Which food has more protein?

About The Label Comparison Card

The Label Comparison Card settles a single question: of two pet foods, which actually contains more protein? Pack percentages are quoted 'as fed', which means a wet food's figure is diluted by the water in the tin and a dry food's is not. Comparing them directly is meaningless. This tool removes the water from both and compares them on a dry matter basis.

What it looks at

• Crude protein and moisture percentages for the first food
• Crude protein and moisture percentages for the second food
• Both are converted to dry matter protein, then compared

What your result means

One food is higher

The tool names which food contains more protein once water is excluded, and by how many percentage points. A wet food quoting 10% protein at 78% moisture is roughly 45% protein on a dry matter basis — usually far higher than the dry food it looked lower than on the pack.

The two are level

Once water is excluded the two foods contain effectively the same protein. Any difference on the pack was water, not nutrition, and the choice between them should turn on other factors.

What this tool cannot tell you

A higher percentage alone does not make a food better. Digestibility, protein source, amino acid profile and overall balance all matter, and none of them appear on a label. Label figures are regulatory minimums and maximums rather than measured values, so this is a screening estimate rather than an analysis.