AAFCO

Key points

AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) publishes the American nutritional profiles for dog and cat foods [1]. They are what stands behind the "complete and balanced" claim on pet food labels in the USA. Just like the European FEDIAF, these are requirements of the commercial pet food market, not a description of the body's needs.

In BARFLAB, AAFCO serves as an additional control point. The basis of the assessment remains NRC, described in a separate article [2].

Min/max on dry matter

AAFCO profiles give values mainly on a dry matter (DM) basis — that is, after subtracting water — and often specify both a minimum and a maximum for a given nutrient [1] [3]. Maxima are important where excess is risky, e.g. for calcium or certain vitamins. BARFLAB converts the diet so it can be compared against this approach.

How to read it in BARFLAB

If a diet does not fit within the AAFCO profile, this is supplementary information [1]. It may show the difference between a fresh diet and the standard for commercial foods from the USA, but on its own it does not mean that the BARF diet is wrong. Some of the discrepancies stem from the fact that AAFCO assumes processed food with a digestibility different from that of raw meat [3].

What to remember

AAFCO and FEDIAF answer the same question on two sides of the Atlantic: "would this pass as a correct commercial food". Whether the body gets what it needs — we check that through NRC.

Sources

AAFCO. Reading Labels. https://www.aafco.org/consumers/understanding-pet-food/reading-labels/
National Research Council (2006). Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. National Academies Press. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10668/nutrient-requirements-of-dogs-and-cats
Association of American Feed Control Officials. AAFCO Dog and Cat Food Nutrient Profiles. https://www.aafco.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Pet_Food_Report_2013_Annual-Appendix_B.pdf