"Best" Cat foods...

[bakaduin]

The source you used for these definitions is not AAFCO, but someone who added their own personal opinions onto the AAFCO definitions. I deleted all the objective facts from the definitions above, and left only the "Author's additions" (read- opinions).

The preservative you may have been referring to under "Fish oil" sounds to me like mixed Tocopherols. AAFCO has defined these as a natural antioxidant, and therefore they qualify as a natural preservative. Whereas Vitamin E, which is classified as a by-product, because it is created in the process of making something else, is not classified as a natural antioxidant/preservative, and cannot be used in "Natural" foods meeting AAFCO standards unless the phrase is added "With added Vitamins and Minerals" after advertising as a Natural pet food.

I think the preservative they were referring to for fish is ethoxyquin. The FDA, in 1997, asked pet foods to lower the amount used in pet foods (from 150 ppm to 75 ppm) because they linked it to raised liver enzymes in some animals. Although this was found in animals that were lactating and eating quite a bit more food than normal.

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[nyanko]

Those are the only ones I've seen that conduct trials that qualify to be written in their AAFCO statement. Plus, a Veterinary Nutritionist confirmed the same info. to us about a week ago, so I'd be interested in which other brands/manufacturers you're speaking of.

I previously worked and currently do genetics research at a nutrition cat colony at UC Davis that runs AAFCO feeding trials for gestation, lactation and growth life stages. In the time I've been there three brands that are not those two have undergone these trials. You'll understand if I can't elaborate for confidentiality reasons, yeah?

So the other brands that do trials don't have their own colonies and hold their own trials, but there are other ways to do it, and that is 100% fact.