April 2006

Legal, But Deceptive, Feed Labels

While human-food manufacturers must be precise about what’s in their products, animal-feed makers hide a bit.

Pellets all look alike. The question is, are they all alike?

Ever wonder what’s in the pellets mixed in with the grains in your feed bag? Probably not, especially if your horse simply devours every bite. But, unless your feed’s label spells out all individual ingredients by name, you’ll likely be surprised how many different things could be in there.

While most high-quality feeds list the actual ingredients on their label, some manufacturers use what are called “collective terms.” The most common reason for this labeling is economy for the manufacturer. By using only collective terms—a legal maneuver—the manufacturer is free to vary the ingredients from batch to batch depending on what base ingredients can be obtained at the best price at…