Chelsea Kent discusses the comparison of using HPP and natural ways to ensure food safety. 

TESTED NUTRIENTS AND CONTAMINANTS:

The science around HPP shows that the nutrients that have been proven to suffer the most damage are those that are commonly not tested:

– Glutamine amino acid (and MSG by-product from fractionation) and amino acids (including Taurine)

– Vitamin A

– Vitamin C

– Lycopene

– Oxidation

– Phthalates and BPA (plastic contaminants)

– Pathogens at 24-hours of temperature abuse

– B-vitamins – B-Vitamins are fragile and likely to be damaged by excessive processing. This is why they are added in synthetic supplement blends in most heat-processed pet and human foods. A laboratory can choose the sensitivity of its equipment. They could choose to have machinery that can only detect down to the gram, the milligram, microgram, or even the tenth, hundredth, or thousandth of a microgram. With B-Vitamin and Heavy Metal testing, laboratories will often have sensitivity detection levels that are higher than necessary to provide accurate data. This can mislead consumers into believing that a nutrient level is acceptable.

For example, the body only needs micrograms (ppb) of Vitamin B12 every day. If a laboratory provides a report with a Limit of Detection (LOD) of 0.63mcg/g, one would not be able to determine if the nutritional adequacy of product because the LOD too high. The laboratory report could list the nutrient level as, “<0.63mcg/g” when it contains only 0.005mcg/g. A consumer would be misled to believe that it has adequate Vitamin B12 when, in fact, it could contain absolutely no Vitamin B12 at all. It is imperative the Limit of Detection (LOD) is stated on the lab report and it is sensitive enough to provide accurate data.

DAMAGED CELLULAR INTEGRITY:

Scientific data evidences that HPP has been shown to fragment the cellular structure, making it “leaky” (like a blown-up building vs a complete, finished building). Data determining the effects of consuming, as a complete diet, destroyed cells is incomplete. Nature does not provide large quantities of ruptured cells except in, perhaps, very rotten corpses.  In rotting tissue, science shows that histamine and inflammatory compound levels are increased, sometimes dramatically. 

It’s implied that nutrient levels are increased in HPP products as if nutrients can be magically added by damaging the cells. If the proverbial building mentioned above was full of people and you (the lab machinery) could only see some of the people (nutrients) inside the cell (the building), then it was blown up and all the people became visible because they’re floating around outside of the building that no longer has walls… does that increase the NUMBER of people or just the visibility? People certainly didn’t reproduce because the building blew-up, and neither did the nutrients. In addition, the digestive system is designed to utilize nutrients from inside of cells. The body’s ability to properly utilize nutrients that are not in their natural form is minimally understood. 

WATER LOSS: 

As stated above, cellular integrity is damaged in the processing of HPP products. This is seen in the example below, with a slight decrease in protein as a significant decrease in product moisture. The example product contained 69.26% moisture before HPP and 60.30% moisture after. This is a 13% loss of moisture in the product. The only way to fairly compare these is by comparing Dry Matter (DM) since the moisture content is not the same in each sample, so below is the DM comparison.

Sufficient water intake keeps the body health. This is one of the most beneficial components in raw pet foods. In addition to its contributions to whole body health, water contributes to the body’s ability to transfer nutrients from place to place. This is imperative for health. The reduction in water could potentially result in an equal reduction in positive response to nutrients.

It is impossible to compare the nutrient content of two reports with different moisture levels unless you convert the nutrients to Dry Matter (DM). In the samples referenced below imply that some nutrient levels increased after HPP. For example, magnesium levels went from 3.1mg/100g to 3.51mg/100g and phosphorus levels went from 235.8mg/100g to 348.3mg/100g. However, when converted to dry matter, magnesium levels are 0.02% of the product in both nonHPP and HPP samples, and phosphorus levels are 0.232% in the nonHPP sample and 0.248% in the HPP sample (an increase of 0.016% – nearly undetectable.)

PLASTIC (PHTHALATE) CONTAMINATION:

Most companies do not test phthalate or BPA levels in HPP products. HPP hits its plastic outer casing with 87,000psi of pressure. This amount of pressure exceeds that of 6.3x the deepest depth of the ocean. How much microparticle plastic is getting pushed into the product in that process? And WHICH phthalates are in the plastic they are using? The Know Your Pet Food Initiative lab tested phthalate levels in popular pet foods and found phthalates that are banned for use in children’s toys due to their toxicity. This proves that these phthalates would be expected in heat-processed foods and could get into HPP foods as well.  Without identifying phthalate levels in the final product, it would behoove one to assume its unsafe for regular use. Using a high-phthalate product as a sole source of nutrition is likely to result, eventually, in endocrine imbalance. While hormone imbalances, all on their own, are a big pain with a lot of frustrating symptoms, they also force imbalances in tissue minerals and increase the risk of heavy metal toxicity.  Ultimately, over time, the problem can become a tsunami of problems.

FORMATTING OF LABORATORY REPORTS:

Most labs provide reports with inconsistent units of measure, making them impossible to read for most consumers. The sample data below was provided in the following units of measure: mg/100g, mcg/g, ppm, and %. Without the ability to convert these to levels that will match the AAFCO or FEDIAF nutrient profiles per 1,000kcals, consumers can’t understand the data. The information would, again, need to then be transferred to dry matter to be able to compare one test result to another.

mg/100g = the number of milligrams per 3.5oz of product.

mcg/g – the number of micrograms per single gram of product. This may also be listed as ng/g or ppb if the measurement is only 1g.

ppm – this is the number of milligrams per kilogram (35.2oz or 1,000g) of product.

% – this is the number of grams in 3.5 of products (or 100g)

In high-moisture foods, nutrients must be converted to the following units of measure:

Amino Acids – g/1,000kcals

Fats – g/1,000kcals

Minerals:

Calcium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Magnesium – g/1,000kcals

Iron, Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Iodine, Selenium – mg/1,000kcals

Vitamins:

Vitamins A, E and D – iu/1,000kcals (use Google to see the different calculations for each iu conversion)

B-Vitamins – mg/1,000kcals

Clearly, this is quite complicated. If you are in possession of product test results and you need help calculating them for analysis, you may email them to Hello@ParsleyPet.com for assistance.

SAMPLE REPORTS – LABORATORY ANALYSIS DONE BY AFL – COMPARISON OF THE SAME SAMPLE, nonHPP and HPP

Converted to Dry Matter (DM) comparison

Nutrient                     nonHPP DM              HPP DM

Protein**                   66.20%                      51.21% (large loss of amino acid)

Fat**                          32.17%                      28.41%

(HPP can cause oxidative reactions in fats. Oxidation can lead to the degradation of fats and the formation of volatile compounds. These changes in fat composition might affect the accuracy of fat measurements.)

Fiber**                       18.22%                      14.86% 

39.74(Some types of dietary fiber may be soluble in water, and HPP can potentially lead to changes in fiber solubility. If certain fibers become more soluble during the process, they may be lost in the water fraction or become less quantifiable in the analysis, resulting in a lower measured fiber content in the HPP sample)

Moisture                    69.26%                      60.30%

Ash                              6.81%                        6.80%   

Calcium**                   0.20%                        0.22%***

Phosphorus**           0.232%                      0.248%***

Ca:P                                  0.86:1                        0.89:1

Magnesium**              0.02%                        0.02%

Potassium**                0.24%                        0.25%***

Sodium**                    0.072%                      0.076%***

Copper**                    0.034%                     0.4%***

Zinc                            0.325%                      0.365%***

Iron**                        0.0031%                    0.0035%***

Thiamine*                    0.015%                     0.015%

Vitamin B12*             0.0063%                     0.0063%

Riboflavin**                0.134%                      0.126% (decrease)

Niacin                          0.518%                      0.571%

(HPP can impact enzyme activity within food products. Some enzymes have the ability to convert precursor compounds into active forms of certain nutrients. If the HPP treatment influenced the activity of enzymes involved in niacin conversion or synthesis, it could result in higher levels of niacin in the HPP sample. This could potentially negatively impact the body’s ability to properly metabolize vitamins once the food product containing those altered enzymes is consumed. Enzymes play a crucial role in facilitating biochemical reactions in the body, including the metabolism and activation of enzymes. When enzymes involved in vitamin metabolism are impaired or dysfunction, it can lead to deficiencies in the active forms of the vitamins or hinder their conversion into active forms that can be utilized in the body. As a result, the body may not be able to effectively utilize or absorb the vitamins from the diet.)

Pantothenic Acid       0.0535%                    0.0656% (See niacin summary)

Pyridoxine*                0.0068%                    0.0068%

Biotin*                        0.0097%                    0.0097%

Folic Acid*                  0.00557%                 0.00556%

Vitamin D2*               0.0011%                    0.0011%

Vitamin D3*               0.0011%                    0.0011%

Vitamin E*                  0.01%                        0.01%

Vitamin K2                  0.01%                        0.01%

* Result was below the limit of detection. This nutrient could be as low as ZERO. 

**IMPLIED INCREASE ON ORIGINAL REPORT. MISLEADING INCREASE ACTUALLY CAUSED BY DECREASED MOISTURE CONTENT IN HPP PRODUCT. 

***Possible or likely standard deviation laboratory “error” or lack of homogenization in the sample 

Keep in mind that laboratory analysis is not as precise as people like to think it is. Mild deviations may be the result of acceptable laboratory deviation. A good lab should be able to tell you the expected deviation % of any single result. Additionally, as previously stated, “loose” nutrients that have been released from destroyed cells may be more visible to machinery. That does not mean nutrients magically appeared out of nowhere. Copper, for example, has a 25% standard deviation, making test results fairly inconsistent in most tests.

Did you know that the consumption of carbohydrates can cause dehydration? Dry, crispy, high-carbohydrate foods such as kibble can suck the moisture right out of the body.

In this post, we’ll look at how that affects your pup’s body. We will see how much water weight your pet may retain from a high-carb diet and how much water they need to drink per day in order to prevent dehydration.

We’ll randomly create an average kibble macronutrient panel: (based on 100g or 100%)

Protein – 24% (24g)

Fat – 9% (9g)

Fiber – 4% (4g)

Moisture – 10% (10g)

You can read how to calculate carbs in our blog post about that.

For this blog, we’ll do it for you.

This ingredient panel calculates to 53% Carbohydrate, or 53g per 100g

of food. We’ll also say that this food has 4oz, or 114.3g, per cup of

food (which is about average for a kibble product).

For every 1g of carbs consumed, the body retains 2.1g to 4g of water.

On average we can say 3g of water. What does that look

like when your pet eats a high- or low-carb diet?

To calculate how many grams of carbs are in a cup, multiply the number of grams in the cup by the percentage of carbs in the food. In this case:

114.3 (grams per cup of food) * 53% (or x 0.53) = 60.6 grams of carbs per cup of this food.

Now, if the body retains 3 grams for every 1 gram consumed, we multiply 60.6 grams of carbs by 3 grams of water = 181.8 grams of retained water per cup of food consumed.

181.8g / 28.57 (number of grams in 1oz) = 6.4oz of water

If we really want to be thorough, we can reduce this by the amount of water contributed, which would be 10% (max). Lab results show this is usually 6-7%. Assuming 10%, or 11.43g per cup, we can subtract that from the total. This leaves 170.4g of retained water per day, or 6oz/day.

This product would have 463kcals/cup. Therefore, an average 23lb dog would consume 1 cup of this food every day but would need to drink 6.4oz (more than ¾ of a cup) of water per day just to prevent dehydration. This would not contribute to hydration.

Dehydration can tax the body over time. It can contribute to a plethora of health issues including difficulty with the kidneys and heart. 

Let’s compare this to a raw food such as Solutions, which is 68% moisture and 3.5% carbs in one 8oz cup:

8oz per cup x 28.57grams/oz = 228.6 grams per cup of food

228.6g/cup x 3.5% carbs in food = 8 grams of carbs per cup

8 grams of carbs x 3 grams of water retention per gram = 24 grams of water retained per cup of food consumed.

However…

228.6g/cup x 68% moisture in food = 155.45 grams of water per cup contributed to the body

155.45 grams of water contributed – 24 grams of water retained = 131.45 grams, or 4.6oz of water is contributed to the body per cup of food consumed. That means this food hydrates your pet.

For every 1g of carbs consumed, the body retains 2.1g to 4g of water

It is not uncommon for pet parents to report that their pets “stop drinking water” after switching to a raw diet (except immediately after activity or after chewing a bone).  Now you can see why this is not only normal but healthy.  Excessive water consumption is a symptom of food that dehydrates or a health crisis. 

One last thought before I go.  People often ask me if they can add water to their pets kibble diet to increase moisture and increase hydration.

Using the example above, you’d have to supply a 23lb dog with the following each day for that to help:

2oz of food per meal

3oz of water per meal to prevent

dehydration

The amount of water necessary would cause your dog to gain unwanted water weight and pee a lot more. This could result in mineral imbalances and kidney and heart issues.

Also, if you look in the AAFCO official publication you can see that kibble and canned pet foods are legally allowed to use hydrolyzed hair, hydrolyzed leather, condemned rendered and sterilized meats, biodiesel byproducts, alcohol production byproducts, used restaurant grease, sludge and more as “healthy and nutritious” ingredients in pet food. A quick glance through the FDA recall pages and you can see how often kibble pet foods are recalled for aflatoxin molds and other contaminants. 

In my opinion, it’s pretty risky to soak kibble in water. That provides an opportunity for scary things such as molds to grow and potentially cause illness.  Of course, there are some exceptions to the rule but they are rare, even among the super-premium brands.

What in the heck is this crazy blog page about, right?

Well, you may have heard feeding high-carb food causes your dog to poop more than high-protein foods.  Or you may have wondered how to reduce the poop you have to pick up in the yard or litter box.  Whatever your thoughts, this blog is going to do the math to show you how much your dog or cat is capable of producing based on the food you are feeding!

DID YOU KNOW?

Only 4% of the water that you consume or drink in a day is eliminated in a day of normal bowel movements?

We’ll even show you how to do the math yourself. If you don’t care

about the math, that’s cool, you’ll still be able to see the significant

differences in fecal output depending on diet.

The first thing you need to know if you’re going to do the math

with us is that 100% of a Guaranteed Analysis is 100 grams.

We will use grams for the weight of everything (food and poo).

Let’s start by looking at the MOISTURE CONTENT of your selected diet.

Did you know that only 4% of the water that you consume or drink in a day is eliminated in a day of normal bowel movements? 

Next, let’s look at potential fecal output if your pet’s diet is 10% (max) Moisture (like an average kibble) vs 68% (max) Moisture (like Solutions Pet Products).

10% moisture (10g / 100g) = 90% dry matter (90g / 100g)

68% moisture (68g/ 100g) = 32% dry matter (32g / 100g)

10g x 4% moisture = 0.4g of moisture + 90g of dry matter = this pet could poop out as much as 90.4g per 100g of food consumed!

68g x 4% = 2.72g of moisture = 32g of dry matter = this pet could poop out as much as 34.72g per 100g of food consumed!

DID YOU KNOW?

A pet on Solutions Pet Food (or high moisture diet) will poop nearly 2.4 times less volume than a pet consuming a dry kibble!

Next, let’s look at this same math but relative to how much a pet eats in a day. 

Using a 50lb dog that’s eating 1,000kcals/day.

An average kibble is around 400kcals/cup and weighs about 4oz/cup (you can learn how to do that math in our feeding guide series).

1,000kcals (fed/day) x 400kcals (in 1 cup of food) means you need to feed 2.5 cups of this food a day. At 4oz per cup x 2.5 cups/day that’s 10oz/day of food (10 x 28.57grams in 1oz that’s 285.7g)

This food, being a kibble, would be 10% (max) moisture.

Using the math from above:

We know that 90%+ of that is dry matter that could be pooped out. 285.7 x 90% = 257.1g

257.1/28.57 (g/oz) = as much as 9oz a day of this food could be pooped out.

Solutions is 560kcals/cup and weighs 8oz/cup.

1,000kcals (fed/day) x 560kcals (in 1 cup of food) means you need to feed 1.8 cups of this food a day. At 8oz per cup x 1.8 cups/day that’s 14.4oz/day of food (14.4 x 28.57 grams in 1oz that’s 411.4g)

This food, being raw, is 68% (max) moisture.

Using the math from above:

We know that 32% of that is dry that could be pooped out. 441.4g x 32% = 141.2g.

141.2/28.57 (g/oz) = as much as 4.9oz a day of this food could be pooped out.

That’s 4.1oz less per day… that’s 93.5 POUNDS LESS POOP IN A YEAR!

You may be thinking, “yeah, but they’re not going to poop out 100% of the dry matter and nutrients that they eat so that’s not that accurate.” You’re right, they’re not. 

However, using statements from the AAFCO 2020 Official Publication (the (poorly written and minimally researched as far as we can tell from FOIA’s) handbook of recommendations that many regulators use to determine how pet food works) the macro and micronutrients in high-heat processed pet foods are between 10% and 90% absorbable.

While we can assume that fresh, whole, high-moisture (as nature intended) foods are more absorbable, we’ll make it equal and compare them both right down the middle – the average of 10 and 90 is 50.

Let’s just pretend that 50% of high-heat processed foods and 50% of fresh natural foods are absorbed.

We calculated 257.1g of dry matter in the low moisture food and 141.2g of dry matter in Solutions. At 50% of each that’s 128.6g, or 4.5oz, of potential poop per day from the kibble vs 70.6g, or 2.5oz, of potential poop per day from Solutions.

And keep in mind that they’re both formulated to adhere to the same nutritional adequacy requirements so less intake and less fecal output from Solutions does not mean it’s less nutritious.  Solutions still adhered to those same guidelines.

Pet Food Math?

All you ever wanted to know about your pet food label in numbers

WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO LEARN!!

Here is a one-page quick reference sheet that summarizes what you’ll learn in this series. This series will teach you:

• How to determine the right amount to feed your pet,
• How to compare products fairly and accurately so you’re finally comparing apples to apples when selecting products, and
• How to do the math to ensure that a product fits into your desired budget.

This is a lot easier than it looks! This series requires:

• No more than elementary level math skills (addition/substraction/multiplication/division), and
• Notice that it’s rare that there are more than 2 steps per part.

If you’re purchasing Solutions Pet Products, our website has a Food Calculator that will do this work for you! (It will also do the daily caloric intake calculations for your pet)

1. Learn how to calculate the carbohydrate content of your pet’s food from the guaranteed analysis

1. Add Protein + Fat + Fiber + Moisture (and Ash if you’d like to be more precise)
2. Subtract your answer from 100

2. Learn how to calculate the number of calories in 1oz, or 100 grams

• Divide the number of calories in 1kg by 35.2(oz/kg)
• Multiply that answer by 3.5 to get the number of calories in 100 grams OR
• Multiply the macronutrients by number of calories per gram (4,9,4,4), to include the carbohydrates calculated in step 1
• Add all of those values to get the total calories in 100 grams
• Divide that answer by 3.5 to get the number of calories in 1 ounce

3. Learn how to calculate the number of ounces in one cup of the food you are purchasing

• Divide the kcals/cup from the package by the kcals/ounce that you calculated in step 2

4. Learn how to calculate the number of cups in the entire package of food (thus, how long it will last you)

• Multiple the number of pounds in the package by 16(oz in 1lb) to get total ounces
• Divide the total number of ounces in the package by the amount you calculated in step 3

5. Learn how to calculate the proper amount to feed your pet/s

• Using the guidelines in this section, multiply your pet’s weight by the correct range of calories per day (this takes into account your pets natural metabolism based on their breed’s size)
• Factor in your pet’s age
• Factor in your pet’s current body composition
• Factor in your pet’s reproductive status
• Factor in your pet’s activity level

6. Learn how to translate the number of calories your pet needs in a day into portion sizes of the product you are purchasing

• Divide the number of calories your pet should be eating each day (calculated in part 5) by the number of calories in one cup of the food you purchased

7. Learn how to calculate how long the package of pet food that you purchased will last

• Divide the total number of cups in the package (calculated in part 4) by the amount you feed daily (calculated in part 6)

8. Learn how to calculate how much the product will cost you to USE, rather than how much it costs you to purchase it. A quality, nutrient product with a higher sticker price will usually cost you less each month than a cheaper product full of fillers.

• Divide the price you paid by the number of days that the food will last you (calculated in part 7)
• Multiple that number by 30, or the number of days in a month

You finished! Now you’re feeding your pet the right amount and you know it works for your pocketbook, too!

I hope this helps you in finding the most nutrient dense and economical food for your pet!

CLICK “Next Post” to do more pet food math including:

• How to calculate multiple products into your budget
• How to determine the right amount of supplement to give
• Supplement math! How to compare the density and prices of different supplements
• Metabolism math! How certain macronutrients affect your pet’s weight
• Hydration math! How carbohydrate and moisture content affect your pet’s weight and health
• Ketogenic Diet math
• “My dog is always hungry” math

Pet Food Math – Kcals Per Ounce

July 11, 2022 / 4 minutes of reading

Pet Food Math?

All you ever wanted to know about your pet food label in numbers

Calculating Carbohydrates – Part 2

How many calories are there per ounce of food?

These days, most people take at least a little time to skim over the back of their pet’s food package. Generally, people use the guideline on the back of the package to determine how much to feed their pet and never think much more about it.

Well, those are the days of the past. Lab testing has shown that the recommended feeding on the average chart can suggest as much as 25% more food than your pet needs to eat.  This could contribute to obesity, diabetes, or cancer.  And its certainly an unnecessary strain on your pocketbook and backyard poo spot! … it’s a huge financial perk for manufacturers.

Pet parents are becoming more and more educated about what they are feeding their beloved family members. When you understand the math of pet food labels you become empowered to make better choices for your pets’ health and your budget. Math can seem a bit daunting, but I’m going to break it down so that its easy! I’m also going to make sure that you learn how to do the math regardless of what type of food you’re feeding.  Just like with any equation, we have to go in order to get the answers we’re looking for.

There are two ways to find out how many calories there are in one ounce of the food you purchased. Both methods are taught here. I’ll give you the easy method first. The second method is the default method just in case the food you purchased doesn’t state the information you need in order to do it the easy way.

Method #1: The EASY WAY

Crude Protein (min)	24%
Crude Fat (min)	7%
Crude Fiber (max)	4%
Moisture (max)	10%

3,973kcals/kg, 451kcals/cup

This Guaranteed Analysis example will follow us along.

If you look just below the Guaranteed Analysis on any pet food package it should show the “kcals/kg” and the “kcals/cup.” (If it doesn’t, you may have a brand that doesn’t understand or possibly adhere to regulations. That may increase risks associated with using the food).

One “kg,” or kilogram, is 2.2lbs or 35.2oz
(2.2(lbs) x 16(oz/lb) = 35.2(oz/kg))

If you divide the number of calories in a kg by 35.2 you’ll have the number of calories in 1oz!

In the case of this Guaranteed Analysis, that would be:
3,973 / 35.2 = 113 kcals/oz

Method #2: The Long Way

If it doesn’t say how many calories are in a kg, you’ll have to calculate it yourself. You’ll have to use the Guaranteed Analysis for this.

Crude Protein (min)	24%
Crude Fat (min)	7%
Crude Fiber (max)	4%
Moisture (max)	10%

Step 1:
Figure out the carbohydrate content in the food.  This was covered in Part 1 of this series. If you just need a quick refresher, with this 

Guaranteed Analysis that would look like:

24 (protein) + 7 (fat) + 4 (fiber) + 10 (moisture) = 45

100 (% of the product) – 45 (% of the product that’s accounted for) = 55% carbohydrates.

Step 2:
Now we can calculate the total calories using the guaranteed analysis.

You’ll need this guideline. Fat contains more calories per gram than other macronutrients. Calories per gram looks like this:

Protein	4 Calories per gram
Fat	9 Calories per gram
Fiber	4 Calories per gram
Carbohydrates	4 Calories per gram

To figure out how many calories are in 100 grams we have to multiply the percentage of each macronutrient (protein, fat, fiber, carbs) by the number of calories of each per gram.

If you can remember to multiply in the order of 4, 9, 4, 4 somehow, it makes this part much easier. *

	From Guaranteed Analysis		Calories per gram	EQUALS
Protein	24%	multiplied by	4	= 96kcals/g
Fat	7%	multiplied by	9	= 63kcals/g
Fiber	4%	multiplied by	4	= 16kcals/g
Carbohydrates	55%	multiplied by	4	= 220kcals/g
	Let’s add our answers together:		96 + 63 + 16 + 220 =	395

*For more advanced feeders, we will discuss fiber calories, Atwater modification and absorption in a later post.

This number represents the calories (kcals) for every 100 grams of food (which is 3.5oz). In this case, we have 395 calories for every 100 grams, or 3.5oz, of food. Why? Because if you google how many ounces 100 grams is, it says 3.5 ounces. Thank God for Google! J Also, because of the math on the right.

In a later post, I will cover why it’s important to know grams and ounces.

Guaranteed Analysis = 100%
= based on 100 gram amount
1oz = 28.57 grams
100 / 28.57 = 3.5oz
= There are 3.5oz in 100 grams, or 100% of the Guaranteed Analysis amounts.

You can scale this up to determine how many oz of each macro-nutrient in a bag.

Step 3:
Now we know there are 395kcals in 3.5oz (or 100 grams).
If you divide 395(kcals) by 3.5(oz) you will get the number of calories in one ounce of the food you purchased.

395 / 3.5 = 113kcals/oz

Pet Food Math?

All you ever wanted to know about your pet food label in numbers

How many ounces are in a cup?
Part 3

Hopefully you have been reading this series and are excited to find out the next step! We are now ready to find out how many actual cups there are in a package of food! This will help you to identify how long a package will last you and how much it will cost you to use the product you’re looking to buy. For me, this was easier to understand with a visual. Did you know that if you fill an 8oz measuring up with Cat Litter it will weigh 10oz?  But if you fill an 8oz measuring cup with Popcorn it will usually weigh 2oz.  There are a different number of cups in each even though they both weigh the same amount

So how many cups are in your pets’ food?

Step 1:
Find out how many ounces are in each cup of food.

Pet food brands that are compliant with regulations will say the number of calories there are in a kilogram (2.2lbs or 35.2oz), stated, “___kcals/kg,” and the number of calories there are in a cup, stated, “___kcals/cup.” You can see our example here.

Crude Protein (min)	24%
Crude Fat (min)	7%
Crude Fiber (max)	4%
Moisture (max)	10%

3,973kcals/kg, 451kcals/cup

For this particular product it says there are 3,731kcals/kg and 424kcals/cup.

In our previous post we learned two ways that you can find out how many calories are in an ounce – in this case, 113.

To find out how many calories are in a cup, we divide the number of calories in a cup by the number of calories in an ounce. In this case:

451(kcals/cup) / 113(kcals/oz) = 4 ounces per cup of food

Pet Food Math?

All you ever wanted to know about your pet food label in numbers

How many cups are in the package?
Part 4

Now that you know how many ounces there are in one cup of food, you can figure out how many cups are in a package.  Like we learned in Part 4, this will determine how long a bag of food will last your pet.  Of course, this helps you figure out how much to buy at a time to make sure you don’t run out before you can get to the store next.  More importantly, this will help you figure out a budget!

Using our Guaranteed Analysis that’s been following us along, we figured out that there are 4oz in each cup of this particular food. Let’s pretend that the bag that we purchased was 25lbs.

Crude Protein (min)	24%
Crude Fat (min)	7%
Crude Fiber (max)	4%
Moisture (max)	10%

3,973kcals/kg, 451kcals/cup

Step #1:

We know that there are 16oz in a pound.  We can multiply the number of pounds we purchased by the number of ounces in a pound to find out how many ounces are in the entire package.

25(lbs in this bag) x 16(oz/lb) = 400 ounces are in this particular package.

Step #2:

Since we know that there are 4oz in a cup of this food, we can divide the number of ounces in 1 cup by the number of ounces in the entire package. This will tell us how many cups are in the package.

400(oz/pkg) / 4(oz/cup) = 100 cups are in this particular package.

Before we can figure out how long this package will last you we have to figure out how much you’re going to be using every day!

Pet Food Math?

All you ever wanted to know about your pet food label in numbers

Calculating Portions – How Much To Feed
Part 6

I’m sure you have seen many calculators or guides online or on pet food packages that tell you how much you should feed your dog. I can assure you that 99% of them will tell you to feed too much food. I’m allowing 1% because I know there are some good companies out there trying their best and have truly put a lot of effort into getting this right. Why would they tell you to feed too much? I’m sure you have already figured out the more you feed, the more often you purchase, the more money they make. More sales, more profits! 

You’ve gathered a lot of information.  Now you know:

• The carbohydrate content of the food you purchased
• The number of calories in one ounce of the food you purchased
• How ounces there are in 1 cup of that food, and

Most importantly for the final steps:

• How many cups are in a package, and
• How many calories you should be feeding your pet each day

In order to figure out how long a package will last you and whether or not the product fits into your monthly budget you’ll need to figure out exactly how much of the food you purchased you’re going to be feeding each day. You already know how many calories to feed but how much food is that?

Revisiting our example Guaranteed Analysis, we again see the number of calories in 1 cup of food.  Again, in this case there are 451 calories in 1 cup of food.

Crude Protein (min)	24%
Crude Fat (min)	7%
Crude Fiber (max)	4%
Moisture (max)	10%

3,973kcals/kg, 451kcals/cup

In Part 5, we used an example of a dog named “Harley.”

We calculated that Harley needs 396kcals/day. Let’s use Harley as an example, and also (from random selection) use 1,052kcals/day and 732kcals/day just so we can see the math a few times.

In order to figure out how much to feed each day, divide the number of calories in 1 cup of food (listed on the package) by the number of calories you need to feed each day. Here are our examples:

Example #1:

396 (kcals/day) / 451 (kcals/cup) = 0.878 cups per day… or 0.9 cups per day for Harley

Example #2:

1,052 (kcals/day) / 451 (kcals/cup) = 2.3 cups per day

Example #3:

732 (kcals/day) / 451 (kcals/cup) = 1.6 cups per day

Now you know how many cups you’re going to be using every day and you’re one step closer to being able to figure out if this product fits in your monthly budget.

For most people, the above listed “cups per day” feeding is sufficient.  However, I know that some of you want to be able to measure with a little more precision.  Here are tips for those of you that love to calculate as much as I do:

Calculating for using a FOOD SCALE:

Food scales measure mass, not volume.  As we previously learned, just because you’re using an 8oz measuring cup doesn’t mean it contains 8oz.  In the case of the product we’re using, an 8oz cup has a mass of only 4oz.  So you need to be able to convert the number of cups that you’re using to the number of ounces you’re going to be weighing out.

Multiply the number of cups that you are supposed to feed by the calculated number of ounces in the product you purchased. We’ll use the 3 examples from above.

0.9 (cups/day for Harley) x 4 (oz calculated in one cup of this particular food) = 3.6 oz/day MASS

2.3 (cups/day) x 4 (oz calculated in one cup of this particular food) = 9.2 oz/day MASS

1.6 (cups/day x 4 (oz calculated in one cup of this particular food) = 6.4 oz/day MASS

---

The original results were for a standard 8oz measuring cup. I do understand, however, that most people aren’t great with measurements so here is a guide that may help you know exactly what line to go to for fractions of a cup.

Pet Food Math?

All you ever wanted to know about your pet food label in numbers

How long will this package of food last?
Part 7

We are in our second to last step of pet food math!

In the previous parts of this series we have identified the following facts:

• There are 100 cups in a package of our example food
• We have 3 example dogs. One is eating 0.9 cups per day, one is eating 2.3 cups per day, and one is eating 1.6 cups per day

Using these numbers, we can figure out how long the package will last.

Simply divide the number of cups in the package by the number of cups you’ll be using each day.

Example #1:

100 (cups in the package) / 0.9 (cups being fed per day) = 111 days

Example #2:

100 (cups in the package) / 2.3 (cups being fed per day) = 43.5 days

Example #3:

100 (cups in the package) / 1.6 (cups being fed per day) = 62.5 day

Pet Food Math?

All you ever wanted to know about your pet food label in numbers

How much will this food cost me every month?
Part 8

Sticker prices can be a little scary sometimes, but if you understand how to figure out how long that bag will last, it may not be scary at all. Doing a breakdown of the math can help you get an accurate representation of how much the product actually costs you. Ultimately, it’s in your best interests to know how much it costs you to USE a product rather than what it costs to buy it.

Brand A

Cheaper to buy, more costly to use
$70 to buy 24lbs – 310kcals/cup, 4.6oz/cup
50lb dog at 1,000kcals/day
Costs $80.77/mo to use

Brand B

More expensive to buy, cheaper to use
$140 to buy 22lbs – 525kcals/cup, 3.3oz/cup
50lb dog at 1,000kcals/day
Costs $75.00/mo to use

Obviously, a cost per pound or sticker price comparison is of no value when you don’t take all of these other factors into account.

Alright, let’s figure out how to know the cost to use a product each month.

Step #1:

In Part 7 we identified that the example product we’ve been using would last one of our theoretical dogs 43.5 days, another dog 62.5 days, and another dog 111 days (which by the way is way too long… we don’t recommend purchasing anything you can’t use within 45 days of opening).

Let’s pretend that our example product cost $95. We must divide the price we paid for the product by the number of days it lasts.

EXAMPLE #1:

70lb dog

$95 / 43.5 (days that the package lasts) = $2.18/day

EXAMPLE #2:

42lb dog

$95 / 62.5 (days that the package lasts) = $1.52/day

EXAMPLE #3:

22lb dog

$95 / 111 (days that the package lasts) = $0.86/day

Step #2:

Now you must multiply the cost per day by 30 days (or about a month)

EXAMPLE #1:

70lb dog

$2.18 (per day) x 30 = $65.40/mo

EXAMPLE #2:

42lb dog

$1.52 (per day) x 30 = $45.60/mo

EXAMPLE #3:

22lb dog

$0.86 (per day) x 30 = $25.80/mo

YOU MADE IT! Now you know how to determine how much to feed your pet and how much it will cost you per month! If you want to continue with some more math keep digging through our blog pages.  We will also show you the math of weight loss and weight gain, ketogenic diets, blending brands and/or types of foods, supplement math, etc!