What counts as pet food

Pet food refers to any compound feed or feed material intended for non-food producing animals such as cats, dogs, and other pets, including complete, complementary, or treats designed for specific nutritional purposes. It includes dry kibble, wet food, treats, and novel diets, but certain products may also fall under other regimes—such as animal by-products or organic production—or be classified as specific nutritional products.

Core obligations include:

• Confirming whether products qualify as pet food, feed materials, or require special authorisation.

• Designing to meet feed safety, hygiene, and nutritional requirements, using relevant standards where possible.

• Maintaining a technical file with HACCP plans, risk assessments, composition data (Ingredients/Product specification, Certificate of Analysis, Certificate of Conformity), and relevant documentation.

• Conducting quality control, traceability checks, and ensuring notified body involvement where required for certain claims.

• Issuing and retaining a statutory statement or declaration referencing applicable legislation and compositional standards.

Markings and information

General labelling: Type of feed, e.g. “feed material”, “complete feed”, or “complementary feed”. For pets other than cats and dogs, this may be replaced by “compound feed”. The term “pet food” is also permitted.
Business name and address of the responsible feed operator (i.e. manufacturer), Establishment or registered factory approval number, Batch or reference number, Net quantity, List of feed additives, introduced by the heading “Additives”, Moisture content, if greater than 14%.

Specific mandatory labelling: Species or category of animals for which the feed is intended, Instructions for proper use, stating purpose and feeding guidelines (e.g. per animal per day or % of total daily ration), Where the manufacturer is not responsible for the labelling, the name and address of the producer or identification number, “use before DD/MM/YY” for highly perishable feed or “best before MM/YY” for other feed, Composition: listing all feed materials in descending order by weight (based on moisture), Analytical Constituents: compulsory declarations of crude protein, crude oils/fats, crude fibre, and crude ash, Contact details (e.g. telephone number) must be provided for purchasers seeking clarification on feed additives or composition, all information must be permanent, conspicuous, and legible, given in the appropriate national language(s), and not obscured by other content.

How we can help

We ensure that your labelling and presentation are compliant and do not mislead the consumer regarding the nature, durability, composition, or the intended species. Pet food follows the “mixing bowl” concept used in food, but with distinct differences: you must declare “Composition” rather than “Ingredients”, and nutritional and feeding guidelines follow pet‑specific rules.

Our experts review designs, risk assessments and technical documentation, and benchmark against essential health and safety standards. We also assess third‑party testing, prepare Declarations of Conformity, and provide training and regulatory updates.

With tailored, end‑to‑end support, CERT helps you place pet food articles on the EU and UK markets that are safe, compliant and fully supported by robust documentation and expert guidance.