Pet food labels are more than just marketing – they’re a legal document designed to tell you exactly what you’re feeding your dog, cat, or other companion animal. In most countries, they follow regulations to ensure transparency, safety, and nutritional adequacy.

In Europe, this is regulated by FEDIAF

In the USA, this is regulated by AAFCO

Here are the main elements you’ll find:

This often gives clues about the food’s main ingredients. For example, “Beef Dog Food” must contain a certain minimum percentage of beef, while “Beef Flavour” only needs enough to provide the taste.

Listed clearly on the front, this tells you the amount of product in the package.

The name and contact details of the company are required so you can ask questions or report concerns.

Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight before cooking. This means moisture-rich ingredients like meat will appear high on the list, even if dry ingredients make up more of the final product.

This shows the minimum or maximum percentages of key nutrients, such as protein, fat, fibre, and moisture. It’s a quick way to compare different foods.

Carbohydrates are essential to understand the energy value (calories); however, this is not mandatory to list, and most manufacturers do not list carbohydrates on the pet food label. This makes it difficult for dog owners to understand the energy level in pet food.

Some manufacturers will list the energy value on the pet food bag, some will list it on their web pages, and some will not list it at all.

However, the Furry Fitness app uses what´s called an NFE method to indirectly calculate the carbohydrate level and then calculate the energy level in the pet food.

This tells you whether the food meets established nutrient profiles for a particular life stage (e.g., puppy, adult, senior) or if it’s intended for supplemental feeding only.

Recommended daily amounts based on weight or age are provided, though these are just starting points – you may need to adjust based on your pet’s needs.