8:1:1 and Raw Pet Food Labels: What the Numbers Mean

Numbers can make a food label feel reassuring. They become much more useful when you know exactly what each one measures. Here is a clearer way to read recipe ratios, ingredient percentages and nutrient guarantees.

A recipe concept, explained

PARTNER’s 8:1:1 concept refers to eight parts muscle tissue, one part organs and one part bone in a prey-style approach. It describes the thinking behind a recipe. Read each product’s complete ingredient list for its actual formulation, including other ingredients and added nutrients.

The ratio alone does not establish that a food is complete and balanced for a particular animal or life stage. That is a separate question, answered through the food’s nutritional adequacy information. See how the FDA explains nutritional adequacy.

Compare the same ingredient categories

“80% meat” and “95% meat, organs and bone” describe different groups. Comparing those headline figures directly can give the wrong impression. Before deciding which is higher, ask:

• Does “meat” mean muscle tissue only, or a combined group?
• Are organs, bone, egg or other animal-derived ingredients included?
• Is the percentage based on ingredients before drying or the finished food?
• Is it a recipe concept or a declaration for this exact product?

For example, our rabbit dog recipe’s package states 88% animal-origin ingredients. That category includes animal-derived ingredients across the formula; it does not mean 88% rabbit meat. The listed ingredients include rabbit, chicken, egg and krill. When two brands use different definitions, obtain matching definitions before ranking the percentages.

Ingredient percentage is not protein percentage

An ingredient percentage describes how much of an ingredient or category is included on a stated basis. A protein guarantee describes a nutrient measure. They answer different questions, so a recipe’s meat headline should not be read as its crude protein level.

Read “minimum,” “maximum” and moisture

Guaranteed Analysis values are limits, rather than a complete set of exact measured results. Check whether figures are stated on an as-fed or dry-matter basis. Moisture differences can make direct comparisons misleading. Do not convert figures that are already declared on a dry-matter basis a second time. FDA guidance on comparing nutrition numbers.

When the basis is missing, asking the manufacturer is more useful than guessing. Our product pages identify the basis stated in the supplied recipe information and call out when it is unspecified.