As more people understand the importance of nutrition to their own health, they are starting to consider what’s in their pet’s food bowl as well. It can be a challenge to sort out high-quality chow from the pet equivalent of junk food. Reading pet food labels is something of an exercise in futility unless you know the arcane rules governing what they can say, but here are a few guidelines.
- Ingredients must be listed by amount in descending order. So if meat is the first ingredient (the ideal to strive for), technically the food contains more of that ingredient than any other ingredient.
- The first ingredient on the label should always be meat with a name such as chicken, lamb, or beef as opposed to the generic ‘meat’, which could be anything.
- A food should have more meat protein than grain protein.
- One or more types of meat or high-quality dairy products, such as eggs, should be listed among the first three to five ingredients. If the first ingredient is a meat, followed by only grains, or if the first ingredient is a grain, check some other brands before buying.
- Marketing terms such as natural or premium have no official legal definition. If you want to know what the manufacturer means give the company a call and get some answers.
Pet’s Delight stock a range of pet food such as Applaws, Billy+Margot, Eukanuba, Harrisons, Orijen, Royal Canin, Supreme, Taste of the Wild, and Zupreem. Visit www.petsdelight.ae, www.pets-delight.com or call 052-7056290.