What is AAFCO?

Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) was developed in September of 1909 and is responsible for pet feed laws and regulations. Although AAFCO is not an enforcement agency, they have developed and revised regulatory requirements to incorporate the latest scientific data and manufacturing techniques and technology to the pet food industry. This might include things such as encouraging good manufacturing practices, feed labeling and ingredient definitions.

There are a variety of committee’s within AAFCO that have a wide knowledge base from the active members. Directors, members and advisors, to name a few come from organizations such as; the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA), Pet Food Institute, American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN), Cargill, American Feed Industry Association and Association of Public Health Laboratories. Given the well-rounded involvement and the expertise within each committee you can rest assured that every aspect of pet food is carefully reviewed and standards are recommended while having the best interest of your pet in mind.

Every bag of commercially prepared pet food sold within stores requires an AAFCO label. Companies have two options to describe how they created their formulation for the specific pet food being sold.

Option 1: “(Given pet food) is formulated to meet nutritional levels established by the AAFCO cat/dog food nutrient profiles for (life stage) of dog/cat.”

Option 2: “Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that (Given pet food) provides complete and balanced nutrition for maintenance of (life stage) dog/cat.”

The wording may vary slightly between the two statements, but the word(s) to take note of are bolded above. When a company states they “formulated” the diet this means that they are following the written recommendations that AAFCO has put in place to deem the diet safe.

If the company says “animal feeding tests” then they have fed the diet according to an AAFCO protocol to dogs or cats. The importance and value of the animal feeding tests confirms that while feeding this diet to dogs or cats there were no severe adverse side effects. When simply formulating the diet to meet AAFCO requirements you can’t determine if ingredients are digestible, bioavailable, or interfere with each other. This is not to say that the diet “formulated” is a bad or a wrong choice, just be aware that the diet has not previously been tested on the appropriate species (dog or cat).

If you would like to learn more about AAFCO and their impact on pet food manufacturing please visit www.AAFCO.org.