Labeling

The label for any pet food distributed within commonwealth, must comply with the following: (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 United States "Fair Packaging and Labeling Act" and the regulations promulgated thereunder. (3) The information 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 shall specify the name and address of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor of the pet food. The statement of the place of business should include the street address, if any, of such place. If a person manufactures, packages, or distributes a pet food in a place other than his principal place of business, the label may state the principal place of business in lieu of the actual place where each package of such pet food was manufactured or packaged or is to be distributed, if such statement is not misleading in any particular. (5) When a pet food is enclosed in any outer container or wrapper which is intended for retail sale, all required label information must appear on such outside container or wrapper. (6) The words "Dog Food", "Cat Food", or similar designations must appear conspicuously upon the principal display panels of the pet food labels. (7) The label of a dog or cat food shall bear, on either the principal display panel or information panel, in type of a size comparable to the largest type on the panel, a statement of the nutritional adequacy or purpose of the product. Such statement shall consist of one of the following: (a) A Claim that the pet food meets the requirements of one or more of the recognized categories of nutritional adequacy: gestation, lactation, growth, maintenance, and is complete for all life stages. The claim shall be stated as one of the following: 1. (Name of Product) is Formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog or Cat Nutrient Profiles for . 2. Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that (Name of Product) provides complete and balanced nutrition for . (b) A nutrition or dietary claim for purposes other than those listed in 13.03 (7)(a) if the claim is scientifically substantiated. (c) The statement: "this product is intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only," if a product does not meet either the requirements of 330 CMR 13.03(10)(f) or any other special nutritional or dietary need and so is suitable only for limited or intermittent or supplementary feeding. (d) 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 330 CMR 13.03(7)(a) or (c). (8) Dog and cat foods labeled as complete and balanced for any or all life's stages as provided in 330 CMR 13.03(7)(a) except those pet foods labeled in accordance with 330 CMR 13.03(7)(d) 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)". (9) Unless the pet food product meets the requirements of 330 CMR 13.03(7)(c) and (d), any label of pet food product which is suitable only for intermittent or supplemental feeding or for some other limited purpose must bear a clear and conspicuous disclosure to that effect or contain specific feeding directions which clearly state that the product should be used only in conjunction with other foods. (10) No label shall contain any misleading statement and must comply with the following: (a) A vignette, graphic, or pictorial representation of a product on a pet food label shall not misrepresent the contents of that package. (b) The use of the word "proven" in connection with label claims for a pet food is not allowed unless scientific or other empirical evidence establishing the claim represented as "proven" is available. (c) 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. (d) Persons or commercial endorsements are permitted on pet food labels where said endorsements are factual and not otherwise misleading. (e) The use of the word "complete" on pet food labels shall be restricted to those products that are nutritionally adequate and compounded by a specific formula to be fed as sole ration and capable of maintaining life and/or promoting normal reproduction in healthy pets without any additional substances being required except water. (f) No unqualified representation or claim, directly or indirectly, shall be made that the pet food is or meets the requisites of a complete, perfect, scientific or balanced ration for dogs or cats unless the food: 1. Contains ingredients in quantities sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements for all lifestages established by the AAFCO Dog or Cat Food Nutrient Profiles, or some other AAFCO-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 in accordance with the testing procedures established by AAFCO, meets the criteria of such testing procedures for all life stages. (g) Products which are compounded for or which are suitable for only a limited purpose (i.e., a product designed for the feeding of puppies) may contain representations that the pet food is or meets the requisites of a complete, perfect, scientific or balanced ration for dogs or cats only: 1. In conjunction with a statement of a limited purpose for which the product in intended or suitable (for example, in the statement a complete food for puppies). Such representations and qualification shall be juxtaposed on the same panel and in the same size, style and color print; and 2. Such qualified representations may appear on pet food labels only if the pet food contains ingredients in quantities sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements established by the AAFCO Dog and Cat Food Nutrient Profiles or some other AAFCO-recognized authority on animal nutrition, for such limited or qualified purpose; or contains a combination of ingredients which when fed for such limited purpose satisfies the nutrient requirements for such limited purpose and has had its capabilities in this regard demonstrated by adequate testing. (h) 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 such an ingredient is present in the product in a larger amount than is the fact, shall constitute at least 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 such ingredient are shown, they shall appear in the order of their respective predominance by weight in the product. (i) The use of claims on pet food labels stating improvement or newness shall be sufficiently substantiated by the manufacturer and limited to six months of production. The use of claims stating reference or comparative attribute claims shall be sufficiently substantiated by the manufacturer and limited to one year production after which the claim must be removed or resubstantiated.