Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 2 - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE › Division 70 - Plant Industries › Chapter 31 - Pet Food › Section 2 CSR 70-31.020 - Pet Food Label Format and Labeling

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This rule specifies the information required
				  on the label.
1)
Association
of
American
Feed
Control Officials,
1995 Officials
				Publication Association of American Feed Control Officials Incorporated
(Atlanta, GA: Georgia Department of Agriculture Plant Food, Feed and Grain
				Division, 1995);
2)
Office
of
the
Federal
Register
National Archives
				and Records Administration,
Code of Federal Regulations
Title 21
				part 501 (Washington: U.S. Government Print Office 1995).
In accordance with section
				  536.031(4),
				  RSMo, the full text of material incorporated
				  by reference will be made available to any interested person at the Office of
				  the Secretary of State and the headquarters of the adopting state
				  agency.
(1) The quantity
				statement and product name must be shown on the principal display panel. All
				other required information may be placed elsewhere on the label but shall be
				sufficiently conspicuous as to render it easily read by the average purchaser
				under ordinary conditions of purchase and sale.
(2) The quantity statement shall be made in
				conformity with the
				2 CSR
				70-31.024.
(3) The information which is required to
				appear in the Guaranteed Analysis shall be listed in the following order:
(A) Crude protein (minimum
				percentage);
(B) Crude fat (minimum
				percentage);
(C) Crude fiber
				(maximum percentage);
(D) Moisture
				(maximum percentage); and
(E)
				Additional guarantees shall follow moisture.
(4) The label of a pet food shall specify the
				name and address of the manufacturer, packer or distributor of the pet food.
				The statement of a place of business should include the street address, if any,
				of that place unless the street address is shown in a current city directory or
				telephone directory.
(5) If a
				person manufactures, packages or distributes a pet food in a place other than
				the principal place of business, the label may state the principal place of
				business in lieu of the actual place where each package of the pet food was
				manufactured or packaged or is to be distributed if the statement is not
				misleading in any particular.
(6) A
				vignette, graphic or pictorial representation of a product on a pet food label
				shall not misrepresent the contents of the package.
(7) The use of the word "proven" in
				connection with label claims for a pet food is improper unless scientific or
				other empirical evidence establishing the claim represented as "proven" is
				available.
(8) No statement shall
				appear upon the label of a pet food which makes false or misleading comparisons
				between that pet food and any other pet food.
(9) Personal or commercial endorsements are
				permitted on pet food labels where the endorsements are factual and not
				otherwise misleading.
(10) When a
				pet food is enclosed in an outer container or wrapper which is intended for
				retail sale, all required label information must appear on the outside wrapper
				or container.
(11) The word "dog
				food," "cat food" or similar designations must appear conspicuously upon the
				principal display panels of the pet food labels.
(12) The label of a pet food shall not
				contain an unqualified representation or claim, directly or indirectly, that
				the pet food contained, or a recommended feeding of the pet food is, or meets
				the requisites of, a complete, perfect, scientific or balanced ration for dogs
				or cats unless the product or feeding contains-
(A) Ingredients in quantities sufficient to
				meet the nutrient requirements for all life stages established by the AAFCO Dog
				or Cat Food Nutrient Profiles, as the case may be, or some other
				AAFCO-recognized authority on animal nutrition; or
(B) A combination of ingredients which, when
				fed to a normal animal as the only source of nourishment, in accordance with
				the testing procedures established by AAFCO, meets the criteria of such testing
				procedures for all life stages.
(13) Labels for products which are compounded
				for or which are suitable for only a limited purpose (for example, a product
				designed for the feeding of puppies) may contain representations that the pet
				food product, or recommended feeding is, or meets the requisites of, a
				complete, perfect scientific or balanced ration for dogs or cats only-
(A) In conjunction with a statement of the
				limited purpose for which the product is intended or suitable (as for example,
				in the statement a complete food for puppies). These representations and
				required qualifications shall be juxtaposed on the same panel and in the same
				size, style and color print; and
(B) Qualified representations may appear on
				pet food labels only if-
1. The pet food
				contains ingredients in quantities sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements
				established by the AAFCO Dog or Cat Food Nutrient Profiles, as the case may be,
				or some other AAFCO-recognized authority on animal nutrition, for such limited
				or qualified purpose; or
2. The pet
				food product contains a combination of ingredients which when fed for limited
				purpose will satisfy the nutrient requirements for that limited purpose and has
				had its capabilities in this regard demonstrated by adequate testing.
(14) Except as
				specified by
				2 CSR
				70-31.030, the name of any ingredient which appears on
				the label other than in the product name shall not be given undue emphasis so
				as to create the impression that this ingredient is present in the product in a
				larger amount than is the fact, shall constitute at least three percent (3%) of
				the total ingredients (exclusive of water sufficient for processing) when
				preceded by the designation "with" or like term, shall be in the same size,
				style, and color print and if the names of more than one (1) such ingredient
				are shown, they shall appear in the order of their respective predominance by
				weight in the product.
(15) The
				label of a dog or cat food (other than one prominently identified as a snack or
				treat as part of the designation required upon the principal display panel
				under section (11)) shall bear, on either the principal display panel or the
				information panel (as those terms are defined in
21 Code of Federal
				Regulations
501.1 and 501.2 respectively), in type of a size
				reasonably related to the largest type on the panel, a statement of the
				nutritional adequacy or purpose of the product. This statement shall consist of
				one (1) of the following:
(A) A claim that
				the pet food meets the requirements of one (1) or more of the recognized
				categories of nutritional adequacy: gestation, lactation, growth, maintenance
				and complete for all life stages, as those categories are set forth in sections
				(12) and (13). The claim shall be stated as one (1) of the following:
1. (Name of product) is formulated to meet
				the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog (or Cat) Food Nutrient
				Profiles for _______ . (Blank is to be completed by using the stage(s) of the
				pet's life, such as, gestation, lactation, growth, maintenance or the words
				"All Life Stages.")
2. Animal
				feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that (Name of Product)
				provides complete and balanced nutrition for ______ . (Blank is to be completed
				by using the stage(s) of the pet's life tested, such as, gestation, lactation,
				growth, maintenance or the words "All Life Stages.")
(B) A nutrition or dietary claim for purposes
				other than those listed in sections (12) and (13) if the claim is
				scientifically substantiated;
(C)
				The statement: "Use only as directed by your veterinarian," if it is a pet food
				product intended for use by or under the supervision or direction of a
				veterinarian and shall make a statement in accordance with subsection 15(A) or
				(15)(D).
(D) The statement: "The
				product is intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only," if a
				product does not meet either the requirements of sections (12) and (13) or any
				other special nutritional or dietary need and so is suitable only for limited,
				intermittent or supplementary feeding.
(16) The use of claims on pet food labels
				stating improvement or newness shall be sufficiently substantiated by the
				manufacturer and limited to six (6) months production. The use of claims
				stating preference or comparative attribute claims shall be sufficiently
				substantiated by the manufacturer and limited to one (1) year production after
				which the claim must be removed or resubstantiated.
(17) Dog and cat foods labeled as complete
				and balanced for any or all life's stages as provided in subsection (15)(A)
				except those pet foods labeled in accordance with subsection (15)(C) shall list
				feeding directions on the product label. These directions shall be expressed in
				common terms and shall appear prominently on the label. Feeding directions
				shall, at a minimum, state "Feed (weight/unit of product) per (weight unit) of
				dog (or cat)."