FEDIAF Introduces New Nutritional Guidelines For Dogs And Cats
The European Federation of the Pet Food Industry (FEDIAF) is an organization that, since its founding in 1970, has played a representative role in the pet food industry in Europe. His work brings together 26 European countries – belonging or not to the European Union – and represents 95% of feed producing companies.
In September 2020, FEDIAF introduced a new nutritional guide with guidelines for feeding dogs and cats. The document was released at the Congress of the European Society for Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition (ESVCN), held virtually. Below you will find the most relevant information about this new guide.
What is the purpose of FEDIAF?
One of the main objectives of the European Federation of the Animal Food Industry (FEDIAF) is to fight for animal welfare. This is achieved by offering foods that contain the optimal amount of nutrients.
These foods must have an optimal nutritional balance. In this case, in terms of production, the food health of pets is achieved thanks to new nutritional guidelines for dogs and cats, generated annually and with the support of scientists and technological advances.
Likewise, FEDIAF ensures that nutritional guidelines are developed by a competent team of researchers and scientists. The new nutrition guide contains the most advanced knowledge of dog and cat nutrition, enabling feed manufacturers to ensure balanced and safe production for pets in thousands of European households.
On the other hand, the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of FEDIAF is the body in charge of interpreting and evaluating the most recent scientific research. Its aim is to ensure that nutrient recommendations in nutrition guides and documents are as up-to-date as possible. For this reason, the guidelines for this project included two researchers with extensive knowledge in the veterinary field.
The first was Charlotte Reinhard Bjørnvad from Denmark, who has experience with metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes mellitus in pets. Second place went to Portuguese Ana Luísa Lourenço, who has experience in nutrition and physiology. With these positions, the SAB’s board of directors was transferred to 12 people, who seek to keep the guides updated.
What’s new in the FEDIAF guide?
In addition to providing recommendations on minimum and maximum nutrient levels in commercial dog and cat food, the new dog and cat nutritional guidebook contains valuable information for assessing the nutritional value of pet foods and recommendations on their energy contribution .
The guide also reflects the amounts of essential nutrients found in commercial products. In this way, animal guardians will have more information to decide which product to buy, in order to ensure adequate and safe food through long-term consumption.
Safety levels in nutritional guides for dogs and cats
Likewise, this document presents a safety margin in the minimum recommended nutritional levels. Thus, the prevention of deficiencies in pets due to animal variations and nutrient interactions is encouraged. This measure was proposed for ingredients with normal digestibility in dogs and cats, with protein digestion greater than 80%.
The maximum measures in the document are those allowed under EU legislation in this area of veterinary medicine. However, FEDIAF provides clarification on pet foods whose nutrient levels are outside the document’s recommendations. The institution argues that these may be adequate, depending on the justification given by the manufacturer regarding their suitability and safety.
As you have seen, FEDIAF strives to ensure that pets have a balanced and, above all, safe diet . The digestion of dogs and cats is a protagonist in the nutritional guidelines that are established thanks to the work of several scientists, who always seek to ensure that the food industries follow the recommendations.
