Stamping down on pet food labelling: a checklist for producers

Author: Sophie Prentice

21st March 2024

Sciantec

Agriculture

If you’re a pet food producer, you need to put the right information on your packaging. This ensures consumers have clear, concise, and honest information on the composition, use, and characteristics of the products they are purchasing. In turn, this helps with brand recognition and trust: if customers are certain about the products they are choosing to purchase, with no hidden ingredients and minimal variation, they are more likely to come back time and time again.

What do you need to know about pet food labels? Read on to find out more about labelling standards, a comprehensive checklist detailing what you need to put on your pet food product’s label, and how Sciantec can help.

What are the labelling standards for pet food?

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for animal feed legislation in the UK. This also covers the manufacture of feed for non-food producing animals, including pet food and pet treats. Non-food producing animals include, but are not limited to: animals in captivity (zoos and circuses); wild animals (such as hedgehogs or birds); and pets.

All information on pet food labels must be accurate and follow specific industry standards. All information given on a pet food label must be truthful and not misleading about the nature and quality of the product.

Additionally, feed labelling legislation permits pet food manufacturers to highlight the presence or absence of a certain ingredients and to provide additional information (beyond the statutory minimum required) for purchasers.

The supplementary information is subject to certain safeguards. It must contain objective and quantifiable factors which can be proved, and it shouldn’t mislead purchasers or make medicinal claims. These safeguards ensure that pet food product labels contain the ingredients as stated on the label.

Pet food labelling checklist

The law requires a statutory statement to be put on every label or package which must contain certain obligatory declarations. All pet food labels must clearly state:

1.       Whether the product is complete or complementary and wet, dry or raw

2.       The species for which the product is intended

3.       Directions for use/feeding instructions

4.       Analytical constituents, where the following must be listed:

• % of crude proteins
• % of crude oils & fats
• % of crude fibre
• % of moisture in the product when it exceeds 14%
• % of crude ash*

*Ash represents the mineral content of the food and is determined chemically by the burning of the product. The percentage of ash is labelled as one of the following terms: ‘crude ash’, ‘incinerated residue’ or ‘inorganic matter’.

Sciantec tests for analytical constituents with our proximate analysis service, and we have options for different methods depending on customer requirements.

5.       Composition

The ingredients on a pet food label must be listed in descending order by weight. They can be indicated using category names, which are laid down by the regulations, such as ‘meat and animal derivatives’, ‘cereals’, and ‘derivatives of vegetable origin’.

Alternatively, ingredients can be listed by their individual names on the label. When an ingredient is used that does not fall into any of the prescribed categories, its name must be listed.

In all other circumstances, mixing individual and category names in the ingredients list is prohibited.

If particular attention is drawn to a specific ingredient on the label (e.g. “with chicken”), the percentage of that ingredient component must also be listed.

6.       Additives, vitamins and minerals

If preservatives, antioxidants, vitamins or colourants have been added to the product, their presence may be declared on the label.

Additives, vitamins and minerals have complicated rules, with varying degrees of requirements. For more information, read the FEDIAF guidelines here.

Sciantec reports results in the units our customers require, such as IU or mg/kg.

7.       ‘Best Before’ or ‘Expiry’ date

These dates indicate the minimum storage life of the product. The month and year must be shown.

The ‘Best Before’ date refers to the quality of the product. For example, after the date, the product’s texture may have changed, or it may be duller in colour or not as tasty as it would have been before the date.

The ‘Expiry’ date, in comparison, is about the safety of the product. For example, the bacteria levels may have risen to levels that would be detrimental if ingested.

We offer a bespoke shelf-life service designed and conducted to meet individual manufacturer and labelling requirements, including mapping sample stability and packaging durability. This is available for both raw and processed pet food, depending on customer needs.

8.       Bar code

This is not a legal requirement but allows for information about sales, stocks, or other extrinsic product information.

9.       Batch Number

A batch number or the date of manufacture must be given to facilitate the traceability of the product (the ability to identify, track and trace the elements of a product as it moves along the supply chain). This may be given either in the statutory statement or elsewhere on the package/label/container, in which case the statutory statement shall indicate where it can be found.

10.   Net weight

11.   Name and Address

This is the name and address of the company responsible for the products. It may refer to a manufacturer, packer, importer, seller or distributor.

How Sciantec can help

With over 30 years’ expertise in animal feed analysis and our extensive experience in the animal feed sector, we work closely with clients to ensure they meet labelling requirements and make the best products for their customers.

Our pet food services include all the analysis services listed above, from microbiology and nutritional analysis to undesirable substances and quality indicator analysis. We also offer a bespoke shelf-life service designed and conducted to meet individual manufacturer and labelling requirements, including mapping sample stability and packaging durability.

Our analysis is objective and quantifiable, and our services come with official reports. As an independent laboratory with a broad range of UKAS accredited services, our results are reputable, accurate and reliable. All our tests are appropriate for quality control, product development, and FEDIAF guidelines.

Contact us today for a quote.