Pet Care - Dietary Information - How to Compare Wet & Dry Foods

How to Compare Wet & Dry Foods

There is often confusion (even among some vets!) when comparing the contents of a dried food such as Burns to moist canned foods.

For example, Burns adult Maintenance diets have a protein content of 18.5%, however a can of dog food may state a protein level of 8%, which obviously appears much less.

This protein level is not comparable with Burns because it does not take into consideration the dry matter/ moisture content of the food.

Typical moist canned food analysis:

Protein 8%
Fat 6%
Moisture 75% (dry matter is 25%)

Typical dry food analysis:

Protein 20%
Fat 10%
Moisture 10% (dry matter is 90%)

The canned food states a moisture (water) content of 75%. This means all the nutrients in the food are in the other 25%. This 25% is called dry matter.

Canned dog food:

Percentage of protein: 8 ÷ 25 x 100 = 32% protein on a dry matter basis

Percentage of fat: 6 ÷ 25 x 100 = 24% fat on a dry matter basis

Dry dog food:

Percentage of protein: 20 ÷ 90 x 100 = 22.2% protein on a dry matter basis
Percentage of fat: 10 ÷ 90 x 100 = 11.1% fat on a dry matter basis
Although, the canned food says it contains only 8% protein, when calculated on a dry matter basis the protein level is actually 32%.