Page 174 - Raw Diet References Book 2019

Proposed Revisions Edited per Comments for 2014 Official Publication 7

c
ND – Not Determined. While a minimum requirement has not been determined,
sufficient amounts of omega-3 fatty acids are necessary to meet the maximum
omega-6:omega-3 fatty acid ratio.
d Average apparent digestibility for iron associated with recommended minimums is
20% of that consumed. Because of very poor apparent digestibility, iron from
carbonate or oxide sources that are added to the diet should not be considered in
determining the minimum nutrient concentration for iron.
e Because of very poor apparent digestibility, copper from oxide sources that are
added to the diet should not be considered in determining the minimum nutrient
concentration for copper.
f
It is recommended that the ratio of IU of vitamin E to grams of polyunsaturated fatty
acids (PUFA) be > 0.6:1. A diet containing 50 IU of vitamin E will have a ratio of >
0.6:1 when the PUFA content is 83 grams or less. Diets containing more than 83
grams of PUFA should contain an additional 0.6 IU of vitamin E for every gram of
PUFA.
g Because processing may destroy up to 90% of the thiamine in the diet, allowances in
formulation should be made to ensure the minimum nutrient concentration for
thiamine is met after processing.

CHANGES TO AND RATIONALE FOR NUTRIENT CONCENTRATIONS -
DOG FOODS

CALORIC DENSITY
The 2007 AAFCO Canine Nutrition Expert Subcommittee (CNES) chose to set the
presumed caloric density for dog food products at 4000 kcal metabolizable energy
(ME) per kilogram (kg) dry matter (DM) for both the nutrient concentrations per kg
DM and the nutrient amounts per 1000 kcal ME in order to be consistent with the
1
presumed caloric density used in the 2006 Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats
and in the current AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles. Prior to the 2014 revisions to
the Profiles, the presumed caloric density for dog foods was set at 3500 kcal ME/kg
DM for nutrient concentrations per kg DM and at 4500 kcal ME/kg DM for nutrient
amounts per 1000 kcal ME, although mathematical conversion between the two tables
was accomplished using 3500 kcal/kg DM as the caloric density. The presumed
caloric density is not a minimum or a maximum content that a product must meet to
reference the profiles, but it does dictate the factor used to convert between expressions
of nutrient content per kg DM versus per 1000 kcal ME and the minimum
concentrations of required nutrients in complete and balanced products. Because the
denominator for converting from concentrations per kg DM to amounts per 1000 kcal
ME has increased from 3.5 to 4.0, values in the per 1000 kcal ME table in some
instances may appear less than corresponding values listed prior to 2014 even though
DM concentrations may not have changed or even increased slightly. Corrections to
amounts of nutrients in formulations differing in caloric density from the presumed
value of 4000 kcal ME/kg DM are discussed below.

PROTEIN
The minimum concentration of protein for growth and reproduction was increased
slightly from 22% to 22.5% DM consistent with the RA for growth established by the
1
2006 NRC. The minimum concentration in the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profile
for Adult Maintenance was not changed from the previous value of 18%.
The CNES established minimum recommended amounts for the essential amino
acids methionine and phenylalanine consistent with the RA proposed by the NRC in
addition to the previous minimum recommended amounts of methionine plus cystine