Technical guides: the standards and terms that decide market access.
Plain-English explanations of FEDIAF, AAFCO, IS 11968, AS 5812 and EU feed law — and the label and laboratory terms buyers, regulators and retailers use — each linked to the official source.
The standards we formulate to.
Each opens the official publication. Final responsibility for product compliance rests with the brand owner placing the product on the market.
Nutrient recommendations for complete and complementary foods for cats and dogs, by life stage, per 100 g dry matter, 1000 kcal and MJ.
USAAFCO Dog and Cat Food Nutrient Profiles ↗Minimum and maximum nutrient levels for growth and reproduction, adult maintenance and all life stages, on a dry-matter and per-1000 kcal basis. AAFCO publishes profiles; it does not certify products.
IndiaIS 11968:2019 ↗The Bureau of Indian Standards specification for dog and cat food: composition, quality and labelling requirements.
AustraliaAS 5812:2023 ↗Australian Standard for the manufacturing and marketing of pet food, covering hygiene, processing and labelling.
EURegulation (EC) No 767/2009 ↗Rules on placing feed on the market, including the labelling of complete and complementary pet food.
EURegulation (EC) No 1831/2003 ↗Authorisation and use of feed additives — the source of the identification numbers declared on EU labels.
US21 CFR Part 507 ↗FDA Preventive Controls for Animal Food: hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls for facilities.
JapanPet Food Safety Act ↗Japan’s law on the safety of dog and cat food, with standards for ingredients, additives and labelling.
Label, laboratory and regulatory terms.
The words that appear in specifications, test reports and regulatory reviews — defined and sourced.
- Complete food
- A pet food that, fed alone, supplies all the nutrients a dog or cat needs for its stated life stage. Called “complete and balanced” in the US. FEDIAF ↗
- Complementary food
- A food with a high level of some nutrients that is not sufficient alone and is fed with other foods — treats, toppers and most supplements. Reg. (EC) 767/2009 ↗
- Nutritional adequacy statement
- The label statement that says whether a food is complete and for which life stage, and how that was substantiated — by formulation to a profile or by feeding trial. AAFCO ↗
- Nutrient profile
- A table of minimum (and some maximum) nutrient levels a food must meet, expressed on a dry-matter or energy basis. AAFCO ↗
- Dry-matter basis
- Nutrient content after removing water, so foods with different moisture levels can be compared. Worked calculation → AAFCO ↗
- Metabolisable energy (ME)
- The energy available to the animal after losses in faeces and urine; usually calculated with modified Atwater factors or NRC equations. NRC 2006 ↗
- Analytical constituents
- The EU and UK label declaration of protein, fat, fibre and ash (and moisture above 14%). In the US, the guaranteed analysis. Reg. (EC) 767/2009 ↗
- Nitrogen-free extract (NFE)
- An estimate of digestible carbohydrate, calculated by difference: 100 minus moisture, protein, fat, fibre and ash. NRC 2006 ↗
- Pet Nutrition Facts box
- AAFCO’s modernised US label format, replacing the guaranteed analysis with a standardised nutrition panel and intended-use statement. AAFCO PFLM ↗
- Feed additive identification number
- The EU register code (for example 3b606 for a zinc source) that identifies an authorised additive on the label. Reg. (EC) 1831/2003 ↗
- Preventive controls
- The US food safety plan required of animal-food facilities: hazard analysis, controls, monitoring and verification. 21 CFR 507 ↗
- GMP
- Good Manufacturing Practice — documented hygiene, process and quality systems for manufacturing; all Guires PNL manufacturing is at GMP-certified partner facilities.
- NABL accreditation
- Accreditation of Indian testing laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025 by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories.
- CFU
- Colony-forming units — the count of viable bacteria or yeasts in a probiotic, which must be met through shelf life, not only at manufacture.
- Two-bowl (paired preference) test
- A palatability test offering two foods at once and measuring intake ratio and first choice. Guide: palatability study design →
- Apparent digestibility
- The share of a nutrient eaten that does not appear in the faeces — a measure of how well a food is used. Digestibility studies →
How the work is done.
Step-by-step guides from our scientists on energy calculation, palatability design, labels and launching in each market.
Checklists for product teams.
Practical guides from our formulation, testing and regulatory teams. Enter your business email to receive them.
Need a standard applied to your product?
Our regulatory and formulation teams check recipes, labels and claims against each market’s rules.
Every Guires PNL product is formulated to comply with the FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines and the AAFCO Dog and Cat Food Nutrient Profiles. Neither body issues certificates to manufacturers, so compliance is verified independently against their published standards — and every product comes with a complete documentation package for regulatory submissions in the EU, US, Australia and Asian markets.
How we verify compliance →