Common Ingredients Used In Pet Food

The ingredients declaration on pet food packaging varies according to legislation in place within a country. In Europe, ingredients can be grouped together under a category term. For example, many minerals can be included under the additives category rather than naming them individually, and ingredients sourced from animals can be included under the group term meat and animal derivatives (Table 1).

TABLE 1: Ingredient categories within Europe - defined by EU Commission Directive 98/67/EC
Term	Definition	Example Ingredients
Meat & animal derivatives	all the fleshy parts of slaughtered warm-blooded land animals fresh or preserved by appropriate treatment and all products or derivatives of the processing of the carcass or parts of the carcase of warm-blooded land animals	pork, beef, lamb muscle meat, organs such as lung, heart, kidney, liver, chicken muscle meat, carcass, chicken necks, heads, feet, chicken meal, poultry by-product meal
Milk & milk derivatives	all milk products fresh or preserved by appropriate treatment, and derivatives from the processing thereof	whole semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, milk solids, curds, whey, milk powder, casein, caseinate, milk protein, hydrolyzed milk protein, yoghurt
Eggs & egg derivatives	all egg products fresh or preserved by appropriate treatment and derivatives from the processing thereof	whole egg, dried egg, frozen egg, egg yolk, egg white, albumin, egg powder, globulin
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Alternatively, a European pet food manufacturer may choose to provide a full ingredients list. Since labelling legislation varies from country to country, pet food manufacturers may be required to list all ingredients. For example, in the USAa pet food manufacturer must list all ingredients used providing information about any process used to make the ingredients and the chemical names where appropriate (for example, pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6). A glossary of commonly used ingredients in the EU is provided in Table 2.

Table 1 – Category terms within the European Union

Details in Excel spreadsheet (sheet 3)

Table 2a – Glossary of common ingredients used to make wet pet food in Europe

Details in Excel spreadsheet (Sheet 1)

Table 2b – Glossary of common ingredients used to make dry food in Europe

Details in Excel spreadsheet (Sheet 2)