WAC 16-252-064

(1) Each FEED INGREDIENT of a PET FOOD or SPECIALTY PET FOOD shall be listed in the INGREDIENT STATEMENT as follows:

(a) The names of all FEED INGREDIENTS in the INGREDIENT STATEMENT shall be shown in letters or type of the same size, style and color, except where the defined name of the FEED INGREDIENT includes genus and species (e.g., microorganisms) which may be shown in italics;

(b) The FEED INGREDIENTS shall be listed in descending order by their predominance by weight in nonquantitative terms, except if the FEED INGREDIENT is a vitamin and/or mineral premix, the premix may be declared in order of predominance by the name "vitamins" or "minerals" as appropriate, followed by a parenthetical listing of all the vitamins and/or minerals in the premix, each in their order of predominance by weight as listed on the INGREDIENT STATEMENT of the premix LABEL;

(c) As published in the Official Feed Terms, Common or Usual Ingredient Names and Ingredient Definitions of Feed Ingredients in the AAFCO Official Publication or Common Food Index and Definitions of Feed Ingredients, except any FEED INGREDIENT for which no AAFCO FEED INGREDIENT name exists shall be identified by the common or usual name;

Any FEED INGREDIENT suitable for use in PET FOOD or SPECIALTY PET FOOD for which there is a codified standard of identity in Title 9 or 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations shall be declared in accordance with the applicable regulation, which includes the name of the standardized food followed by a parenthetical listing of its FEED INGREDIENTS, if necessary, as provided in the regulation.

(2) The ingredient "meat," "meat by-products," "poultry," or "poultry by-products" shall be qualified to designate the animal from which the meat or meat by-products are derived unless the FEED INGREDIENTS are derived from cattle, swine, sheep, goats, or any combination thereof or the poultry or poultry meal are derived from chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guineas, ratites, or squabs, or any combination thereof. For example, FEED INGREDIENTS derived from deer shall be listed as "venison" or "venison by-products";

(a) For FEED INGREDIENTS consisting of fish, "fish meal," or "fish by-products," the name of the FEED INGREDIENT may include "fish" without further specification of the type of the fish or if it bears a name descriptive of its kind (e.g., "ocean whitefish" or by using the acceptable market name(s) or common name (but not any vernacular or slang names) of the individual fish species in the FEED INGREDIENT as established by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA Seafood List), it must correspond thereto; and

(b) For purposes of FEED INGREDIENT LABELING of PET FOOD or SPECIALTY PET FOOD, "sugar" shall refer to sucrose, which is obtained from sugar cane or sugar beets in accordance with the provisions in Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations. For all other LABELING purposes outside the ingredient list, "sugar" shall be synonymous with "sugars" as defined in the AAFCO Official Feed Terms.

(3) Brand or trade names shall not be used in the INGREDIENT STATEMENT.

(4) A reference to the quality or grade of a FEED INGREDIENT shall not be allowed in the INGREDIENT STATEMENT.

(5) If there is no official definition for a FEED INGREDIENT in the AAFCO Official Publication, then a FEED INGREDIENT with an AAFCO tentative definition may be used.

(6) Each FEED INGREDIENT of a PET FOOD or SPECIALTY PET FOOD must be listed separately. Collective terms may not be used on PET FOOD or SPECIALTY PET FOOD LABELING.

(7) If properly used as specified by the USDA National Organic Program (7 C.F.R. Part 205), the term "organic" does not apply to WAC 16-250-064(4).

(8) A reference to the nature, form, or other attribute of a FEED INGREDIENT shall be allowed in the INGREDIENT STATEMENT when that attribute imparts a distinctive characteristic to the PET FOOD or SPECIALTY PET FOOD.

(9) Any reference to the PERCENTAGE of a FEED INGREDIENT or combination of FEED INGREDIENTS, by symbol or word, in the brand or PRODUCT NAME or elsewhere on a PET FOOD or SPECIALTY PET FOOD LABEL, shall be based in relation to the total weight of all FEED INGREDIENTS in the product.

(a) The names of the FEED INGREDIENT(S) shall appear in order of predominance by weight in the product, provided that names of flavors due to their varying intensity can be in any order.

(b) Where water sufficient for processing is excluded from the declared PERCENTAGE, the exclusion of water shall be indicated in words juxtaposed (side by side or next to each other) to, the same style and color text, and at least one-half the text size of the stated PERCENTAGE (e.g., "95% beef exclusive of water" or "95 PERCENT chicken and liver exclusive of water").