Navigating the complexities of dog food labels can be a challenging task for any pet owner. The array of ingredients listed might seem endless, and some may not even appear to be recognizable as food. Furthermore, pet food companies may employ tactics such as ingredient splitting, which can obscure the true composition of the main ingredients. However, there are several key tips that can help demystify the process. One useful guideline is known as the “Salt Divider Rule,” a term coined by Dr. Marion Nestlé, an esteemed American academic with expertise in molecular biology, public health nutrition, and a prolific authorship in food safety, food politics, and nutrition.
The Salt Divide
The Salt Divider is a simple heuristic for deciphering dog food labels. It posits that any ingredient listed after salt constitutes less than 1 percent of the total content in the bag. This realization might be startling when considering the appealing images on the packaging, which often showcase succulent chicken, prime beef cuts, fresh fish, and vibrant fruits and vegetables. Yet, any ingredient positioned after salt accounts for a minuscule fraction of the contents. Such labeling practices can be misleading, leaving consumers to question the legality of these representations, especially when they do not accurately reflect the primary components of the food they are buying for their dogs.
Ingredient Splitting
Take the tactic of ingredient splitting, for example. Upon examining the ingredient list on a dog food package, one might notice that a single food item is listed in various forms. Consider peas: instead of listing peas as a single ingredient, manufacturers may break it down into pea protein, pea flour, and pea starch. This might be perplexing until one understands that according to AAFCO regulations, ingredients must be listed by the proportion in which they occur in the food. Dog food nutritionists have advised consumers to ensure meat is the first ingredient and to pay attention to the first five ingredients listed. Manufacturers caught on to this advice and realized that by splitting an ingredient like peas into multiple sub-ingredients, none of the parts would rank as high as the whole pea, allowing other ingredients to rise in the list, despite peas being more abundant overall.
The Salt Divide and the practice of ingredient splitting are two key strategies that can aid in understanding the true contents of a dog food bag, ensuring that the chosen food is of a quality befitting one’s furry companion.
No Salt or Ingredient Splitting!
For those looking to provide even better nutrition, consider adding real food to the pet’s bowl or transitioning to a diet that is biologically appropriate for the species.
