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Discrepancy between the composition of some commercial cat foods and their package labelling and suitability for meeting nutritional requirements
Author(s) -
Gosper EC,
Raubenheimer D,
MachovskyCapuska GE,
Chaves AV
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
australian veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1751-0813
pISSN - 0005-0423
DOI - 10.1111/avj.12397
Subject(s) - labelling , composition (language) , food science , food composition data , chemistry , biochemistry , art , literature , orange (colour)
Objective To investigate if the label information and nutrient composition of commercial cat foods are accurate and compliant with the Australian Standard (AS 5812–2011) and if they meet the nutritional requirements of an adult cat. Methods A chemical analysis of 10 wet and 10 dry commercial cat foods labelled as ‘nutritionally complete’ for the adult cat was performed. The results were compared with the package composition values, the Australian Standard and the unique dietary requirements of the cat. In addition, the results of the chemical analysis were compared with the nutrient requirements published by the Association of the American Feed Control Officials and the National Research Council. Results When compared with the Australian Standard, 9 of the 20 cat foods did not adhere to their ‘guaranteed analysis’ and 8 did not adhere to the standards for nutrient composition. Also, various deficiencies and excesses of crude protein, crude fat, fatty acid and amino acid were observed in the majority of the cat foods. Conclusions The results of this study highlight a need for an improved method of ensuring that label information and nutrient composition are accurate and comply with the Australian Standard (AS 5812–2011) to ensure the adult cat's unique dietary requirements are being met by commercial adult cat food.