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| INDEX OF ARTICLES | WAITING ROOM | EXAM ROOM | SURGERY ROOM | X-RAY ROOM | GENERAL TOPICS | IMPORTANT TOPICS | LAB and PHARMACY | PET PHOTOS | PET SUPPLIES | PET PHARMACY |
HOW TO CALCULATE THE PERCENT DRY MATTER IN A PET FOOD
Dry Matter basis (DM) is often used
as a reasonable way to determine the percent of a nutrient in a variety of pet
food types. If 
you look at a can of cat or dog food, and see that the
percent protein in canned food is 9% in the GUARANTEED ANALYSIS chart, you will
be certain to think that the canned food has much less protein than a dry food
that displays 28% protein. However, to compare/contrast the two different
kinds of food properly, the two should be compared on an equal basis. The
best way to do this is to look at the ingredient analysis after all the water
(moisture) has been removed. Since water is readily available and a non
nutritive substance (although essential for life), it makes sense to compare
different types of diets (dry, canned, frozen, semi-moist) based upon the nutrients in a Dry Matter Basis (DM). .
The Dry Matter Basis makes it easy to see which foods actually have the highest
amounts of nutrients when the moisture is removed. It may seem like a dry kibble food has much more protein in
it than, for example, a brand of
canned food. But look at the Dry Matter Basis examples below
and you will see quite a difference between the two types of food. But some dry foods are so low in fat and protein and high in
carbohydrate that at any price it may be less nourishing than another type of
food with high levels of protein and fat.
Here are a few examples of how to
calculate the DM Basis for two kind of pet foods...
The formula for calculating the DM percentages of nutrients in pet foods is determined by... Nutrient percent divided by Reciprocal of the Moisture percent
Go to the GUARANTEED ANALYSIS listing on the pet food label. Look at the percentage stated for the nutrient you are interested in... for example, Protein. Now, take that percent and divide it by the reciprocal of of the moisture percent listed. The reciprocal of the moisture content is simply the percent of the pet food that isn't water. So if a moisture content of a food is stated in the guaranteed analysis is 10% Moisture, the reciprocal percent is 90%. Another example... if a canned food states 74% moisture in the can, the reciprocal is 26%.
Plug those numbers into the formula and here
is how it is done...
Nutrient percent divided by Reciprocal of the Moisture percent
Happy Snappy Dry Food
| Guaranteed Analysis: Protein 25% Fat 12% Fiber 2% Moisture 10 % |
TO calculate the amount of Protein
on a DM basis ... |
Look at the difference below in DM values of a canned food and see which pet food, on a Dry Matter Basis, has the most Protein....
Sunny Bunz Canned Food
| Guaranteed Analysis: Protein 9% Fat 6% Fiber 1.5% Moisture 80 % |
TO calculate the amount of Protein
on a DM basis ... |
(Most pet foods do not list the Carbohydrate content for some strange reason. But you can find that percentage by using the formula, too.)
EXAMPLE: We can calculate the DM percent of Protein, Fat, and Fiber, and then total up those percentages. Whatever percentage is left to make 100% is the amount of Carbohydrate. So for Sunny Bunz Canned Food and Happy Snappy Dry Food those values for carbohydrate are:
|
Sunny Bunz Canned Food CARBOHYDRATE calculation |
Happy Snappy Dry Food CARBOHYDRATE calculation |
| Protein = 45% Fat = (6 divided by 20) = 30% Fiber = (1.5 divided by 20) = 7.5% Total = 82.5% of total food material So 100% -- 82.5% = 17.5% Carbohydrate = 17.5% |
Protein = 28% Fat = (12 divided by 90) = 13% Fiber = (2 divided by 90) = 2.2% Total = 43.2% of total food material So 100% -- 43.2% = 56.8% Carbohydrate = 56.8% |
GUESS WHAT!! If you
wanted to feed your dog or cat a high protein pet food that is low in
carbohydrate,
the canned food in this example would be your best choice!
It is very revealing to calculate the carbohydrate percentages for many of the
"Weight Loss" or "Lite" or "Low Fat" diets.
Almost all of these diets have high carbohydrate percentages when, in fact, a
good weight loss diet should have high percentages of protein and low percentages of
carbohydrate.
Below is a graphic to help you visualize how percentages can change when moisture is removed from a pet food.
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| Related Topics Of Interest | |
| Cats
Are Different! Contrasting Grain-based and Meat-based Pet Foods Nutrition Comments Fatty Acids |
The
Overweight Pet |
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