Updates to FEDIAF Guidelines

The updated 2021 FEDIAF, a widely accepted set of guidelines, in the EU, have recently been released. There are several differences between AAFCO and FEDIAF guidelines. For instance, FEDIAF guidelines have specific requirements for more life stages within the guidelines, which are broken into early growth, late growth, growth and reproduction, and adulthood for cats and dogs. In addition, the requirements are different based on intake. Cats have minimum requirements listed for adult maintenance based on an intake of 75 kcal/kg^0.67 or 100 kcal/ kg^0.67 and dog requirements are based either on 95 kcal/kg^0.75 or 110 kcal/kg^0.75. While two dogs who each weighing 10 kg, may need the same nutrients based on body weight, the caloric intake can be vastly different depending on activity levels. In addition, there are some maximums present in FEDIAF guidelines, which are not present in AAFCO guidelines including an arginine max for growing kittens and a lysine max for growing puppies.

Some noted updates for 2021, including lowering of calcium and phosphorus minimum requirements for cats with a note reading, “The bioavailability of minerals should be carefully considered in diet formulas where the concentration of these nutrients is close to the recommended amounts. For example, in high fibre diets and in formulas where plant based raw materials rich in phytate are used as the main source of phosphorus.” Another update was to the minimum selenium concentration for adult dogs and cats with a separate requirement for wet and dry formulations. These are compared below.

The calcium, phosphorus, and selenium minimums for AAFCO and FEDIAF

 

Calcium	Units	FEDIAF	AAFCO
Adult Cat	Percent DM	0.4-0.53	0.6
	g/Mcal	1-1.33	1.5
Cat Growth/Reproduction	Percent DM	1	1
	g/Mcal	2.5	2.5
Adult Dog	Percent DM	0.5-0.58	0.5
	g/Mcal	1.25-1.45	1.25
Dog Growth/Reproduction	Percent DM	0.8-1	1.2
	g/Mcal	2-2.5	3

 

Phosphorus	Units	FEDIAF	AAFCO
Adult Cat	Percent DM	0.26-0.35	0.5
	g/Mcal	0.64-0.85	1.25
Cat Growth/Reproduction	Percent DM	0.84	0.8
	g/Mcal	2.1	2
Adult Dog	Percent DM	0.4-0.46	0.4
	g/Mcal	1-1.16	1
Dog Growth/Reproduction	Percent DM	0.7-0.9	1

 

Selenium (wet diets)	Units	FEDIAF	AAFCO
Adult Cat	mcg/100 g DM	26-35	60
	mcg/Mcal	65-87.5	75
Cat Growth/Reproduction	mcg/100 g DM	30	180
	mcg/Mcal	75	75
Adult Dog	mcg/100 g DM	23-27	35
	mcg/Mcal	57.5-67.5	80
Dog Growth/Reproduction	mcg/100 g DM	40	35
	mcg/Mcal	100	90

 

Selenium (dry diets)	Units	FEDIAF	AAFCO
Adult Cat	mcg/100 g DM	21-28	60
	mcg/Mcal	52.5-70	75
Cat Growth/Reproduction	mcg/100 g DM	30	180
	mcg/Mcal	75	75
Adult Dog	mcg/100 g DM	18-22	35
	mcg/Mcal	45-55	80
Dog Growth/Reproduction	mcg/100 g DM	40	35
	mcg/Mcal	100	90

^*DM – Dry matter

While some of these guidelines may appear to be straightforward, each guideline references compliance to multiple regulations, and each of those seeks compliance for another regulation, and so on. Therefore, it can be quite cumbersome to ensure all regulations are being adhered to. It is imperative that these alterations and differences be noted for regulatory purposes, but formulators should also keep in mind the research that goes into making these recommendations and consider which guidelines may be most appropriate for the health of all pets.

References

1. FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines. 2021. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DhbudI3I_RxBh6BOqAWx5aAosbzn3Q-F/view.
2. AAFCO Online Official Publication. 2021. https://www.aafco.org/Publications.

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About the Author

BSM Partners’ Production Innovation, Nutrition, and Regulatory Services teamed up to summarize key points on minimums. Together, their combined experience in formulation, nutrition, and regulatory guidelines is more than four decades of experience.