Why Must You Read the Ingredients on Pet Food Labels?
If you are a pet owner and your main intention is to keep your little furry friend safe, we know that you would prioritise reading pet food labels!
As pet owners, it’s our responsibility to be much more attentive and more careful with pet food ingredients. Pet nutrition is important and so is giving them healthy pet diets. Unless you would be feeding your pet with home snacks, reading labels and understanding the contents that it contains is quite important. This can help you understand the importance of proper nutrition for pets and how it affects their health and well-being.
In this blog, our officials from Petbites have highlighted how and why is it crucial for pet owners to read and understand the ingredients on pet food labels. We have also allergens, harmful additives, and dietary specifications. Read along to find out ways you can enrich the lives of your gorgeous pets!
Understanding Pet Food Labels
Label Regulations
To be assured as a pet owner of the pet product you are purchasing, you need to check for the following content in your pet food label. These elements ensure that transparency and safety are maintained within the brand.
- Proper product identification
- Net Quantity
- Product Name
- Manufacturers Details
- Moisture content
- Preservatives
- Feeding guide
- Age references
- Guaranteed Analysis
- Primary ingredient
- Ingredient list
- Weight or quantity of each ingredient in ascending order
- Mentions of any specific allergy triggering ingredient
- Seal from the PFIAA (Pet Food Industry Association of Australia Inc.)
Common Terms
Most commonly when reading pet food labels, you might have come across some common terms in the packaging of the product. However, just because the words sound sophisticated, it doesn’t really mean that everything inside is. Here are a few regulated or common terms for you to consider:
- Complete and balanced: This means that your pet will be getting balanced pet nutrition from this meal. It can cater to all the requirements such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.
- Natural: this means that it’s made purely from plant or animal based sources. This also denotes that the content is in an unprocessed state, without chemicals, additives and synthetics.
- Organic: If your pet’s food is organic, the production methods use biological and cultural processes. These are free from synthetic fertilisers, genetic engineering or sewage sludge
- Holistic: Affects the entire body. This means that the effect it has can be holistic on your pet’s body. However, this term is rarely found in treats.
Ensuring Nutritional Balance
Essential Nutrients
Pets, both cats and dog need the essential pet nutrients that help with their daily bodily regulation. The most common pet’s nutrients they need are proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. It helps with the regular functioning of their system, immunity and their metabolism. Their bodily functions such as digestion, excretion, respiration and so on are also affected by the nutrient intake. Hence pet food quality also depends on the nutrient content it holds.
Balanced Diet
Reading your pet’s food labels can help your pet gain a balanced diet. Similar to human food requirements, pets too need a balance of protein, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, fibre and water. These cater to important functions such as energy sourcing, muscle development, brain functioning, strengthening senses, gut health and more. Labels are your assurance that the pet food provides a balanced diet for optimal health. Therefore, read before you invest!
Identifying Potential Allergens
Common Allergens
This can be different in cats and dogs. However, in general, the common allergies in cats are beef, dairy, eggs, wheat, food additives, fish, chicken, lamb, rabbit and so on. In dogs, some common allergies are wheat, chicken, dairy, beef, rabbit, pork and lamb. These reactions can lead to fur falling out, increasing body temperature, itches and more. As a careful pet owner it is your responsibility to read pet food labels more than once and then invest in bulk pet food containers.
Recognizing Allergens
Identifying pet allergens is as important as reading labels. You may observe your pets reacting differently to a certain type of food than the usual food. This is mostly because your pets are facing an allergic reaction. Tracing down the ingredients your pet is allergic to can help you avoid that ingredient completely in the future. Some initial stages of allergies are coughing, sneezing, breathing difficulties, rashes and wheezing. They can also choke or find it hard to walk straight. Pay attention to your pet’s responses and take them to the vet before the reaction worsens!
Avoiding Harmful Additives
Artificial additions can increase the shelf life of pet food but reduce the pet food quality in terms of healthiness. This can be quite the risk as it can cause adverse reactions such as inflammations, discomfort, rashes, skin issues and gastrointestinal problems. It can also lead to chronic diseases that may affect their lives on a larger scale. Here are some artificial additives in pet food you must look out for:
Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)
Tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ)
Ethoxyquin
Synthetic food dyes
Synthetic food flavours
Give your pets a safe and healthy pet diet to munch on leisurely. Look for natural and safer alternatives and labels with fewer ingredients.
Ensuring Specific Dietary Needs
Special Diets
Pet food ingredients matter very strongly for pets that have a specific diet plan. Like looking for artificial chemicals, considering your pet’s dietary restrictions are important. For example, if your pet reacts to gluten, opting for gluten-free meals is much advised. Similarly, other restrictions such as grain free, soy free, or dairy free must be considered when choosing your pet’s nutrition. Therefore catering to the need for specialised diets for pets with specific health conditions or dietary needs, such as weight management, renal support, or hypoallergenic diets is quite vital. Remember, reading pet food labels can help you choose wisely!
Consulting a Veterinarian
Consulting with a veterinarian is vital when choosing to change your pet’s diet. They can provide you with advice on your pet’s dietary requirements based on your pet’s performance, activity levels, health, nutritional needs, and other adverse conditions. You can also monitor your pet’s vitals such as weight, blood pressure, breathing and so on. So, once in two months, and whenever needed, vet visits are quite important!
On a Final Note:
As blooming experts in the pet care and nutrition section in Australia, Petbites encourages all our beloved pet owners to read pet food labels thoroughly. Pet food labels can tell you a lot about pet food ingredients, dietary restricted ingredients, additives, allergens and so much more. They can also help you understand if your pet’s food is organic, natural or even genetically modified.
The importance of reading pet food labels is to ensure proper nutrition and health. As pet owners, we encourage you to take your time to understand pet food labels and to make informed decisions. Do your research thoroughly and pay attention to your pet’s responses. Watch to see if your pet is allergic to any of the food that you give them. Remember, your pets’ well-being depends significantly on the quality of their diet and nutrition. Hence, reading pet food labels is as essential as giving your pets the right and quality nutrition.
If you are interested in exploring countless safe and quality pet toys and pet foods, our experts encourage you to browse through our range of products at Petbites. Cheers to happy pet memories!
