How to Read a Dog or Cat Food Label in the UK

Pet food packaging is designed to catch your eye, so it helps to know which parts of the label carry legal weight and which are front-of-pack styling. This guide covers the sections that matter when you're comparing foods for your dog or cat, starting with the small print on the back.

What the law requires of a UK pet food label

In the UK, all information on a pet food label must be truthful and not misleading about the nature and quality of the product. Beyond that, the label must say whether the food is complete or complementary, which species it's intended for, and how to feed it. It must also carry a batch number or date of manufacture, along with the name and address of the company responsible.

Complete or complementary: check this first

This is the first thing to look for, because it tells you whether the food is meant to be a main meal. A complete food is formulated to provide every nutrient a dog needs as the sole diet. A complementary food isn't nutritionally complete and is meant to be fed alongside other food.

Many treats, meat toppers and some wet foods are complementary, so a tin that looks like dinner isn't necessarily a full meal. Feeding a complementary food as a complete diet long term can cause nutritional deficiencies, so look for the word complete before something becomes the daily meal.

Complete isn't the whole story, though. The industry's nutritional guidelines detail the nutritional needs of cats and dogs at varying life stages, and the label also says which species the food is for, so match the intended species and life stage to your pet.

Ingredient order and category names

Ingredients must be listed in descending order by weight. Manufacturers can either name each ingredient or use category names set out in the regulations, such as 'meat and animal derivatives', 'cereals' and 'derivatives of vegetable origin'. They can't mix the two styles in one list, and if an ingredient doesn't fall into a prescribed category, it has to be named.

A category term is permitted label language, but it doesn't disclose the exact recipe. 'Meat and animal derivatives', for example, won't tell you which animal the meat came from.

Order isn't a quality score either, because an early ingredient can contain substantial water, so ingredient order is not a nutrient ranking.

What 'with chicken' means

When a label draws particular attention to an ingredient, such as 'with chicken', the percentage of that ingredient must also be listed. If the front of the pack names an ingredient, look for the matching figure in the composition list to see how much of it is declared. That figure doesn't tell you whether the food suits your pet overall, which is what the complete statement, species and life stage are for.

Analytical constituents and moisture

This section reports laboratory-style measures on an as-fed basis. Labels must list the percentages of crude proteins, crude oils and fats and crude fibre. Moisture must be given when it exceeds 14%, so you may not see it on drier foods.

Crude ash is listed too, and it represents the mineral content of the food. It can appear under the name 'crude ash', 'incinerated residue' or 'inorganic matter'.

Moisture is why you can't compare a pouch of wet food with a bag of dry on the percentages alone. Comparing wet and dry percentages without moisture context is a common trap, because wet food is mostly water and its protein figure can look tiny next to dry food.

Feeding guides are a starting amount

Directions for use are a legal part of the label, but you should read the feeding guide as a starting amount, not an individual prescription. If the label doesn't give calories or a typical nutrient analysis and you'd find that useful, you can ask the manufacturer.

It's also worth photographing the full label before you throw the pack away. Keep the batch and date visible if your pet becomes unwell or the product seems different.

When to involve your vet

A label is general information. It can't account for examination findings, diagnoses, medicines or an individual feeding history. Involve your vet when health or an unexpected change is part of the question, for example if your pet has a medical condition, or has become unwell or seems different after a change of food. Have the batch details to hand when you call.