New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 1 - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS › Chapter VI - Food Control › Subchapter C - Food and Food Products (article 17 Agriculture and Markets Law) › Part 257 - Manufacture And Distribution Of Commercial Feed › Section 257.17 - Label format for pet food and specialty pet food

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
In addition to the requirements for commercial feed
					 otherwise provided in this Part, the following requirements shall apply to pet
					 food and specialty pet food:
(a) The
				  statement of net weight, product name and brand name shall 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.
(b) The declaration of the
				  net weight shall be made in conformity with the Federal Fair Packaging and
				  Labeling Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
(c) The information which is required to
				  appear in the "guaranteed analysis" shall be the following elements listed in
				  the following order:
crude protein--minimum amount
crude fat--minimum amount
crude fiber--maximum amount
moisture--maximum amount
Additional guarantees, if any, shall follow
					 "moisture."
(d) A vignette,
				  graphic, or pictorial representation of any product on any pet food or
				  specialty pet food label shall not misrepresent the contents of the
				  package.
(e) The use of the word
				  "proven" in connection with label claims for any pet food or specialty pet food
				  is prohibited unless scientific or other empirical evidence establishing the
				  claim represented as "proven" is available to the commissioner.
(f) No statement shall appear upon the label
				  of any pet food or specialty pet food which makes false or misleading
				  comparisons between that food and any other pet or specialty pet
				  food.
(g) Personal or commercial
				  endorsements are permitted on pet food or specialty pet food labels when said
				  endorsements are factual and not otherwise misleading.
(h) The words "dog food", "cat food", or
				  similar designation shall appear conspicuously upon the principal display panel
				  of any pet food or specialty pet food label.
(i) The label of any pet food or specialty
				  pet food shall not contain any unqualified representation or claim, directly or
				  indirectly, that the pet food or specialty pet food therein contained, or a
				  recommended feeding thereof, is or meets the requisites of a complete,
				  scientific or balanced ration for any pet or specialty pet, unless such product
				  or feeding:
(1) Contains ingredients in
				  quantities sufficient to provide the estimated nutrient requirements for all
				  stages of the life of the pet or specialty pet, which have been established by
				  a recognized authority on animal nutrition; or
(2) Contains a combination of ingredients
				  which, when fed to a normal animal as the only source of nourishment, will
				  provide satisfactorily for fertility of females, gestation and lactation,
				  normal growth from weaning to maturity without supplementary feeding, and will
				  maintain the normal weight of an adult animal, whether working or at rest, and
				  has had its capabilities in this regard demonstrated by adequate, scientific
				  testing.