FEDIAF Guidelines and Standards: What Pet Food Brands Need to Know

The core of the FEDIAF guidelines is a set of nutrient tables giving minimum recommended levels — and, where relevant, nutritional or EU legal maximums — for complete dog food (Tables III-3a to III-3c) and complete cat food (Tables III-4a to III-4c). Levels are given per 100 g dry matter, per 1,000 kcal and per MJ of metabolisable energy, and adult minimums depend on the energy requirement the food is designed for. Selected minimum levels per 100 g dry matter from the September 2025 edition:

• Adult dogs (110 kcal ME/kg^0.75): protein 18.00 g, fat 5.50 g. At the lower energy requirement of 95 kcal ME/kg^0.75, protein rises to 21.00 g.
• Puppies, early growth (under 14 weeks) and reproduction: protein 25.00 g, fat 8.50 g, calcium 1.00 g.
• Puppies, late growth (14 weeks and over): protein 20.00 g, fat 8.50 g.
• Adult cats (100 kcal ME/kg^0.67): protein 25.00 g, fat 9.00 g, taurine 0.10 g in dry food and 0.20 g in canned food. At 75 kcal ME/kg^0.67, protein rises to 33.30 g.
• Kittens, growth and reproduction: protein 28.00 g / 30.00 g, fat 9.00 g, taurine 0.10 g dry and 0.25 g canned.

These are a small selection: the full tables cover amino acids, fatty acids, minerals and vitamins, and should be read in the original document published by FEDIAF at europeanpetfood.org. A complete food labelled without a specific life stage is assumed to be for all life stages, and FEDIAF says it should then be formulated to the early growth and reproduction levels.

EU feed law, followed by the FEDIAF guidelines, separates two kinds of pet food. A complete pet food is one which, by reason of its composition, is sufficient for a daily ration (Regulation (EC) No 767/2009) — fed as the only source of nutrients for the life stage it is labelled for, it must meet all of that animal's nutritional needs, which is what the FEDIAF nutrient tables are for. A complementary pet food has a high content of certain substances but is only sufficient for a daily ration when used in combination with other foods — most treats, chews, toppers and many supplements fall here. The distinction drives the label: a complete food must state the species and life stage it is complete for, while a complementary food must be identified as complementary and carry directions for proper use. If you are building a treat or supplement range, see our private label dog treats guide.

FEDIAF and AAFCO both aim to ensure nutritional adequacy for complete pet food, and their nutrient profiles are broadly similar for most standard formulations — but they are separately maintained documents with specific differences in minimum/maximum nutrient levels, permitted ingredient terminology, and labelling requirements. A formulation meeting AAFCO's US standards is not automatically FEDIAF-compliant without a separate review, and vice versa. In practice, the gap between the two standards is usually manageable for a standard maintenance formulation, but can widen meaningfully for functional or life-stage-specific products where nutrient thresholds diverge more between the two documents. For a side-by-side view, see our AAFCO vs FEDIAF comparison.

FEDIAF guidelines function EU-wide as an industry reference standard, but individual EU member states can layer additional national labelling or registration requirements on top. Buyers sourcing for multiple EU markets should confirm whether any target country has requirements beyond the base FEDIAF guideline alignment, particularly around language requirements and specific claim substantiation. A formulation and label package that clears one EU market's national requirements shouldn't be assumed to clear every other member state's requirements automatically, even though the underlying FEDIAF nutritional guideline is shared across all of them.

As with AAFCO, FEDIAF publishes distinct nutritional guidelines for growth, reproduction, and adult maintenance life stages, with species-specific profiles for dogs and cats reflecting their different physiological needs. A manufacturer should be able to specify which FEDIAF life-stage profile a formulation meets and provide supporting nutrient analysis on request, the same standard buyers should expect for AAFCO substantiation. Keep this documentation on file for retailer audits.

EU pet food labelling under FEDIAF-aligned national regulations covers similar ground to AAFCO-aligned US labelling — guaranteed analysis (called 'analytical constituents' in EU terminology), ingredient list, feeding guidelines — but with EU-specific formatting and language requirements. Buyers should not assume a US-format label translates directly; the analytical constituents statement in particular follows different conventions than the US guaranteed analysis panel. Treat a US label as a useful starting reference at best, and have the EU version reviewed independently rather than adapted line by line.

Ask a manufacturer supplying EU markets to confirm formulation alignment with FEDIAF's current nutritional guidelines, provide analytical constituents documentation for the specific formulation, and confirm awareness of any target member state's additional national requirements beyond the base FEDIAF standard. A manufacturer already exporting to several EU markets is generally a stronger sign of practical FEDIAF experience than one relying solely on formulation-review documentation without a track record of actual EU shipments. Ask specifically which member states they currently ship into, not just whether they claim general EU market experience.

Buyers building a range for both US and EU markets should treat AAFCO and FEDIAF compliance as two separate review processes from the start, rather than assuming one formulation review covers both. Budgeting for dual-market review upfront is generally more efficient than discovering a compliance gap after a formulation is already in production for one market and needs rework for the other — see our AAFCO certification guide for the US side of this comparison.

FEDIAF's nutritional guidelines cover baseline nutritional adequacy, but additional claims like organic, grain-free, or human-grade require separate substantiation beyond base FEDIAF alignment, and EU organic claims in particular are governed by distinct EU organic food regulations rather than FEDIAF itself. See our organic and grain-free claims guides for how these additional certifications layer on top of baseline nutritional compliance. See our grain-free pet food claims and human-grade pet food claims guides for those claims specifically.

Candora Petcare works with certified factory partners experienced in FEDIAF-aligned formulation for EU-market pet food, supporting documentation review and coordinating parallel AAFCO review for buyers planning to launch the same range into both US and EU markets from a single production source.