Big Changes Coming After Next AAFCO Meeting

just mike · Sep 13, 2012

Items we have discussed many times over have finally become an issue with AAFCO. Calorie count listed on the pet food bags is the major issue here. Very interesting read.

http://www.petfoodindustry.com/Colu...d_changes_to_come_at_next_AAFCO_meeting_.html

catspaw66 · Sep 13, 2012

Please, everyone - read the article. Thank you for posting it, Mike.

mschauer · Sep 13, 2012

It seems calorie information is likely to be added to pet food labels. I welcome that change!

If they also add carbohydrate guarantees, which looks doubtful, that would be great.

just mike · Sep 13, 2012

It's going to be real interesting to see how this all unfolds. I'll be following it closely. I would LOVE to see calorie and carb content on packages. I find myself discussing this with customers all of the time when they are asking questions about Nutro.

jcat · Sep 13, 2012

Very interesting - thank you for posting that! I wonder if this means some U.S. foods which are no longer available in Europe will be imported again?

The proposed revisions of the AAFCO Dog and Cat Food Nutrient Profiles, particularly how they compare to the recently updated Nutritional Guidelines for Cats and Dogs that were published by FEDIAF (the European petfood industry association), will be reviewed in an upcoming column.

The European guidelines (PDF) can be accessed here: Nutrition/FEDIAF

carolina · Sep 13, 2012

It is not opening in my phone, so i cant read it.... I was reading a label from th UK the other day, and it listed the percentage of each meat as well. Will that be added? Or would that be asking for too much :lol3:

mschauer · Sep 13, 2012

Carolina said:
It is not opening in my phone, so i cant read it.... I was reading a label from th UK the other day, and it listed the percentage of each meat as well. Will that be added? Or would that be asking for too much

I don't understand what you mean by "the percentage of each meal"?

carolina · Sep 13, 2012

Because I said meat :dk:
Don't know how that would be hard to understand..... Chicken (4%), beef (3%). Means of that food, 4% is chicken and 3% is beef.

mschauer · Sep 13, 2012

Oh! I misread it. I thought it said 'meal' not 'meat'.

carolina · Sep 13, 2012

I thought so :lol3: I had to go back 3 times to recheck it..... This phone could very well done it! :nod:

jcat · Sep 13, 2012

Carolina said:
It is not opening in my phone, so i cant read it.... I was reading a label from th UK the other day, and it listed the percentage of each meat as well. Will that be added? Or would that be asking for too much :lol3:

Hopefully. If they harmonize the U.S. and European guidelines the percentages should be listed. I've got a can of German grain-free (Grau) right here, and it lists rabbit (at least 30%), beef (at least 20%), duck (at least 18%), meat broth, calcium carbonate.

Calories aren't listed on any of the cans I have.

kittylover23 · Sep 13, 2012

Very interesting article! Thanks for posting! :hugs:

ldg · Sep 13, 2012

Wow - but those percentages of what's in it are great. Wish the AAFCO would adopt THAT one!!!

carolina · Sep 13, 2012

LDG said:
Wow - but those percentages of what's in it are great. Wish the AAFCO would adopt THAT one!!!

I know, right? I bet it would give a lot to think about when pet parents buy their chicken food, and all of the sudden they read "3%" in there :nod: gotta tell you, I was impressed with the UK's label, now apparently it is an EU system, for what i can see from Tricia's post....
I really hope they do the right thing, as will probably be a long while before changes come around again.

just mike · Sep 13, 2012

Carolina said:
It is not opening in my phone, so i cant read it.... I was reading a label from th UK the other day, and it listed the percentage of each meat as well. Will that be added? Or would that be asking for too much

I'll be happy if we get baby steps on this one

Calorie and carb count would be a huge boost. Meat percentage would be like a gift from the Gods

auntie crazy · Sep 14, 2012

I know a lot of folks are looking for this info, but I'm not impressed. This information isn't going to be as helpful as most think.

Calories from animal-based protein and fat are almost all converted into the energy needed by cats to grow, maintain and repair every system in their bodies, while calories from carbs are almost exclusively converted into body fat.

So (purely as an example) a product with 300 calories from carbs and 100 from animal protein and fat - for a total of 400 calories - might make a cat fat without providing the energy needed for true health, while a product with the same total number of calories but a reversed ratio - 300 calories from animal protein and fat and 100 calories from carbs - will result in a thinner, stronger, more energetic and healthy kitty.

Furthermore, a cat can lose weight and be healthier even when transitioned to a higher calorie product if the new product contains a higher animal protein / lower carbohydrate ratio.

For cats on commercial food products, it's really more important where the calories come from than it is how many calories they're eating, and you're never going to see that kind of break-down on a commercial cat food product.

It's nice to see consumer pressure is being felt, but I would like to see AAFCO taking steps to facilitate healthier foods instead of simply responding to the letter of the pressure they're under.

Best regards.

AC

mschauer · Sep 15, 2012

Auntie Crazy said:
I know a lot of folks are looking for this info, but I'm not impressed. This information isn't going to be as helpful as most think.

Calories from animal-based protein and fat are almost all converted into the energy needed by cats to grow, maintain and repair every system in their bodies, while calories from carbs are almost exclusively converted into body fat.

I'm aware that cats don't utilize carbohydrates as efficiently as other animals but I've never read any where that almost all carbohydrate calories consumed by a cat get converted to fat.

I'd love to know where you found that information. I currently have an overweight foster and that information could be useful to me.

just mike · Sep 15, 2012

Auntie Crazy said:
I know a lot of folks are looking for this info, but I'm not impressed. This information isn't going to be as helpful as most think.

Calories from animal-based protein and fat are almost all converted into the energy needed by cats to grow, maintain and repair every system in their bodies, while calories from carbs are almost exclusively converted into body fat.

So (purely as an example) a product with 300 calories from carbs and 100 from animal protein and fat - for a total of 400 calories - might make a cat fat without providing the energy needed for true health, while a product with the same total number of calories but a reversed ratio - 300 calories from animal protein and fat and 100 calories from carbs - will result in a thinner, stronger, more energetic and healthy kitty.

Furthermore, a cat can lose weight and be healthier even when transitioned to a higher calorie product if the new product contains a higher animal protein / lower carbohydrate ratio.

For cats on commercial food products, it's really more important where the calories come from than it is how many calories they're eating, and you're never going to see that kind of break-down on a commercial cat food product.

It's nice to see consumer pressure is being felt, but I would like to see AAFCO taking steps to facilitate healthier foods instead of simply responding to the letter of the pressure they're under.

Best regards.

AC

Actually I think it is going to be quite helpful to the general public. Few of them are as educated regarding nutrition as many of the people on this forum and it will be a big step in helping them educate themselves.

If I was telling a customer what you are discussing right now about calories, carbs, protein and utilization their eyes would glaze over. So in that regard I feel it will be very a very useful educational tool.

I, like mschaucer, would also like to know what data you have regarding the statement "calories from carbs are almost exclusively converted into body fat.". Having that data at hand would be very useful. I have not read this in any of the publications I've ever read, that I can remember anyway. Thanks in advance for your help with this.

carolina · Sep 15, 2012

This article explains well: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/zorans_article.pdf

jcat · Sep 16, 2012

Carolina said:
This article explains well: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/zorans_article.pdf

To quote from the above article:

The natural diet of cats in the wild is a meat-based regimen (eg, rodents, birds) that contains little CHO; thus, cats are metabolically adapted to preferentially use protein and fat as energy sources

Thus, additional starch in the diet that is not stored as muscle glycogen or used for energy is stored as fat.

Perhaps it would be better to say "for the most part" rather than "almost exclusively", as there are some people who might interpret the latter as meaning that cats should never consume any carbohydrates.

Carolina said:
I was impressed with the UK's label, now apparently it is an EU system, for what i can see from Tricia's post....

Yeah, that applies to the entire EU. I've got German, British and Italian food here, and all of them have the composition (with percentages), additives (if any), analysis of the constituents (moisture, crude protein, etc.), feeding guide, batch number and factory number, plus best before date. Larger cans sometimes have more info, e.g., exact indications of vitamins and minerals, and everything in several European languages.

Big Changes Coming After Next AAFCO Meeting

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