ingredient types are written off as vitamins and minerals (vitamin B6, vitamin C and iron, respectively) that are either approved by the US Food and Drug Administration or generally recognized as safe to be included in pet food.

Taste of the Wild is available at Bow & Wow stores. Even better: they deliver to your house. For information and inquiries, visit their Facebook page or email evan@showdogs.com.ph. They also carry canine food.

Meanwhile, the Clapham Common underground station has been taken over by cats.