What is AAFCO and What Does it Do?
 

Taken from AAFCO


The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is a voluntary membership association of local, state and federal agencies charged by law to regulate the sale and distribution of animal feeds and animal drug remedies.

Purpose and Function of AAFCO:

Although AAFCO has no regulatory authority, the Association provides a forum for the membership and industry representation to achieve three main goals:
•Ensure consumer protection
•Safeguarding the health of animals and humans
•Providing a level playing field of orderly commerce for the animal feed industry.

These goals are achieved by developing and implementing uniform and equitable laws, regulations, standards, definitions and enforcement policies for regulating the manufacture, distribution and sale of animal feeds - resulting in safe, effective and useful feeds by promoting uniformity amongst member agencies.

Overview of Label Requirements for Pet Foods, including Pet Treats

The primary regulations for pet food focus on product labeling and the ingredients which may be used. There are certain items which must be included on product labels, and specific requirements for each of these items. There are also rules for non-required, or descriptive information included on labels. In particular, this information must not be false or misleading in any way.

A pet food label has eight required items. If the label is placed only on the front of the package, all items must appear there. If a front and back label are used, there are three items which must be included on the PDP (Principal Display Panel) on the front of the package. These are: brand and product name, species for which the food is intended, and the quantity statement. The other five items may be included on the front label or elsewhere on the package, such as on a back or side label (called the "information panel").

The eight required label items are listed below. There is an excellent explanation of each label item on the Pet Food website of the Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine (FDA-CVM) website.

Deciphering Pet Food Label-ese
•Pet food labels contain a lot of information, if you know how to read them.
•The Association of American Feed Control Officers (AAFCO) has its own set of regulations regarding pet food labels, which many states use. AAFCO labeling guidelines cover aspects such as product naming standards, guaranteed analysis (minimum percentages of protein and fat, and maximum percentages of fiber and moisture), and nutritional adequacy.
•Always look for an AAFCO statement on your pet food that says either:
“ABC Dog/Cat Food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog/Cat Food Nutrient Profiles." Or: "Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that ABC Dog/Cat Food provides complete and balanced nutrition."

In this way, you’ll know that the product is guaranteed to be a complete and balanced food for your pet.

AAFCO Feeding Trials

One of the ways for a pet food manufacturer to establish that its diet is "complete and balanced" or "for all life stages" is by conducting a feeding trial. The trial must follow guidelines established by AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials). The protocol of an AAFCO feeding trial is summarized below. This information is available in the annual "Official Publication" published by AAFCO, and may be ordered by visiting The Association of American Feed Control Officials > Home. Only 8 animals (either dogs or cats) need to participate in the feeding trial. There is no restriction regarding breed or sex. Only 6 of these 8 need to complete the trial, which lasts for just 26 weeks. During the trial, the only food available to the test animals is the food being tested. Water is available ad libitum. Before the trial starts, and after it ends, the participating animals must pass a physical examination by a veterinarian. The veterinarians evaluate general health, body and hair coat condition. The diet being tested fails if any animal shows clinical or pathological signs of nutritional deficiency or excess. No dog or cat is allowed to lose more than 15% of its starting body weight.

Article written by J. Boniface, (c) Copyright 2002, all rights reserved.

I just read Dr. Becker will be attending the next AAFCO meeting in August. I'm sure she'll be reporting about her experience on her blog.

That should be interesting.

I am booking bets now on what the tone/lean of her "evaluation" of the AAFCO and anything they have to contribute will be!! Surely, someone will be certain and post it on this forum.....in the spirit of "fair and balanced reporting"!!!

A voluntary association and furthermore one with no regulartory authority!


And no blood test work up before or after and only what 8 dogs in a trial .... Seems like too small of a sample size.

Yes, I was surprised to learn that, also only 6 need to complete the test, very small sample. I guess they are just looking for gross inadequacies.

I feel like you're insinuating something with this comment...are you? Am I missing something here? Was this meant to be snarky, which is how it kind of reads, or did you mean something else?

I'm glad she is attending AAFCO and look forward to hearing about it if she shares. Personally, I like hearing from all angles bc I just feel more informed rather than subscribing to just one belief system or angle or whatnot.

I read the AAFCO manual at the library this morning--they do blood work before and after the food trials. But you're right, 8 dogs is a very small sample size.

Yeah, and honestly, what does bloodwork really tell us after a relatively short feeding trial, ya know? Usually nothing at all. Humans and dogs can go with rather poor nutrition for a very extended period -- and bloodwork that whole time can be basically normal. The body is extremely resilient and self reliant when it comes to missing nutrients or whatnot....I'm not saying this is a bad thing, lol. I'm just saying that I've never put much "oomph" into the pre-and-post-bloodwork done in feeding trials.

The way I look at it, any testing is better than none.

very small sample, but better to have testing on those dogs than mine.

Indeed!

I do agree. I've just always wished, in both humans and animals, that nutrition studies were so much richer and relevant. But, I just don't know if they ever will be bc of individual differences that make nutritional studies so difficult. In other words, how can we really study the actual results of nutrition in a really accurate way?? The fact is that right now, we really can't. Unless we could really do true metabolic I/O studies or whatnot, we're still just making best guesses in terms of utilizing what we really get out of current study results. You know what I mean?

I feel like the current way we're forced to "study" nutrition is more like appeasement or placating...rather than super scientific or metabolic in nature. To me, nutrition is still very much both an art and a science...and that really bugs me at times. At the same time though, I guess it reminds me of just how important it is that we should all be open minded about nutrition...bc it's really not a black and white science that provides us w/ concrete results. Reminds me of a quote someone sent me regarding "science" recently: "Not everything that counts can be counted"-- :). So true.

Personally, I don't wish to "study" nutrition. I rely on the people who have studied it to guide me....and by study, I mean actual degrees. I loved the vet nutritionist at GCVS and was so sad when RC snatched her up; but she wanted the challenge and professional growth that the job would bring. There are far too few vet nutritionists out there. I don't know the number that graduate each year, but it is small from what I understand and the large companies recruit them.

I honestly don't care what others feed their animals. I believe in science and believe it is important that the foods I use are formulated and/or approved by vet nutritionists, people who actually do study animal nutrition. I understand others don't feel the same way....that is fine for them.

I have a very basic knowledge and that works for me. I love the way my pups look and feel that what they are eating is fine for them. I am guided by my vets and also do email a vet nutritionist from time to time.

You have a lot more confidence in the “science” of nutrition than I do. I only took one college level class, but the most important thing I learned was there is so much disagreement among the “experts” that it’s not funny. Real vitamins vs synthetic vitamins has been a hot topic for years and you will find experts on both sides of the equation. Gemy posted a thread today, that said one out of three dogs will get cancer and over half of those dogs will die of cancer. I don’t know if you’ve ever studied research methodology, but it’s extremely limited and it often takes years to prove anything. The status quo, meaning whatever is thought of at the moment to be right, should be kept in place until there are many studies to refute it. As long as something isn’t causing eminent danger, it’s okay. Some of the preliminary information is that synthetic vitamins can do more harm than good and cause free radicles to run amuck. We do know that, “Free radicals are highly reactive and have the potential to cause damage to cells, including damage that may lead to cancer." Antioxidants and Cancer Prevention - National Cancer Institute. Because most kibble has to be baked at supper high temperatures, the vitamins have to be added after baking and in most cases these are synthetic vitamins. Not all, some companies are using real vitamins found in nature. Many scientists are saying, it’s might be safer to get your vitamins from whole foods or a vitamin that has been tested and proven to work at a cellular level. The bottom line is we don’t know that much and I doubt any dog food company is going to do research to see if the synthetic vitamins they use in kibble may cause cancer. There is no benefit for them to do this study, and it could end up harming them. So in my opinion, the more vitamins we can give our dogs in the form of real food, the better.