Pet food labels: These seven words actually have no legal definitions
Natural, high-quality, and carefully selected are not indicative of quality.
“Natural”, “high-quality”, “selected”, “advanced”, “professional formula”, “nutritional balance” and “no additives” are not mandatory definitions in pet food regulations in most countries and are marketing terms. What is really binding is the order of "complete nutrition", "supplementary food" and the ingredient list.
The correct order to read the label is: 1. Applicable life stages (infancy, adulthood, all stages); 2. Guaranteed analytical values (protein, fat, fiber, moisture); 3. The first five digits in the ingredient list; 4. Whether it meets AAFCO or FEDIAF nutritional standards.
“By-product” itself does not mean inferior quality, it refers to non-muscle tissues such as offal and bone meal, which are nutritionally valuable. But an unknown source (such as "animal by-products") does signal a quality risk.
When importing grain, you need to check whether it has a Chinese label and an import registration certificate number. For so-called "original imports" without formal registration channels, the source and storage conditions cannot be verified.
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